Joy, and pain. Sunshine, and rain...

Today was a little bittersweet. I finally get to announce that I was selected as an honorable mention in the Scrapbook.com Lucky 7 Contest! I'm so excited! And, I can't wait to get my hands on that $70 gift certificate. I already know EXACTLY what I am going to spend it on. Anyway, I was never good at keeping secrets, so not being able to say anything about this for a few weeks was killing me!

But, that's about the extent of my smiles for the day. Today is the last day I will spend with my husband before he has to go back to Afghanistan. Tomorrow, I will drop him off at the airport at 4:30 am. This will be our 3rd goodbye in 7 months, and I must admit, it's getting old. I am just anxious for the day that I will get to say hello again, and know that it will be for longer than 14 days.

And, a big thank you goes out to the group of guys that work with my husband who have abused the emergency leave and R&R policies so obscenely. Thank you for your irresponsibility. I sure appreciate the fact that you all have had your 14 days of R&R ON TOP of 60+ days of emergency leave. Thank you for taking advantage of the system for something that you didn't even need, and then ruining it for people like my husband who only try to apply for a 3 day extension and then get denied. I don't know how I can ever thank you for that.

A little bitter? Perhaps. But, just because I "knew what I was getting into when I married into the military" doesn't mean that I should be required to paste a smile on my face and happily send my husband back off to war. I'm tired of being told that I knew what I was getting into. Yes, I did. But, trust me, it doesn't make it hurt any less every time we have to say goodbye. Actually, we don't say "goodbye". "Goodbye" is too permanent. I prefer, "See you soon..."