Deployment blues

I am singing the blues tonight so, rather than complain to my teammates, I will send it into cyberspace! First of all, I miss my kids and husband. They are having the vacation of a lifetime, seeing national parks and family all over the West Coast. They are visiting places Nate and I enjoyed when we first met, places we visited as we got to know each other.

They spent a day in San Francisco, where we got engaged. We only lived an hour from the city but, back then, Treasure Island was still a Navy base and we could stay there for a steal! We would take friends and families on tours all over the city when they came to visit. I remember taking my grandparents on one such day trip. We all had a great time! So, as I sit here in my dusty little room, I know my family is happy, but they are also storing up memories that don’t include me, and that hurts.

Next on my list of complaints? I miss good food!!! They do try here. The food is plentiful and likely as well as can be done when you are cooking for several thousand people every day, but I just miss the flavors from home: the meatloaf with provolone and fresh basil, the curry of every style, and a good steak with fresh green beans on the side. I miss skim milk. Here, milk comes in a box. It might be 2 percent, but I can’t read the writing. I miss real creamer; the powdered stuff just doesn't cut it on a daily basis.

What else, you ask? I miss technology. I can't just pick up the phone and call my parents, something I do several times a week at home. I struggle to post. The Internet connection in my room goes down every two minutes, and I pay for that luxury! I miss curling up on the couch to watch HGTV or falling asleep to Leno, although I hear now it is Conan? How is that working out?

I could come up with more: the wind, dust and dirt; the very small room and long walk to the bathroom; the smells that come from the bathroom and the fact that, for several days, I didn't get a hot shower.

But, for most of my complaints, I can also see the flip side. If I was at home, Nate and the kids never would have gone on the trip, and think how good that first home-cooked meal will taste next spring. Without technology, there’s more time for reading. At least we have a bathroom and a shower; it could be pit toilets and a bucket.

Enough with the blues. I am off to bed with the good book Rachael brought me—thanks, Rach!—and looking forward to a hot shower tomorrow. (There is hope!) And, did I mention that some days I manage to find Lucky Charms for breakfast? That, and knowing how much love and how many prayers are sent to us every day, will keep me going forward.

Thank you, everyone!!