Maddie's First Haircut

Last week we took Maddie to get her first haircut.  Since we did a big production for Nate (Nate's First Haircut) we wanted to do something special for Maddie as well.  Since she is 3 years old and NOT a baby, we decided instead of taking her to Cookie Cutters we would take her to a "big girl" salon.  I have a friend that works at Borics and thought that would be perfect.  It was absolutely perfect.  Maddie was so excited to finally be getting her haircut.  She watches eagerly every time I cut Daddy and Nate's hair, wanting to have hers cut too.  And after chopping half her bangs and some of the hair on top to the scalp this summer, she was ready! :)

Alison did a great job making her feel special.  She even put a little bit of stuff in her hair and ran the blow dryer through it to make her feel like a big girl.  Maddie just grinned and you could tell she was just beside herself.  She did so good sitting still.  In the end, the cut is just perfect. It evens out the original Mohawk and makes her look older.  So bittersweet but then again I say that about every milestone with the kids.

before

she just enjoyed it so much

after

WOBC

Michael went to WOBC (Warrant Officer Basic Course) this summer.  It was an 18 week course, starting in the beginning of April and ending mid-August.  I didn't write a post on it all summer.  Maybe I didn't want to share that he was not at home on the Internet.  Paranoid? Maybe.  But being in charge of the security of the home while the man is away is stressful enough.  And maybe I didn't want to write about it because when you're in the thick of it, it's all very dreary (even if it really isn't, and it wasn't).  But now I don't want to leave that chapter in our lives undocumented.  It was a very big struggle for our family, but I also want to share that we got through it. 

I didn't think we would make it through it.  When he first left in April, August felt like forever away.  But somehow the summer passed.  At times it seemed to by going quickly, and others the hours felt like days...maybe even weeks.  But it passed and before we knew it, Daddy was home! 

Communication

Even though he was in the states, the communication still suffered.  The internet there was heavily loaded and so skyping rarely was an option.  When he could log on it would drop or not come in clearly.  A disappointment since we thought it would be much better than the when overseas.  Phone calls with the kids is never a great option.  The minute I would get on the phone they would know that my attention was not on them and it would either be screaming or getting into something they weren't supposed to.  So a lot was left to be said in emails.

The Kids

Whenever Michael leaves for a school/work/guard the kids have a few rough days.  For this reason we decided to not make any visits during this time.  I thought once we got over the hump (usually after a few days in and they realize it's not just a drill weekend) and things smoothed out that a visit would disrupt them.  Plus we made a countdown chain and once they understood that once it was gone, Daddy would be home, I didn't want to have to explain a visit in the middle of the chain and confuse them.  It started exactly as I thought it would.  First few days fine. Next few days terrible.  But after that I thought it would smooth out and it didn't.  Every few weeks they would act out, usually for a good week, before returning to their (almost) old self.  This cycle just continued until he came home. So it was rough.  I'm not gonna lie. But I can say it wasn't terrible every moment of every day. It was summer. We were able to get outside everyday, which was probably the saving grace. We had weekly play dates too.  So while it was tough, we managed, and even had some pretty good times in there too!

The Grown Ups

For Michael and I, our struggles were the opposite.  He missed home.  Hated missing out on things.  For me I wanted to get away. Needed the breaks.  But more than that it was just lonely.  On many days it was just the kids and me with no adult interaction at all.  We missed each other. Terribly. I thought I would have all this time to do all these projects around the house but by the time my chores and Michael's chores were done I didn't have energy to do anything more.  Michael tried to fill his weekends (which were the hardest) with activities but even though they were fun, it was the time he was most reminded he was away from family.

The Point

I have two reasons for this entry.  I don't like such a downer of a post, BUT this was part of our life.  A big part of this year and I feel like it needs to be documented. The other reason is this will be a nice reminder in the future.  This will not be his last school or the last time he is away.  We will have hard times again as long as he is in the military.  As hard as this past summer was for our family, there are a couple truths.  We survived.  We can get through it again.  And, I know it's cliché, but it really did make us a stronger family.  We appreciate each other more.  We are closer as a family and while we've always made our family a priority, we won't take the time we have for granted. And we grew stronger in our faith as we had to lean on God to get us through.