Deployment Log, Day 91:
1. Well, if Beloved Husband returns exactly on the date specified on his orders (I will give you a second to laugh with me on that one) then we have made it 1/3 of the way through this deployment!
2. I think that calls for cake…
3. But today is Day 3 of Whole 30 (or for me, Whole 88). So that’s a no-go. #HardboiledEggsItIs
4. We (obviously) made it back to Texas. Perhaps I should have posted and been all like, “YAY, HOME SWEET HOME” or something, but we hit the door and I was like, “Oh crap… I forgot I have to parent these Tiny Humans. And unpack. And get groceries. And food prep. And, and, and…” So it has kind of been a touch busy with vacay detox and prepping for all things new year.
5. Costco was a hopping place on Sunday when I rallied our Tiny Human Troops to retrieve munitions. Ran in to two other gals from our Battalion and the lovely Janette from church. Happy heart moment. 
6. I have mixed feelings about being back “home” and done with any major (planned) traveling for the next 6 months. Part of me is relieved. But of course, the other part is fantasizing about sitting on Grandma Lex’s couch watching Dr. Pol, not thinking about class/emails/long runs and engaging in some laissez faire parenting.
7. I would love to laissez faire parent here, except my husband has entrusted me to keep the house standing. So there’s that.
8. When we were traveling back to Texas, Grandma Lex asked if she could get a gate pass to help us through security and see us off. THEY SAID YES.
9. Friends, I really think that moment rivaled what it feels like when Jesus welcomes us to heaven. I thought I heard angels singing and the lights got really bright.
10. It was awesome. I sweated a lot less.
11. We made it through security and Lex looked at me then said, “Girl, you did that by yourself last time? You are crazy.” I couldn’t argue with her.
12. The travels went incredibly smooth, so I am beyond grateful for all of your prayers. The only way it would have been better would be if another adult was along for the entire ride OR if it was a non-stop flight (but those don’t exist from SF to EP).
13. The planes were very small… Only 4 seats across from SF to Denver, then I was surprised that Denver to EP was a three-seater!
14. The cramped quarters made the logistics more, let’s say… entertaining.
15. I wanted to tell everyone on the plane that I was truly not stressing out, but just simply struggling to shove all the people, things, and animals into their rightful locations in a timely manner. I’m cronking my head, making weird noises and did I mention, sweating?
16. Note I said SWEATING not SWEARING. Big difference. (Hit my head hard enough once that it was pretty close).
17. Charis almost left her “ducky” (like a lovey-duck blanket that she has had since birth) on the plane in Denver. We were down the ramp on the tarmac (see #13 about small plane probs) when she panicked. We had a short layover (1 hr) so we had to turn around and book it. (I have a “spare” duck in the checked luggage for emergencies, but she doesn’t know it exists yet). This whole thing was a great LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER BECAUSE SHE TOLD YOU TO PUT IT IN YOUR BACKPACK moment.
18. I have amazing people in my life. My best-good El Paso friend Megan retrieved us from the airport. She’s a milspouse and a mama of a Tiny Human too. So she GETS it. She brought the kids fruit snacks and a sucker each, and handed me a thermos of hot tea, a jar of almond butter with a spoon, an apple and a clementine. Yes, this woman GETS traveling by oneself with small children. What a blessing.
19. Yesterday was a rather Monday-est Monday. I broke my favorite coffee cup beyond repair and my intended long run started out ok-ish, but got cut way short. (Lest everyone think I always crush every single run/workout… I don’t). Let’s just say that after a couple of miles my body suddenly remembered that it had just switched to eating Whole30 and thus decided that was the moment to have some pretty major and extremely unanticipated digestive issues.
20. In a non-deployment season, I would say that my favorite things would be reading for fun, shopping at Target, coffee dates at Starbucks. During deployment, my favorite things are sitting down and sleeping.
21. Prayer request: Transition back into real “routine” when school starts up for Charis on Wednesday (and for me next Monday), for my body to get the W30 Tiger Blood flowing sooner than later (so that the hangover and kill-all-the-things stage is not long or painful).
22. Parting thought: “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” ~Isaiah 32:18
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Our school district cracks me up. They have an auto-calling system for info/announcements/reminders, which, due to my current deployment brain, I greatly appreciate.
However, they called tonight to remind me that school starts tomorrow and “please be sure to send your child to school.” Trust me, auto-message. I DIDN’T FORGET. It took all my self restraint today not to walk around the house yelling, “CHARIS!! 12 hours and 49 minutes until it’s time for school!”
*Update: 12 hours and 48 minutes.
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First day of Ballet/Tap dance class! Flat Daddy wanted to go, but we couldn’t find him the right size/kind of shoes.
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Self: “Hmmmm, what shall I do on the first Friday back from the holiday vacation?”
Ah yes. Do a 12 mile training run (plus 1.1 mile cool down to = half marathon distance). #WhyGodWhy?!
I don’t think I could classify this workout as a run. It was more like a shuffle. And I didn’t “crush it.” I think it was more of a “slow execution of the task.” Honestly, my heart and body were not at all pumped up about it. Right as I pulled into the parking spot to start the run, I got a phone call that saddened my heart and made me want to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper and scrap the whole re-attempt of this long run that flopped on Monday. (Side note: Don’t worry. Everything is fine with Husband/deployment/kids. Totally unrelated phone call).
Clearly the energy and “Tiger Blood” from Whole30 isn’t rolling yet on day 5 (I didn’t think it would be). Starting at mile 2, my bod was like, “Um, where’s our energy source? Processed sugar? Manufactured carbs? Also, are these new shoes? And didn’t you get up earlier than normal this morning while intentionally fasting caffeine during your corporate church fast for the next 21 days?” (Side note #2: I did bring dates along as my energy source. But my bod probably doesn’t know how to fully capitalize on their awesomeness yet).
Shuffle or not, I’m declaring right now that I am proud of my body. She hung right in there till the very end, even if she was squawking a bit along the way. To God be the glory and cheers to everyday breakthroughs!
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Today, Flat Daddy was assigned a very special mission: to capture footage of the extremely elusive creature, “milspouse domesticus.” She rarely ventures into the domestic portion of her habitat, but constant monitoring of her recent movements indicated that she would indeed make an appearance today, in an attempt to make and can Whole30 compliant salsa by herself for the first time since leaving the nest so many years ago.
Flat Daddy kept hidden for the duration of the cooking/canning process to catch a few sacred glimpses of milspouse domesticus. However, he soon lost sight of her when the project was finished. He did get a lead as to her current whereabouts when, after the first jar went “POP!” to indicate a successful seal, he heard the voice of milspouse domesticus in the distance yell, “Thank you, Jesus!”
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Flat Daddy got to meet Pastor Steve last night… and It was so good for the soul to catch up with him 
