When our kids were small, I did a lot of waiting on Sweetie. Sweetie was a sailor in the US Navy, and he was attached to a "big submarine boat" (as Army Boy and Dollface called it) that was deployed frequently and with little notice. Most of the "runs" on Daddy's big submarine boat were short (a few days to a couple weeks) and there were just a few days to prepare. That left us waiting for Daddy to leave, and then waiting for Daddy to come home.
There was always an awkwardness around the exchange of responsibility that must occur when the Navy wife's husband deploys or returns. . .waiting to be in-charge-of-everything, then waiting for him to come-home-and-take-over-the-dirty-and-strenuous-jobs again. These were tricky waters to navigate, and we had a couple times that we nearly drowned in the stress and strain on our marriage, but I am happy to report that we did survive!
There was one deployment that lasted 6 months. Known as a "Med Run," Daddy's big submarine boat went into the Mediterranean Sea, and Daddy got a taste of real Italian pizza, real German beer, and a guided tour of parts of Israel. When it was time for the deployment to be over, and time for Daddy to come home, the kids and I made him a present:
You may be able to tell that this shirt saw a LOT of wear in it's day. This is one of my favorite pictures of him wearing that shirt. Dollface (just 2 years old here) and Army Boy (about 3-and-a-half) were so excited that he went to put that shirt on! They sat with him and told him all about how they dipped their hands in the paint, and Mommy let them put the paint on the shirt. . ."and-den we have to wa-a-a-shhhh (and she demonstrated, rubbing her tiny hands together furiously), so da house not get all paint!"
That 6 months seemed like a really long wait to all of us! It seems like the best things are the hardest to wait for, aren't they? Like waiting for a wedding. . .or waiting for weight-loss success (plugging my 40 pound weight loss over the last year - go, Pretty! Psst!, anybody need any XL hangers? lol). . .
But I still think the hardest thing to wait for is for a beloved Daddy to return home from a long deployment. The reunions will be sweet, the separation is difficult at best. . . 
. . .but the waiting is agonizing. Peanut is now officially waiting for her Daddy to come home. There should be a mid-tour leave for her birthday, then the deployment will end next fall. The waiting. . .oh, the waiting is the hardest part.
As I wait, I will pray, and I will cry, and I will knit. You're welcome to join me on the journey, and to see what comes off my needles in the form of woolen therapy, as well as updates to the Etsy store. Even though I am waiting, the world still turns. It's best that I keep on keepin' on, or I might get dizzy and fall down!Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!
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