24 Hours Down

We are 24 hours into our first deployment and I can honestly tell you that they SUCK!!! Yesterday was a long day for all of us. We all got up at 5 am. We talked to the kids about going to the airport and they were all pretty adamant about going. We bundled up and headed for the airport around 6. Jason deployed with 3 other guys from his squadron. They were briefed and checked in. Due to that fact that the guys were in uniform, family members were given special boarding passes that allowed us to walk Jason to his gate. We were able to stay with him until he boarded his plane. This was really nice for all of us. We got a little extra time together even if we were sitting in an airport terminal.

Saying goodbye was really rough. As the wife, I wanted to be strong for Jason. As the parent, I wanted to stay strong for my kids. I failed in both departments. I think everyone who knows me knows that I am an extremely emotional person. I held it together better than I expected but I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing. Jason slid his wedding ring off his finger and placed it in the palm of my hand. He asked me to keep his egg shaped ring safe =) The girls climbed into his lap and just held onto him. Trav hugged and kissed daddy. Jason hugged my dad and then turned to me. I hugged My Jay one last time. I wish I could have expressed to him just how much I love him and how much he means to me and to our family.

We watched Jason climb the steps of the plane that would fly him to Dallas. I stood at the window with my three beautiful babies. I held them tight and I just let them cry. We walked out of the airport holding each other a little tighter. Daddy sent Bryanna a text message telling her how much he loved her and to give mommy a hug from him. He sent me a text message to tell me that he loves me. Technology is amazing!


I am so grateful that my parents are here. When we walked out of the airport, my mom was waiting with open arms. She held us all and just let us cry. We went out to breakfast. It was our first meal without daddy. Bryanna order a side of bacon in his honor =)

Jason kept in contact with us throughout the day. He called us when he landed in Dallas. From Dallas he boarded a plane to Baltimore. Once he got into Baltimore, he was able to log onto his Skype account. The kids got to chat with him for a little bit. Once again, technology is AMAZING!!! Jason was supposed to leave Baltimore at around 1:30 am his time for Germany but, the flight was delayed 24 hours. He called us last night to say goodnight to the kids. He was waiting to get his bags checked in. Once he got through the horrendous line, he was being transported to a local hotel for the night.

The kids were sad after they talked to daddy on the phone last night. They miss him so much! We all do! We had a long talk last night. I told them that it was okay for them to cry and it was okay for them to be sad and even mad. I told them that I want them to get their feelings out and that it is important for them to share their feelings with me. Bryanna asked me why it hurt so much. I told her that we are a very lucky family. We are so close and we share so much. We do everything together so when one of us is missing, it hurts. Kalyssa was in tears pretty much the whole day. Jason told me yesterday that he didn’t expect the emotions from Kalyssa. I think I did. Kalyssa is a daddy’s girl. She’s a mommy’s girl too but her daddy is her world. I realized yesterday that she couldn’t grasp what was going on until it actually happened. The only thing that is in her mind right now is that daddy is going to be gone for a long time. Travin is definitely feeling the effects but I don’t think he quite understands just yet. He’s been that best a providing mommy and his sisters with hugs over the past 24 hours. Last night the four of us (and Millie) had a sleepover. We cuddled together in a bed that wasn’t exactly made for three kids, a dog, and a mommy but, I have to say that it was nice to wake up to little arms wrapped around me this morning.

We started the brainstorming process. We are coming up with several ideas on how to celebrate each week that goes by because after all, each week that goes by is one week closer to daddy coming home!