True strength ...

Speaking of nostalgia ... the last time Kyle deployed was 7 years ago.  These photos are from that period of time.  I was pregnant with Davis.  Brett was 2.  Kyle was gone 6 months.  This was us hanging out at the playground, just miles from the Navy Base, where we'd watch the P3's fly overhead ... and we were just days away from our own husbands' P3's flying overhead, returning from overseas.  We were giddy with anticipation, just as my kids & I are now.

This deployment is different in several ways.  Kyle & I have 3 kids now, all school age.  Kyle's in a different branch of the military, flying a different airplane.  Instead of staying in a Bachelor Officer's Quarters in Sicily, Kyle's staying in a 6x9 little hut in Afghanistan.  The flying is different, I know.  And this deployment I have more to worry about than just Mt.Etna.

Having a husband that is deployed, I get a lot of "I don't know how you do it" comments.  Help & prayers definitely are helping us getting through.  But honestly, I think that picture above of the little kids at the playground is what helps keep me in check the most.  Brett is obviously the little boy.  :)  Surrounded by girls.

Two of those little girls are sisters.  They since have added another sister to their family.  Their dad is also deployed.  But for longer.  They opened Christmas presents via Skype, just like we did.  Their last deployment wasn't 7 years ago, it was about a year & a 1/2 ago [less?].  But that doesn't mean they are used to it.

Another little girl in that photo has a daddy deployed, as well.  And since 2004, has added a little brother.  She & her brother said goodbye to their daddy just after Christmas.  2009.  Since that time they have had him home for only 1 week of "R&R".  To know that Kyle left 9 months after he did, but gets back a week or 2 ahead of their dad?  Hard.

The other little girl is a big sister now as well.  Their dad isn't deployed, but in May their mom found out the infection she had was actually Stage IV inflammatory breast cancer.  She has become a warrior of a different kind, going through countless rounds of chemo since June.  Throughout losing her hair, having surgeries, taking drugs that make her feel horrible, making changes in every aspect of her life because of their new "normal" & even walking in the Susan G. Komen walk ... she has had a winning attitude, strong spirit & a huge smile on her face.

These little girls' moms were the girls who I last went through this with ... and we are all connected again on a day to day basis thanks to Facebook.  :) We live in 4 different cities, in 3 different states.  They keep me in check.  They show me it's okay to complain a little over the obvious. But big picture?  I have it pretty good.  It's not that I look at their situations & feel sorry or sorrier for them.  But, I look at their strength, humor & attitude and know that it's not only possible for me to join the club, but expected of me.  If you surround yourself with negativity, it's easy to think you can't get through something or to look at your situation with self-pity.  But if you surround yourself with people of strong character who take those "I can not even imagine" situations & show that it's still possible to survive under those circumstances [and have a heck of a lot of fun while you're doing it] ... you will follow their examples. 

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”  - Unknown


These are the girls who have shown me that even with an "excuse", it's not an option to fall apart.  Not back then & certainly not now. Together they have helped me keep it together.  They are my secret weapon. They are my response to "I don't know how you do it". They showed me how; I am just following their lead.