I love it! Many holidays have been spent with just my kids and I. I really think that I go more overboard with Hubby deployed than when he's home, but trying to keep my children happy. I never moved until I got married and can't remember my father being gone for more than maybe 2-3 days a year and that was spread out. I see that heartache of my children when the packages for Daddy don't get opened on Christmas morning and just want to ease their heartache. I too made a feast today for 4. We'll be eating turkey for weeks, but my family had their "Turkey Day" and we enjoyed just having each other and thanked God for the blessings he's given us!
As you slide down the banister of life, May the splinters never point the wrong way! ~Irish Proverb~
Halloween I ended up not even dressing myself or my toddler girl up because I had been so busy running around trying to get immigration paperwork and a long trip home sorted, but we spent it with a wonderful neighbor of ours, who has been as much a blessing to us as we ended up being for her.
Christmas came with the in-laws in tow, and while it was hard and the kids disappointed that daddy wasn't home (my stepson joined us for Christmas) it was good to know that he will soon be home and that his present is under that tree, waiting for him. He called when we unwrapped presents, so he could at least be with us for that part, even if I had to be his eyes.
Holidays without our loved ones are hard, but manageable, and I command all the military spouses out there who keep their sanity while being both parents at once.
