This year, our Thanksgiving was a very special occasion. About a week prior to the big day, Husband and I were talking and we realized this would be the first Thanksgiving we’ve spent together in two years. It just hadn’t dawned on us for some reason. The last Thanksgiving we were together was in 2005.
In September of 2006, he deployed to Iraq for his second year-long tour. We looked forward to being able to spend Thanksgiving together the next year, since he should have returned in late August or early September of 2007. Unfortunately, all Army deployments were extended from twelve to fifteen months right as husband neared the half-way point of the deployment. And with that, he spent two Thanksgivings in Iraq. Thankfully, he deployed in September, not October. If he’d deployed in October, he would have missed two Christmases too. Although I really enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas was always the hardest holiday to get through when he was deployed.
The extension was an unexpected emotional blow, but I know it would have been so much worse had we also missed spending the Christmas holiday with him two years in a row. My heart broke for those families who weren’t as fortunate. Twelve months apart is hard, but for some reason, adding on those three extra months made it so much harder. So, this Thanksgiving, we all were most thankful for being able to spend the day together.
Daughter spent the morning helping me in the kitchen. We had such a good time talking and cooking together. She’s eleven, but looks like she’s a teenager. She’s almost as tall as me, can wear my shoes and clothes and she’s so mature. Sometimes I forget that she’s only eleven. Husband and son enjoyed some football and helped us get the table ready. After we ate, the men-folk did most of the cleanup saying it was the least they could do since daughter and I did all of the cooking.
After our bellies were full and the kitchen was cleaned up, daughter and I went and rented some movies. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching Christmas movies and enjoying hot chocolate and the pie daughter made.
It was a great Thanksgiving and we’re looking forward to spending many more together now that he’s retired. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!
Oh my goodness. I don’t know that I realized that she’s eleven. For some reason, in my mind, she’s still that 6 year old girl that you left Alaska with.
I’m glad you had a good Thanksgiving.
Comment by HomefrontSix — December 10, 2008 @ 12:56 am |
Ah – but she was FOUR when we left Alaska lol. We left in May of 2002 – early enough in the month that it snowed on us as we hit the Fort Grealy area LMAO on our way to the ALCAN Highway. She turned five that July and started school here in our small town that August.
It’s still hard for me to believe that we’ve lived here in the Midwest for almost SEVEN years and in the same house lol! In our entire marriage, we’ve never lived in one place for so long
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Anywho, don’t be a stranger! Send me an email sometime! I’d love to catch up with what all you’re up to!
Comment by shannonchronicles — December 30, 2008 @ 10:18 pm |
Hard to believe but sweetthing and I have lived here on sweetthing’s half acre longer than anyplace since we have been married..45 years of marriage and five and a half years here. I think the military made a gypsy out of us…we would probably move again if we could unload this place for what I got in it.
Comment by GUYK — January 4, 2009 @ 8:15 pm |