Back to Life...Back to Reality...

Rich returned to (civilian) work on Monday. We are so blessed and fortunate that he had a job to return to following his deployment. Just before he deployed the company he works for was bought by another company, some of the key players have changed and roles were changed/moved/disrupted. Until Monday it was unclear exactly what he would be returning to. He was ready, nervous and restless Sunday night and didn't sleep well. Kind of like the first day of school...same people but now you're all in a different grade, may not have classes together and new teachers.

He spent a couple of days just getting acclimated to the changes, doing the 'welcome back' conversations with his friends and going through his work email that had accumulated 2,000 emails in the past year. Today he got confirmation of his job/project (not necessarily what he had hoped for), but it'll be okay and what role he will be taking. Along with the confirmation came a round trip ticket leaving Monday for the week-long  business trip. We were a bit disappointed that he will have to travel so soon (as we know there will be a great deal of travel involved); but at least this trip won't last a year!

Looks like we are back to Life...back to reality!

WARNING ~ Reintegration May Cause Unexpected Weight Gain!

   He Came Home!

We did ALOT of This ~

Lots of THIS~

 AND Plenty of THIS ~

Not a lot of THIS ~

OR

OR

Now I have a little more of THIS ~

 

And

I must have missed the WARNING when reading the Reintgration Manual

(lol...what manual????)

There's not one second I would change in these 28 days!!

27 Days of Bliss

My husband has been home from Afghanistan for 27 days. It has been 27 days of finding our groove, each other, and a new normal. The first week and a half (while I was working) he decompressed by rebuilding our privacy fence, laying sod in the backyard and doing a bit of landscaping. The following week we travelled to the West coast to visit our kids and other family. It was a great trip! The rest of last week (his last week before starting back to work) Rich continued to piddle around the house, calling me a few times throughout the day to say how bored he was!

Saturday we leathered-up and headed out on a long (300 miles) motorcycle ride that circle across N. Alabama, up Natchez Trace to downtown Nashville and back home.

Whewww...we were totally wiped out after all of that riding. But let me tell you, the scenery was just beautiful up the Trace. Rich did all of the hard work while I sat behind him soaking it all up and reading my Kindle every so often.

Sunday we went to the Monthly Blocker Breakfast for some family time, a few laughs, and an overall good time! After a quick trip to Walmart we made our way back home for a whole lot of NOTHING!!! Rich changed into his (as he called them) "not doing shit all day" clothes and I found a comfy sun dress and joined him in the backyard hammock. We laid in the hammock for 3 hours, each of us reading and doing nothing more.

As we lay there in the hammock and the warm breeze I couldn't help but steal a zillion glances at him. This was our perfect day and I couldn't believe that we were there in that moment together.

 

I've tried to remember what it was like without him for a year, through deployment, and I can't. I've said it a hundred times but I really feel like 2010 did not happen. That I went to sleep one night and he was gone, only to wake up the next morning and he's there. 

We followed up our hammock time with a cookout with our daughters and our neighbors - such a wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend!

Happy Monday!

Are We Home?

My husband and I just spent a few days on the West Coast..seeing the sights, listening as Rich relived his childhood street-by-street, visting his family that had long passed and spending a few days with our sons (and our son's family). Our sons in California are my husband's through DNA and mine through sheer luck! I was fortunate enough to be a big part of  B's life and raising since he was 8 - he's now 21. I met 'N' (he's 26) a few years ago; we have a dance-relationship where we take a few shaky steps forward then a few back, all in the hope of finding just the right tempo...perfect dance step..for us.

I watched my husband come alive to the Long Beach environment, the Cali-driving, and the kids. It was all good for his soul. Once our plane took off from LAX I saw the sadness in his eyes; the look of leaving behind his beginning, his children, his sister, his nephew, the graves of his Granny and his Brother. He was leaving flesh and blood and the parts of life that made him who he is today.

As the wheels of the plane went up I asked my husband, "Does it feel like you are leaving home or going home"? He looked at me and said. "I'm going home, but I miss my kids".

Packing Up and Heading Out

Well, I haven't begun to pack yet but tomorrow morning at 0630 my husband and I will be heading out! We will board a plane that will take us to the West coast to California to visit with family. It's our first post-deployment trip! We will arrive at LAX around noon'ish then jaunt on over to Long Beach (Rich's stomping grounds), maybe grab lunch at Seal Beach and then stay the night at the Queen Mary Hotel! I am SOOOO excited about staying at the QM Hotel! Friday we will head over (well 2 hours) to spend a few days with the kids before making our way back to LA on Monday for our flight home Tuesday.

I love, love, love traveling with my husband! He is always such an awesome travel-mate; plus he's the only one of us qualified to drive in California traffic. I tend to find a book or magazine or potato chip bag to read when we hit Cali traffic - I figure if I'm not looking....I won't know what's happening around us!

Rich and I sat down recently with a calendar and have written down (in ink)  various trips and places we'd like to visit for each month. Before our lives were interrupted by death and deployment, we would sit around and talk about all of the things we 'should' do, or 'want' to do 'one day'.

If anything has come from our 2-year experience...it's to Live! To do those things we talk about .... to go to the places we want to go....to take the lives we have been blessed with and make the days and seconds count. Our children are grown, our bills are paid, we have a few jingles in our pocket and we have all of the time in the World each and every day.

So, on that note....let's pack and go!!

Ahhh...The Weekend Recovery Begins

It was a WONDERFUL weekend! With deployment now fading to a distant memory and 'real life' consuming those longs months apart, we had the BEST weekend together!

We found ourselves WIDE awake at 3:15am Saturday morning... laid in bed trying to go back to sleep until 4:15am before giving up and getting up. We actually were at WALMART at 4:45am doing some shopping that we knew needed to be done at some point over the day. Back home, unloadied the goods and set about cleaning the house and taking care of some yard work. About 11 we leathered-up and jumped on the motorcycle for a 2 hour ride to my sister (and future BIL's) house. Let me tell you....seeing scenery from inside of a car is nothing compared to actually seeing it from the back seat of a motorcycle! LOVE IT!!

Sunday was spent with some overnight company til noon, a quick trip to Home Depot and more yard work. Do you know how heavy sod is??? It's VERY heavy!!! We rounded the night with our FIRST BBQ in 3 years (2009 was spent caring for my parents and 2010 was deployment-year)! 3 YEARS! We sat on the top deck with wonderful friends, tasty food, yummy drinks and some of the best music the 70's and 80's had to offer filtering out of the living room window.  It was THE BEST time!

Today it's back to work for me and trying to finish up some yard work at home for Rich. and you know what?? I miss him when we are not together! I'd rather be at home laying sod with my husband!

Happy Monday!

You're an A$$ Rich Richardson!

So tonight we had our FIRST "Friday Night Hang-out" with the Whittens...in a year! The one where we just sat around the chimney, talked about nothing in particular and enjoyed finger food and drinks. Believe me when I say that there is not much better than that!

Pook and I get home and I change my clothes and start to take my makeup off (put on something slinky...just in case)...when I raise my arms to pull my hair back I notice my arms. 6 months ago they jiggled and were a bit flabby. Tonight I notice just how toned they had gotten since I started working out and lost a few pounds. I ran into the kitchen (a big feat after a couple of 7/7's) to show my husband.

"Honey, look...(I flex my arms)

He laughs a little bit.
"No really, they aren't flabby anymore. Look there's muscle". Here take a picture".
The first picture looks extremely awkward...and I am sporting a BIG double chin in it (which I DO NOT have anymore).

"Ewww... take another one, I have a double chin there". It's the way I'm holding my head, I swear

.

"Uh, Honey...I'll bet you will have a double chin later on."

"How can you say that"?

"Your Mother had one (God rest her soul - I say to myself) and I'll bet you will too".

"You're an ass Rich Richardson". (then I slink the living room and grab my laptop).

"Honey, you're very toned...you look great....." he calls from the kitchen....

He's adorable, incredibly handsome, makes me laugh til I cry....
But he's still an ass (and I say that in the most loving way)!