The good things about a deployment

Yep, you read that right.

There are, surprisingly, some good things about my husband leaving for 7 months.  So, in an effort to focus on the positive, here they are, in no particular order:

1.  I get an entire king-size waterbed to MYSELF. 
      Well, not completely, as I usually have 2 out of 3 furbabies in bed with me.  Nevertheless, I have it all to myself.  I don't have to worry about being pinned to one side of the bed.  I can lay smack in the middle, and stay that way all night. Plus, I don't have to listen to someone snoring half the night away, or dodge swinging elbows that make me see stars at 2 AM.....

This is seriously how this dog sleeps.  All the time!

2.  I lose weight.  
      Now, I haven't quite figured out if its weight loss because of stress, or because my husband isn't around.  For those that know Randy, he eats a LOT.  And yet he still manages to remain the same weight.  I envy him.  When he's around, if he eats something, I have a couple bites too.  When he's deployed, I maybe have a baked potato for dinner, or some chicken fingers.  Last deployment, I lost close to 20 pounds.  I'm hoping to come close to that this time around too.  

3.  I can watch CNN all the time and nobody will whine about how boring it is.  
     You all know I am a news junkie.  There's just no way around it.  I am constantly watching, reading, listening to something that has to do with the news or politics.  I just love it!!  Unfortunately, Randy does NOT.  He has been kind enough to learn to tolerate it as long as possible (I think he makes it through about half of the State of the Union address now).  But there are times when it is just too much for him to handle.  With him around less, my TV is on CNN and MSNBC practically 24 hours a day.... except when I'm watching Teen Mom.  It's my guilty pleasure.


4.My grocery bill drops dramatically.
     This goes right along with how much Randy eats.  When he was home over leave, we spent about $150 a week on groceries.  When its just me, I spend $50 every two weeks.  Which means I will be saving lots of money to buy new Coach!!!

 

 

 

I seriously NEED this jacket- isn't it amazing?!

5.  I get plenty of "me time". 
     Probably a little too much time by myself, but I really don't mind it.  I am independent and stubborn, and I need the peace and quiet every once in a while.  I need to come home from work and decompress, read a book, and just veg out.

6.  I learn to appreciate my husband all over again.
     I think that's pretty self explanatory.  The most important thing deployments have taught me is that you can't take your partner for granted.  We can't get used to constantly having our husband there, because chances are, he's got one foot out the door on the way to a field exercise, a mess night, or a He-Man woman hater's club meeting... hehe.  So the time that we do get to spend together is that much more important, and the things that he does for me and helps me with become that much more meaningful.  Even something as mundane and basic as feeding the dog and taking out the trash are so helpful, and something as simple as watching the entire series of Friends becomes valuable time together.

7.  I get to reconnect with friends and family that I've neglected during the pre-deployment workup. I also get to strengthen my friendships with my fellow military wives.
     Right before a deployment, we pretty much shut down from the world, and try to spend as much time together as possible.  While that is great for us, it sucks for my friends and family who pretty much have a communication black-out from me.  Or at least I feel that way.  I apologize to those that I might have neglected- I have the next 7 months to make it up to you!  That also means that I get to visit- I already have trips planned- I'm most excited about my Easter trip to California! ;) 


8.  I don't have to cook every night!
      While I consider myself to be a good cook, I don't particularly enjoy it.  So a deployment gives me a welcome break from that.  If it comes in a bag and can be stored in the freezer, that's pretty much what I'm eating during deployments!  Chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, a piece of fruit... if its simple and easy, I love it!


I'm sure there are positives that I am forgetting, but I don't want my poor husband to think I actually enjoy him being gone.  ;)  Today though, I just refuse to dwell on the negatives.  During a deployment, you just have to embrace the good things.  Sometimes it's hard to find them, but I promise, good things are there!  And besides- each day just brings us closer to homecoming.... which is really the best positive of them all!!