Wednesday, November 17, 2010

8 MONTHS DOWN!! (35 Weeks)

DAY 246

8 MONTHS DOWN!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I just cant believe we've made it this far!! This is a VERY good day! Woot Woot!! I went to the movies with a friend last weekend and had to supress my squeals when each preview said it would be out. "Joe will be home when that movie comes out!" "Too bad I Joe wont go to that girly movie with me, but he will be home then!" But I had to supress my joy because the girl I was with just sent her husband to yet another deployment. And I have been there. No need to rub it in her face. I was there, with my husband at my side 9 months ago, watching the previews in agony knowing Joe wouldnt be here for so many months. I know how awful those dates look plastered across that huge screen.

I wanna give a quick shout out to my new readers. 130. Not too shabby. I never imagined anyone but my friend Lucy would read anything I wrote here. Thank you for all of the amazing comments. This has become a very large coping mechanism for me. The week count ups keep me going. And I so appriciate your comments, every single one of them.

And I want to thank everyone that ordered from my Scentsy party. It was a HUGE hit!! I hope you all enjoy your Scentsy as much as I do! And just for the heck of it, I'm gonna link Patty/Mommytaco's Scentsy page HERE again. I dont have a party open, but she is an amazing consultant and you should check her page out. If you are new to Scentsy and want to add to your stash, I suggest you host a party with her.

Joe and I are making plans, not just for redeployment, but for our future. I LOVE making plans with this man. We *might* even have a house lined up when he ETSs. It's just about too good to be true, so I'm not betting on it working out. But oh my goodness, it would be AWESOME!! So we are really concentrating on our future, and that involves saving all our pennies. The only real debt we have is Joe's car. And we just made a huge payment on that. I am so excited to see the number get smaller and smaller. Neither of us have credit cards, something my mother warned me about since I was an adolescent. Credit cards are tricky things. And I know I am not fantastic with money so I just dont have one. If we want something, we save up for it and then go buy it. So when we needed another car, and neither of us had any credit we needed co-signers. So looking down the road at a house and a family, we are saving for a massive down payment so we can have a bright future. And then graduate school comes into the picture. I need a masters. And that requires money. So we are doing our best to pay it off on a kinda crazy payment plan. Thankfully the school is very flexable with their payment plans. So fingers crossed, I can get out of school without any debt.

And Joe has sworn off tobacco products forever. When he told me this the other night I wanted to cry. My family has a very sad history of loosing our men too young to self-inflicted cancers. My father was only 26 when he buried his father. I am 26 years old. And the idea of loosing my father is unimaginable. So when I think about having kids with a man that occasionally smokes, I think about my father and his dad. And my mother's grandpa. And my mother's father. It's not a great family history. But it's preventable!! And I will be as supportive as possible to help my husband be stronger than the addiction of tobacco. He smoked a lot when we were younger. I always told him I wouldn't marry a smoker, and for the most part, he quit. It's a VERY expensive habit, and we didn't want to have to budget for that habit. But I knew he smoked at work. And I was SO afraid he would start back up while he was deployed. EVERYONE told me their husbands smoked downrange. I never said anything to Joe about his smoking in Iraq. If he needed to do it to relieve stress/fit in/be one of the guys/etc, I wasn't going to give him a guilt trip about it. But after a conversation about his biological family history, he volunteered that he wanted to be healthier so he didn't die before he was 50. AND that he hadn't smoked anything in over a month! I was so proud and impressed. After R&R, he went back to Iraq on a mission, a PT mission. He hadn't done PT since he deployed and there was a PT test coming up soon. And he knows he does much better when he's not smoking. Lung capacity is a big deal!

And we want to be healthier. I need to have a baby ready body very soon. We want to raise our kids in a healthier manner. So we need to get healthy too.

Okay, I'm gonna say something that *may* offend some people. I am sorry. But it has to be said. As many know, I work at the Education Center. And at least once a day a spouse comes in our office looking for financial aid. And I tell them about MyCAA if it applies now and the FAFSA and transferring your Soldier's GI Bill. Many ask about tuition assistance for spouses. Nope. Only for Active Duty service members. But then I apologize that there isn't much else out there. And many smile and nod and walk out. But some get angry. "That's it?" they will say. Yep, that's it. So it got me thinking. If there was money out there, I would most definitely use it. I'm not going to snub my nose up at any assistance for school. But do I feel entitled to money for school just because my husband is in the Army? Of course not. I know we all, as spouses, sacrifice a lot for our husband's career. And we get some good perks, that I too enjoy. But to come to a Education Center and demand money for something your husband does seems inappropriate to me. I am putting myself through a Masters program right now. I have a job. I work. I go to class. There isn't any military funded money out there for a person like me. So instead of complaining to some woman behind a desk, I work. And I go to school. And I save my pennies so I can afford my Masters. Want tuition assistance? Want a GI Bill? Want to feel entitled to military funded college money? Join the fucking ARMY!! So please, think before you speak. That is all.

From the book I'm currently reading, Eat Pray Love: "People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

6 comments:

Expat Girl said...

Ahh I do that too with the new Movie previews!!

Anonymous said...

Amen regarding your comment about funding for spouse education!

Anonymous said...

woohoooo!!! 8 months!
we just hit day 301 on my end. the end is IN SIGHT!

Renee said...

wooohooo for 8 Months down!! I hop the remainder goes by so fast for you guys! Congratulations on your Joe for giving up smoking! It's a hard decision but even harder to go through with - especially when he's deployed!
I wish you all the best of luck in your planning!

Field of Dreams said...

That's great you've come this far...just a little more to go:)

*I'm also reading that book:)*

Nina said...

It is always a highlight of my week to read your posts! I have been a slacker this week - thanks to a business trip to Austin; heading home tomorrow.
Anyways, I am there with you what comes to spouse's education. The tuition assistance is the money primarily for the service member's schooling, and if a family decides to share/transfer/ whatever the money, so be it. However, being a spouse of a service member is not a meal ticket to the education ..... and I know, some people probably will get offended....

Good luck with your studies and work!