Here is my quickie catch-up for the past 4 months. Warning! November and December are rather depressing. Read with wine and anti-depressants nearby.
November:
I kept busy with school, grading, students, etc. I dreaded the thought of Thanksgiving without Ken here and me having to do family rounds without him. As a result, I went into major hiding from the week before Thanksgiving until January 1. I basically just didn't want to deal with the holidays and since the major ones start in November, I was almost inaccessible for two months. Another reason for not posting much since then. Work and helping my friend Lynn with house remodeling projects was about all I could manage.
December:
December was worse than November with all the wonderful snow and holiday spirit being thrown around by all. I just couldn't get into it all and didn't even want to try. Once the semester was over and final grades were turned in, I resumed being in hiding for the majority of break. This was a really tough time for me. Trying to deal with Christmas without Ken was a nightmare, and though friends and family tried to reach out for support, it was difficult for me to accept help. I decided that if I ever have to spend any future winter holidays without Ken, I am going far far far away from home. It's too hard to deal with the memories and loneliness at home. I don't know how others manage to do it after a spouse is gone. The best thing about Christmas was when Ken Skyped me from overseas on Xmas. I was able to see him for the first time in about 6 months, and I got to watch him open the box of presents I sent him. That was the best gift I could have ever received. Seriously, I'm getting teary now just remembering it. It was one of the brightest spots in several weeks of feeling terribly sad.
January:
Once the last family Christmas gathering was done, I felt an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders. I awoke that day with renewed energy and a sense of being ok. I've never felt such a sense of exhaustion being swept away. Amazing what a calendar change can do to a person. Though school was about to start again, I had Ken's two-week leave visit to look forward to. He was home and we had a wonderful time together. It was just like before he left, wonderful. We spent time at home, with family, and then traveled to Wisconsin to see friends. We also took a trip to Branson to get away. The time went by far too quickly, and before we knew it, he had to return.
February:
Thank goodness for short months. I've been keeping busy with work, sewing, and knitting. The last two are my two hobbies that I picked up at the start of this year. So far, I'm loving them, and am working on quilting, which is something I've wanted to learn how to do for a very long time. It's a slow-going process when there is so much other work to do on the weekends, but I've been trying to make time for myself.
March...?
March begins tomorrow. Only 2 weeks left until Spring Break. Boy, am I ready for it. I'm feeling better, but have reached the point where I just want this deployment to be over. I need life to get back to "normal" or at least for us to figure out what "normal" actually means. For starters, I'll try to be better about posting. :-)
