National Training Center

Sometimes the common Army phrase, "Even when they're home, they're not home," feels a little too true. When Tim started work at Ft. Bliss he spent the first month "in the field" and was only able to come on weekend. Following that training he was sent to the National Training Center (NTC) in California to prepare for the units month long deployment later in the summer. When he returned, he was home for a week and then sent back to NTC for an additional two weeks. And yesterday, he left again for NTC and will be gone until the end of August. Once he gets back from that training they'll have a short break before more weeks away from home ensue--gunnery at Bliss, ATX training at Rucker, high altitude training at Bliss or Carson, followed by a nine month deployment. Pretty exhausting, for him mostly, but for me too. It's times like these that a normal civilian job seems extremely appealing! I know it's all for the good of the country and the safety of my soldier, but I sure miss him here at home. 

While at NTC, Tim's battalion will practice their deployment mission for when they head to Afghanistan. They will once again be stationed along the Pakistan border (as of now). Tim will get the chance lead his soldiers in pretend missions, complete with mock Afghanis and villages. Despite being away from home, Tim is excited for this opportunity. 

One of my friends hosted a birthday party for her daughter last night and all the women were present without their hubbies. It was sad to see the effect of this absence on their children, and it made me grateful that baby girl won't be old enough to realize when her daddy leaves, at least this deployment. Our friend's little boy kept crying, "I want Daddy," into his mom's chest and it just broke my heart. One of my friends has a two year old and she explained that bedtime would be difficult when her little girl noticed her dad wasn't coming home. Another mom talked about having to celebrate their soon-to-be one year old's birthday early since his dad would miss the big day. I cannot imagine how hard all that is on the moms, although I will soon know the challenge. 

Here's to hoping this month zooms by!

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