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Man.
That's a long ways away.
I lived that "far away" from my family for a couple of years. Then I started my own family.
I went overseas with the clothing the Air Force issued me, a couple of civilian outfits (think jeans and t-shirts) and not much else. I came back to New England with a wife and a son.
A long time ago.
Yeah, feeling a bit maudlin today.
Late last night I got a text message, "Boarded, flight is on time."
I slept through that message as it was in the wee hours.
When I got up to get ready for my annual physical, I saw the message. Went to Flight Aware to check on The Missus Herself's flight, she and her two sisters were well out over the Pacific with quite a long way to fly.
The day passed, I wondered how she was doing. Then in the afternoon I got another text. 'Landed. Thank you for this. Love you."
Damn it. I wasn't going to let it bother me, but I don't like being separated from her for very long. Sure, with the kids spread all over hell and gone, we've spent a couple of weeks apart here and there. But this feels different.
This feels like the first few months of our marriage. Me on Okinawa, her in Korea.
Yeah, hated it.
I know that two months ain't that long.
But right now it feels pretty damn long.
I need to go see some grandkids or something.
Damn.
It gets lonely at night.
I'll get through this.
Somehow, probably with a little help from my friends.
Breakfast anyone?
Now I get this song. I think I did before, but now I really do.
Be back tomorrow, hopefully in a better mood.
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| Hat tip to Scott R. |
"First time?"
Well, just think of a trip like this happening BEFORE texts and Flight Aware Sarge, that time wasn't all that long ago. Any military figures need painting? Any yardwork needed afore the Cold Season arrives? Grandkids need supervising as you mentioned. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteOh I have plenty to do, doesn't make me miss her any less.
DeleteYou could sneak off, and visit the grandkids.
ReplyDeleteThat is part of the plan.
DeleteThere, I sang the harmony parts for you!
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteI hear you friend. Military service kept me time zones away from my family for years. Just those few hours I had to leave my wife in ICU so I could sleep a bit was lonely enough. Happily, she's not there this morning.
ReplyDeleteThis too will pass buddy. Keep a routine like we did in the military and time passes and you get her back home soon enough.
One gets used to it I suppose.
DeleteI hear you, 100%. Not only are you out of practice, no doubt you two are much, much closer than you were as newlyweds.
ReplyDeleteI empathize. Currently 3 months into a 4 month trip away. This is the longest I've been apart from my wife in about 20 years. Used to be OK, now it's not. I still go away a month at a time, normally, but 4, no.
Only suggestions I can add are to do what others are saying. Visit, knock out projects that you now don't have to finish in a single day.
Go ahead and leave your screw gun on the counter. Watch TV in your underwear (I might suggest The Witcher as good underwear TV watchin') and eat ice cream straight out of the tub it came in. Leave your spoon in it when you close it up so it'll be handy when you have more.
Save time, be efficient. Leave the seat up if you guys're seat down people.
My one act of defiance is leaving the placemat on the table rather than put it away when done. I am such a rebel!
DeleteAs to the toilet seat, I'm firmly in the "secure all hatches" category. The Missus Herself leaves the lid up for ventilation. Easier to keep clean when ventilated, she says. Easier to clean? Leave those hatches open boys!
Following the continuing saga of your house in Brazil with great interest. Where do you get that kind of patience?
I’m nearly halfway through a one month separation (I know, amateur hour) but I am doing a lot of those things: the placemat on the table; strolling round the house in underpants; preparing a meal and eating it straight from the pan; leaving tools for jobs around the place. I thought I was being uniquely slobbish!
DeleteIt's what we do in the wild. 🤣
DeleteSarge, this is something that I have had to revisit after 30+ years of marriage over the last 1.5 years - I think that of the last 18 months, we may have been together 3 months spread throughout.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, my biggest challenge is not boredom or the general chores of living, but rather my diet. It tends to become very narrow when I alone as I hate taking the time cook - not a bad diet, just a very narrow one.
My old boss says that I am going to turn into an English muffin. They are like a staple of my diet when The Missus Herself is out of town. Amazing what you can do with an English muffin ...
Delete"That's not a pizza, that's an English muffin with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and pepperoni on top."
[Said while chewing ...] "Pizza."
You can do the same with bagels or French bread. You're alone for 2 months, try experimenting!
DeleteBeen there, done that.
DeleteFrench bread pizza is quite nice
DeleteI enjoy it.
DeleteSarge- Is your former work friend breakfast a weekly deal? I know you enjoy those.
ReplyDelete19 hours is a LONG time to be stuck on a plane. But, a great way to get somewhere far away.
JB
Breakfast is, in theory, once a month. Sometimes a longer interval, but I'm thinking of proposing a higher frequency. But the others have lives and jobs, so ...
DeleteNineteen hours is a long flight, but it beats boarding a ship on the West Coast and heading that way. (Though I have a lot of love for long sea voyages on comfortable, read non-US Navy, ships.)
Sarge,
ReplyDeleteHang in there! Take the following as a small bit of humor with regard to your situation. Back in the Day when you and I were in F-4's, I had to learn the Out of Control Boldface Emergency Procedures, verbatim! Still remember them 47 years later. While your situation is not flying related, it sounds like they might be helpful in your situation, (if you squint while reading them) So....
1. Stick...................................Forward
2. Aileron and Rudder.............Neutral
3. If not recovered..................Maintain Full Forward Stick and deploy Drag Chute
4. Land as soon as conditions permit
So, in a difficult situation, not necessarily in a Phantom, the Procedures in regular English are:
1. Relax, sometimes situations fix themselves. Give it a minute or two. (or a month or two)
2. Don't do anything which will exacerbate the situation.
3. If the situation hasn't improved, take the action which has the best chance for success and the least chance for worsening the situation.
4. Cook yourself a English Muffin with Mozzarella, tomato sauce and pepperoni on top whenever you feel like it. (And maybe an adult recreational beverage. Sometimes it takes two.)
juvat
Hang in there, my Friend, you'll get by.
juvat
It's really the first day it struck me that she's going to be gone a while. I'll recover from this. I have no desire to tie the low altitude record, either in an aircraft or emotionally. So I've got that going for me. 😉
DeleteThere is a thing, apparently, amongst widowers that basically said widower 'loses' IQ points so things that were easy are now hard to do or comprehend. It's a form of depression.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you may have something similar going on. Get some fresh air and sunshine, change up a routine, do something positive and it will help. Not greatly because it will take about 10 seconds after she deplanes back in your AOA for the depression to lift.
Hang in there. It gets better. And there's always Napoleonic era war games.
Speaking of which, vis-à-vis your last ...
DeleteHow on Earth did you know what I'm posting on Thursday?
Seriously Beans, you should play the lottery.