Sydney and I had been waiting for a month and now he is finally home! Tuesday night Jason came home from a month of training and school in Kentucky at Ft. Knox. He wasn't suppose to be home until Wednesday but they allowed all the soldiers to leave Tuesday after graduation and thankfully he was able to get a flight home that night. The best part was since he was still in uniform they upgraded his seat to First Class. He took every advantage of the free meals, free drinks, warm washcloths, and cookies and milk. The flight was scheduled to arrive just after 8pm but due to all the storms he didn't arrive until after 10pm. I really wanted Sydney to see Jason come home but I am thankful she fell asleep in the car because we waited for over an hour at the airport for him and even longer for his baggage because a lot of the flights were backed up. It was complete chaos Tuesday night at the airport.
The month of June, Sydney spent a lot of time with Mom and Dad, Brandon, Kristine and the kids, Ashley, Jeff and the kids, and Megan, Heath and
Corgan. Aunt Norma came down to play with Sydney and Sydney was able to see Aunt Kay at Logan's baseball game when she spent time at Ashley's. Amy kept Sydney the first week Jason was gone because she was recovering from strep throat and I didn't want any of the her little cousins to get sick. She also let my dogs out on days that I worked and that was such a relief for me. We really were blessed to have so many people checking on us and willing and offering to help us with Sydney when Jason was away. I cannot emphasize how much it means to not only me but Jason when family and friends call, email, or text just to check in on Sydney and myself when he was away.
When Jason was in Iraq it was so stressful for me as a mom and wife, literally my hair was falling out in clumps and I found a "friend" in
lexapro for a period of time. Something about knowing your husband is not in the most safe area and not being able to pick up a phone and call him at your convenience really did not work well for me. And then the everyday stresses of working long hours and raising a daughter with my parents more than a few miles away didn't help. But this time it was completely different. Sydney is a daddy's girl and when Jason was in Kentucky we were able to do things just as Mommy and Daughter. As much as we both missed Jason, I really did enjoy doing things with just the two of us. We never do that with him home because we always do activities and outings as a family as much as we are able to. It was so funny last night when I came home from work and Sydney was completely ignoring me. She is all about her Daddy right now. I even asked her if she wanted Mac and Cheese with her dinner and she sat there, didn't even look in my direction and said, "Daddy, will you tell Mommy "Yes" for me." She has him wrapped around his finger and it is precious. Jason and I are by far not perfect parents or people, but I honestly don't think I could have dreamed of a better father for my daughter.
Towards the end of the month, my energy level declined drastically and I felt some days I was running on fumes but we made it. I have so much respect for single parents. There really is no "break" for them. I had the end of the month to look forward to Jason returning and start carrying some of the load of everyday things that have to be done. Single parents don't and they have to be so strong all the time. There are friends and family but not everyone is reliable and truly caring. Ultimately the main responsibility lies upon the parent. I don't know how they do it day in and day out. I only have one child and was getting exhausted, I couldn't imagine having more than one with Jason away.
I am so glad my Dad can do anything and fix anything. Every time Jason leaves, something breaks. When he was deployed our A/C went out the first week, and it was summer. This time around our water heater started leaking, I had a flat tire with a huge nail in it, my car didn't start one morning and that same day I walked out for work and the door trim and glass screen door were literally hanging off my house. And my dogs busted out of fence. My dad fixed everything except for the car because it has something to do with the push start button. Sydney has the world's best dad, but so do I. And mom, in case you are actually reading this not just skimming for pictures, you are just as awesome. :)
Jason, we are so glad you are back home.
