Jenn

Hey there.
When did you tell Nikolai about the deployment? Have you heard from others? I don't know when to tell DD1. DD2 will have no clue what is going on during the entire experience but DD1 is another story. She still "remembers" the last deployment in the sense that she remembers Daddy had to go on a long trip and we lived with my parents. He leaves mid-January and I'm struggling. . .I know I have plenty of time but I keep wondering do I tell her before Christmas? after Christmas? This just sucks. Royally sucks.

Hope you guys are enjoying the return to normalcy. It will be but a faint memory one day but I think the scars will remain for a long time! I still can't see a military reunion at the airport without having to leave.

[DCJenn]

Re: Jenn

Oh lord, I so feel your pain. I can't even begin to fathom the suckitude again. I can't even be semi-polite when people ask about it. ("It sucked ass" is the usual response)

I think we began preparing Nikolai a few weeks out. I bought some books on deployment from Amazon and I started to read those to him and I got the Elmo dvd which helped immensely. We all three watched it together and told him that his daddy was going to have to go away like Elmo's daddy did. Nikolai then refused to watch the Elmo video the entire time Rick was gone.

I had a pillow made w/ Rick's picture and a friend of the family sent a quilt w/ his pictures all over it (it got here about 1/2 way through the deployment) and I had a pillow made for Rick w/ Nikolai's picture and they made a big deal about Rick packing his in his bag and Nikolai putting his on his bed.

I didn't really start the heavy duty preparations until I had to explain Rick's giant piles of crap in the office. I guess it was probably three weeks out that we had the heavy duty conversations and then we talked about it every day until he left. (and then we had that week when he came home which totally messed us up)

UGH. I'm so sorry that you have to deal w/ this (again).

Jenn

Re: Jenn

Hey there.
Can you tell that I've been avoiding this post? I have been the queen of denial. . .except at 11pm every night when I can't fall asleep. We're 4 weeks away from "the" day. I still can't believe this is really happening. We haven't told DD1 yet. I think both of us are dreading that moment so we keep pushing it back so that "she can finish preschool for the winter. . .she can have a happy Christmas. . .etc etc."

[DCJenn]

Re: Jenn

I was wondering how you've been fairing. Yuck. I can't even wrap my head around a second deployment.

There's not one thing I can say to help other than that I totally know your pain. I don't know that they REALLY need to know all that much in front of the deployment. Time is such a bizarre concept for little kids anyway.

Jenn

(we just got a Christmas card from a peds friend from USUHS and residency and her husband (anesthesiology) is on his 4th AF deployment. He's in Afghanistan this time)