Friday, August 28, 2015

Preparing for a Deployment Homecoming

A while back, I came across a list of 35 things we military spouses all do before homecoming. A group of military spouse writers put together this list. Here are a few of my favorites:


The laundry. 

Clean the house from top to bottom, five times. Who can sleep right now anyway?

Make a futile attempt to lose 25 pounds, in four days.

Mourn the upcoming loss of the DVR.

Begin the process of keeping expectations in check. Being realistic about how things will go after homecoming is an important part of the reintegration process.

Buy a new battery for the car you forgot to start for six months.

Tell yourself that the homecoming time will change, but still get disappointed when it's 46 hours after you anticipated.

Obsess over an outfit and shoes.

Clean out the fast food wrappers from the car. Nope. I ate all organic the whole time you were gone. Promise.

Make space for all the "green" stuff again. All. that. Gear. that will soon take over the bonus room. 

Calmly rehearse your story of why there is a dent in the car, a brand-new dining table, and new fish for pets. 

Change your outfit. Again. Change shoes. Again. Re-style hair. Again. 

Wait. Pace. Stare, hoping the clock will speed up. Bite off freshly manicured nails. Cry one last time as the kids decide to throw a temper tantrum. Consider joining them in said tantrum.

Shave your legs, again. Because the homecoming time changed THAT much.

Worry that your spouse is changed, or that you had changed. But get ready to fall in love all over again.

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