Saying "See You Later" One Year Ago...

A year ago on June 4, 2016, Parker left for his very first deployment. I tried to stay fairly vague while he was gone, so I never blogged about the details of our goodbye or the date he left. It's been a year, but I still remember that day so vividly and thought it would be neat to write it all out. It's funny, I can't remember what I ate for dinner yesterday, but you just don't forget the day you say that dreaded "see you later".

June 4th was a Saturday, and we were told he had to be at the squadron around 10 AM. We woke up, took some pictures, and I told him how proud I was of him and cried in our kitchen as we hugged. I knew I was going to cry that day, so I wanted to have a little moment just the two of us and hopefully avoid breaking down in front of everyone later.

We got to the squadron, and instead of dropping him off and leaving, I walked in with him. Parker told me I could wait around and watch him fly off. I'll take whatever time I can get! We walked into the squadron building, and it was... empty. There was no one in sight. Apparently, Parker mixed up the times and we got there 2-3 hours earlier than we needed to. Fine by us- we bolted out of there and headed back home.

We watched an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (the show we had been binge watching at the time), and snuggled on the couch with Jenny. You might think that this was extra time to stare longingly into each other's eyes and have deep, meaningful conversations, but if your husband has deployed, you know that's not really the case. You just want to rip the bandaid. The hours leading up to their departure are just sad, and there's really no way around that.

We stopped at Wendy's for lunch, which ended up being Parker's last meal in America! We got to the squadron, and it was filled with men and women in uniform busily running around and families standing in the background. I hung with my friend Karly and watched Parker brief the flight and get ready. We all walked out into the hangar, and it was go time. We kept it short and sweet: a big hug, a last kiss, and twenty "I love you's" before he was walking to the plane.

I watched Parker get in the plane and take off into the sky. It's a pretty surreal, indescribable feeling. My whole world was on that plane, and all you want in that moment is to know they are going to stay safe. I waited until the plane was out of sight, walked to my car, and went home alone. Day one of deployment was officially underway.

As for the rest of the day? I ate cake for dinner. That's what stands out the most. I had a giant piece of cake for dinner, something I recommend every spouse do on day one of deployment.

Saying goodbye is never fun, but I know how blessed I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!