Sad Day and Lots of Changes

On Sunday we took Thomas to the airport.  It was the day I had been dreading for months.  And, it was probably even worse then I had imagined.  Last year when he went to Hawaii, it was hard to say goodbye, but this felt different.  I was physically ill all day and still get a little queasy when I think about his being gone for 9 months.  Three months didn't seem so bad, it was just a season.  280 days seems like a lot.  He is going to miss Anna and Jack's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, our Anniversary, Christmas, New Year's and Kara's Birthday.  It's almost overwhelming to think about.  I know lots of people do this.   And, I know lots of people do it repeatedly, but this is a first for us, at least for this amount of time.

The kids are doing well with his being gone so far.  Since Thomas is in the states for training this week, we have been in constant communication and he has even Skyped with them in the evenings to read bedtime stories.  He leaves the country on Saturday and we are anxious to see what things will be like after that.  We have a lot ahead of us: we are selling this house and close on September 28th, then we are homeless until October 23rd, when we close on the new house.

On a completely unrelated note, the kids all started preschool.  I am a terrible mother, who didn't think to take any pictures (but, I will on the first day of Kindergarten--I promise!), but so far so good.  The twins go 4 days a week and Kara is there for 2.  Jack was 5/5 on getting sent to the "thinking chair," but today managed to break his streak and actually behave.  I think they are all getting something out of it, Anna has been interested in reading for a while and knows all the letters and what sounds they make.  She likes to play a "game" where we give her a word and she tells us what letter it starts with.  Jack  has shown no interest.  Today, he was getting a bib out of the drawer (something they only do on a spaghetti night), and said bib, b, b, b, bib.  Bib starts with a "b" Mommy.   I am glad that they are enjoying it and learning.