Okay, I'm sad
The cards, the GIFTS coming in, the holiday season, ...you name it! I was ready! christmas eve came.... Went to church, and goodness knows they had to have the most depressing sermon about deployed spouses being away from family and overcoming hard times on a day that is wonderful. I did my best not to lose it because I didn't want to look like a goofball! Then I came home and couldn't sleep.  I was so sad thinking about opening up gifts tomorrow w/o Mr. J. What kept me going is knowing I'd hear from him any time now... Got up at 3 a.m. to shower, so I wouldn't miss his phone call.
Time passed, and I had to go to dinner at my friend's house. All the wives said they didn't hear from their husbands either. Then the physician's assistant's wife came over and said her husband said they cut off all the lines of communication Christmas eve because another soldier died. They don't want the name to get out before their family is contacted. Well, it's hard to find where someone is staying over the holidays... I don't think anyone else knows this (I just happened to know someone "in the know"), so I imagine there are 100+ families just wondering what is going on... why didn't daddy call for christmas? Not to mention, there are a lot of soldiers depressed that they didn't get to talk to any family members. It's now Wednesday (duh!), and we still haven't heard from our husbands.... 
So I'm just sad.. waiting stinks. Wondering who this person was is driving me crazy too. I know it wasn't Mr. J because the husband who told his wife said he didn't know this soldier (and he is friends with Mr. J), but that doesn't mean "I" don't know him. I have 3 neighbors who have husbands there, and I keep looking out my window to see if a military car is parked outside to notify them. |
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| I'm so sorry both for the fallen soldier and all the other soldiers and for all of you waiting at home. My thoughts and prayers are with you all |
| Oh I'm so sorry .... that must be so hard not hearing from him through the holidays... and I know you must be wanting to share all the stories about Lil J's xmas....
I hope you hear from him soon *hugs* |
| Oh L, im so sorry....hugs to you and lil J...chin up...things will get better, I promise!
xo, |
| I'm sorry! That's no fun at all. I'm sure you'll hear from him soon and then it'll be just like Christmas again...
Is your church mostly military? If it is, it seems odd that a priest would bring up such a potentially depressing topic on such a potentially depressing day... |
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Stay strong J, you have too Hope Mr.J can call soon, it must be so hard on them as well as the families at home. |
I am so sorry Leanne....what a crappy way to spend Christmas. Hopefully you will hear from Mr. J soon. What the heck was wrong with your priest/minister talking like that...geesh no wonder people stop going to church.
I think about you and Lil J and Mr. J every day. |
| Our church has a lot of military families but not "mostly." I think his point was to give us comfort, and the message was really good, just very depressing considering we were all sitting there w/o our husbands next to us. I saw so many people cry. I think it was a happy sad cry (if that makes sense). I had to just stare at my feet. Seeing anyone's face give me the "we're proud of you, it's okay" look would have made me fall to pieces. We're all very proud. Many of the wives are 18-21 w/children, so they had to take it the hardest.
My friend (Mormon) said their sermon was pretty much the same. It's her first deployment and time away from her husband (hs sweetheart), so I'm just trying not to show tears in front of others! I'm a HUGE SAP and CRIER too so it's hard. lol |
| I remember those days L and it is not easy. Big Hugs and lots of Prayers to you. |
| Leanne I'm so sorry - I can't even imagine how tough it must be. I'm sending big virtual hugs your way!! |
| Thoughts and prayers are with you, Mr. J and lil J always, Jo. Hopefully Mr. J can call soon.
Don't ever apologize for being a sap and a crier. I am, too! Sometimes, you just HAVE to.  |
| Leanne, I didn't know your husband was deployed. Where is he?
My husband is Norm. He works in Iraq on a base to the west of Baghdad. I fear from your note your husband is to the south of Baghdad.. My neighbor's husband took a job over there too and he is at a base that is almost constantly barraged with incoming. Fortunately Norm's base isn't. I know it's hard. No one know's what its like unless they go through it themselves. I swore last year i would not spend this year alone. But the weather here in Colorado sure played that scenario out wrong........ as here i sit, and we have another 2 feet expected tonight. Hang in there, and if you need to talk, i'm here. Norm has been either deployed with the Marines, or working as a Civilian overseas's almost all of our married life over the holidays. Ali & the Crew here |
| Leanne accept my sympathy and prayers that you hear from him very soon. |
| Thanks guys. It's thurs in iraq, so hopefully people will start getting phone calls. My girl friend just called to see if I had gotten a phone call yet (because she hasn't).
Ali, well... I had no idea your husband was in Iraq! I'm glad to hear Norm is in a safer place. My husband says they are at a FOB that is peaceful. the problem is he and others are constantly on missions. The places they go aren't peaceful and it's the "traveling" back and forth that is putting them in the most danger. Sorry to hear about your Christmas! That is sad. I feel more bad for our husbands... Hopefully both of them continue to stay safe! When will your husband come home? |
| Oh boy. Ali, I guess we may be in the same boat. We just had a warning for a blizzard appear at the top of our screen. (i'm excited about it though since i don't have to go anywhere tomorrow) |
| (((BIG HUGS))) Deployments are the worst around the holidays. |
| i'll second taht. however this year didn't seem as bad as last year's. Last year was the pitts.
Ali |
| Lots of hugs comming your way |
| Leanne-
Thought I would chime in and let you know that you and your husband are in my thoughts and prayers. After 23 years of my husband's active duty service with all the many deployments and separations we lived through I absolutely understand your feelings. Stand tall and proud and never forget that you too are serving your country and we as a nation are very proud of you and our troups. May God Bless you and your family and may he bring your dear husband back home to your waiting arms as soon as possible. Blessings, Martha |
| I missed this last night. I am so sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we build expectations for Christmas that can't be met and then get dissappointed, Add to that you very real and constant fear for Mr. J and I think you deserve a great big old cry!!!
When do swe get to see pics of lil J and his Christmas gifts? 
Ali, I didn't realize your husband was in Iraq too, I'm so sorry 's for you too. |
| Awww...Jo...that really stinks! I am sorry you haven't gotten to hear from Mr. J yet. I sincerely hope you will get to hear from him soon. Like Steph said, it'll be like Christmas all over again!!
You know I pray for you guys every day. 
What day is/was Lil J's birthday? Do we get to see pics of him opening gifts?  |
His b-day was the 16th  My mom is coming up here the 13th of Jan, so we're holding off on the cake. He opened most of his b-day presents for Christmas.
We got an email late last night saying they notified the family of the fallen soldier. They said there are other reasons as well delaying phone calls from Iraq, so we're still playing the waiting game. They also said the guy I said died a few days ago (when I said they were hit by an IED) ...anyway, his birthday was on Christmas |
| I don't know if it helps you any to know, we are all sad with and for you |
| I'm so sorry to hear that you haven't heard from your husband yet. I can't imagine having to worry about him all of the time. I hope he calls soon! And I'm so sorry to hear about one of the soldiers in his unit losing his life too. |
| I hope you hear from your hubby soon. |
| You will hear from him. Just be patient! I know that is hard to hear at times. Believe me, there are times when i am on pins and needles too. Norm calls every Tues. around 1030 am. If something happens and they shut down the phone lines he doesn't get to call. Or if he is tired and goes back to his 'hooch' and falls asleep.........
This said, with the news re Sadam going to get strung up, I imagine that security is getting VERY tight over there about now. Norm chooses to work over there. Cannot say it's where we WANT him to work, but A) there just are not any good paying Warehouse Manager jobs in our area and B) he missed the military and he feels he is working and doing something good. Love the man but sometimes............ Ali |
| Thanks everyone!!! He just called! He only had 10 minutes because they were shutting down the phone lines AGAIN today. Gee, this is a terrible week for the guys there.
He said he had LOTS of packages from OES members, and it made him so happy! He's bringing all the snacks with him on the mission they're heading out on. He said Christmas was just another day there. In a way, it's probably a good thing they are staying busy! I'm so happy now!
9 more months to go!!  |
| Good to hear... did he mention mine? lol |
Yay!!! I'm so happy for you! And him!  |
| I am so glad you got to talk to him. |
Ron wrote: Good to hear... did he mention mine? lol
I'm not sure??? He knows I'll ask what he got and from who, so he just said he needs to get everything together and tell me because he doesn't know off hand. We only talked for 10 min. Lines were being cut off, and he was freezing his toosh off, he said. We spent our time talking about lil J getting his first tooth, and what he is saying/doing now. |
| I just heard it is the muslim holiday Hajj over there. Thousands of pilgrims making their way over so i am sure that is having to do with the phone lines.
I haven't heard from Norm now since Christmas day.. It should be next Tuesday. What kind of things are you guys sending? I'm running out of ideas for Norm and I need to get some new things.......... Ali Oh, and it's snowing again. I mean S N O W I N G again. They say we should have another 2 1/2 ft (yes, FEET) tonight. Then tomorrow afternoon there should be ANOTHER wave with another foot. |
| Oh, I doubt we're sending anything different than you.
In the past (his last tour), the wives and i have sent twin size sheets old navy flannel blanket travel pillow frames and the #1 thing mr. j ALWAYS asks for is office supplies. he is obsessed w/them. flashlight new watch board games office radio weather station thing (tells weather 7 days a week, outside and inside) play station games scrapbooks of entire family mad libs (they insert dirty words w/the guys which makes this super fun) new alarm clock personalized t-shirts w/unit on it to wear off work/at night they have dog tags where you can place someone's picture on it, so i know a lot of wives that have put their kids picture or theres it helped time go by last time by planning a big trip. in our case, our honeymoon. he picked it, and would send me a clue every few days to where it was. i had the entire web (practically) help me find this location. the clues were things like... they advertise for their 250 tc sheets, in a small town, a place he's never been or his family or myself, etc, etc. Was tons of fun, and made several months pass by while I guessed. |
| I am so happy you heard from Mr. J.
Ali I hope Norm can get through to you soon and I hope you can get to spend some time in the sunshine too. You need a trip downunder, we are baking here in the sun.
You ladies are amazing and strong, I could not even imagine what you go through each day. Such a long time being seperated from the other half. How many Jellybeans in the jar now J.? |
| That's why I want to move to Colorado. hehehe
I WANT/LOVE snow.
Although I know you guys are probably tired of it!!! our power went out last night b/c we had a blizzard. we're supposed to get hit again this weekend, but nothing like you guys! |
| it's been 88 days! |
| Lisa, norm and i were supposed to have been there now. Long story as you can guess it didn't happen. I am looking into booking the cruise (or rebooking) for march i think or April. Fiji and Tahiti. 10 days. No phones, no dogs (:? to have to let in or out or sit here whining at me like Delilah is right now to go play in the snow) Norm will go back to Iraq afterwards and i want to go and visit some friends and see NZ and Aus.
We are trying to take 1 major trip elsewhere each year he is gone. The other 2 he comes home and does 'honeydo' lists. This year we met in Paris and took Delilah to Crufts to show her. Next year, 2008, I think we want to go to Egypt to see Pyramids and African Safari. hmm those are some interesting things to send. Different from what i can send Norm. He can have nothing at all that is remotely military related. Nothing cammy colored etc. So, i hunt. Gatorade, he loves hicory farms logs and mustard, he doesn't have a sweet tooth so no candy or cookies. (that makes it hard). I try to send books for him to read. Maybe a new computer game every 3 months. ohhh ohhhhhhhhh, the WIND just hit again. Oh this is going to be a long night!!! Snowing and blowing like mad. |
| The cruise sounds wonderful Ali, if you ever get downunder and to Victoria would love to meet you and make sure the sun is shinning for you.
Met Joy a couple of years ago at a friends wedding in tasmania, ask her next time you talk to her about the Mud Shakes. LOL. I want to know if she still dreams of them, we had a hoot of a time there.
Hope the snow storm is not too bad, I just can't imagine snow falls like that.  |
| Ali & Mrs. J., I really wish you didn't have to go through the sadness and uncertainty that you are going through. Such strong women. You set a good example for everyone. |
| Office supplies? Such as....?
We sent about 20 pounds of snacks... sigh I didn't know he'd prefer Post-Its. |
Ron wrote: Office supplies? Such as....?
We sent about 20 pounds of snacks... sigh I didn't know he'd prefer Post-Its. ME TOO!!!  (but they were good snacks) |
Ron wrote: Office supplies? Such as....?
We sent about 20 pounds of snacks... sigh I didn't know he'd prefer Post-Its. Ron, you crack me up!
I sent mostly snacks, too. Maybe we should've coordinated...LOL. I did include a BUNCH of batteries (AAA & AA), some magazines, and a few other miscellaneous items. I have to say, office supplies never crossed my mind.
So, for round two, he'd like to have something from the office depot catalog? |
Ron, I didn't know you sent him a package!  Thanks!
I was just naming the not-so-typical stuff for Ali!!! I knew naming pretzels, batteries, camera, and ho-ho's were things she already thought of!
Lots of the wives forget about office supplies. The soldiers are always having to fight over the few things they have, so USUALLY have to do without it!!! Mr. J isn't the type to grab for something first. He would rather have one of his soldiers put the notebook, etc into use. That was all stuff I sent him on his first tour! His first tour is totally different than this one. His last tour had a nice dining facility, Subway, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. Where he is placed this time in iraq, ...has Iraqi food and MRE's!!! HE WANTED/NEEDED SNACKS!!!!!!!! VERY much appreciated!!! I'd easily say on average, the girls sent the guys snacks for their Christmas gift and 0 presents. They MISS food. I wish I knew what all he got and from who. He never has enough time to talk. Kind of frustrating considering there is so much that never gets told to him (about lil j's day-to-day things, etc). Thanks everyone |
| I know where your hubbby WAS! lol. Norm was there for a short time.
This last pkg i sent (HUGE moving box) I went to the Dollar store and just filled it. I sent puzzles, silly string, games. I also sent fake garland and cheapo santa hats and glitter glue. I also sent some 'designer' mint yogurt covered dog bones and tennis balls for the Guard dogs. Aparantly the dogs are rewarded with tennis balls.......... The box made it Dec. 26th. Now he just has to find where they are on his base to give them to their handlers/trainers. Oh, those space saver bags are great too. Especially the large ones. When Norm comes home he puts everything in them b4 he locks them up, pillows etc as they help keep the sand out of things. If anyone wants to send Norm cards or something let me know (I know he would appreciate it) and I'll post his address. on another note,............ no sooner had i said 'oh how lucky we've been we havent lost power" BOOM the power outtage hit with that wind that hit. i'm up on a ridge and i get it full force. I'd say we had 40 mph winds with the blowing snow. Having lived here in Colorado off and on since the early 70's I'm pretty much prepared. I knew exactly where my battery powered coleman lanters were! I let the dogs out for their last duty, and came up and crawled under my down comforters and opened my book until i fell asleep. This morning it's not snowing at the moment. We are in between storms. They expect it to start up again in about another hour or so. Another 12 to 18 inches are expected today. Storm isn't expected to be over until Sunday. The Governer of the state has declared us a Disaster and called out the National Guard again. So, I'm going back to sleep guys! Power comingon woke me up.......... Ali That was all stuff I sent him on his first tour! His first tour is totally different than this one. His last tour had a nice dining facility, Subway, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. Where he is placed this time in iraq, ...has Iraqi food and MRE's!!! HE WANTED/NEEDED SNACKS!!!!!!!! VERY much appreciated!!! I'd easily say on average, the girls sent the guys snacks for their Christmas gift and 0 presents. They MISS food. |
| PM me his addy, I'd be glad to send a card |
| OK, Joan and I sent a gazillion different bags of nuts from Trader Joes, some tea bags and some Crystal Light packages that are made the right size for a water bottle, and a few other odds and ends we could squeeze in (maybe some chapstick (not used ) and some mini Altoid tins.
Does it make any sense for us to maybe coordinate this stuff? Maybe we could publish a list of things for certain "units" (is that the right term here?) that are: 1) Needed 2) Desired 3) Craved 4) Not Needed right now 5) Thanks for the thought but... no
Or something like that? Does that make ANY sense? Thanks. |
| Sounds like a good idea, it would be fun to send more packages once the holiday is over!! |
| I think so too. I was planning on sending something once every 4-6 weeks anyway. My last boxes were mostly food, but I did include chapstick, eyedrops, neosporin, cold medicine, cough drops, and I think some Icy Hot.
I like the grading system, Ron. That way, between all of us, we can make sure they get what is most needed. |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: I like the grading system, Ron. That way, between all of us, we can make sure they get what is most needed. We agree Tammy. We are looking forward to sending over more packages after the Holidays. Maybe the fellows could make a wishlist |
zahra wrote: Maybe the fellows could make a wishlist
OHH good idea! |
| Hi,
Our news last week showed one Canadian mom has made it her mission to send troops silly string. Yup, that's right ...silly string..not for playing around but apparently the stuff is amazing for being able to find trip wires. It doesn't set them off and soldiers can see where they are located if they enter a building. The soldiers discovered this themselves and now troops are clamoring for the stuff. This particular mom sent her son cases and then wanted to send it to others. Strange how one thing meant for something else has helped save lives. So that's what I would send. Miss J how you are holding up and we're all here for you. Give that little J a big kiss from me. Ali, hugs to you as well. Marianne |
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