Another Missed Christmas?

I decided to skip last week’s entry, I just had too much on my mind. I guess it’s good, because it means I had so much to write about I wasn’t sure where to start. This week is a culmination of more recent events. I try to remember when I write these that I am not here to complain, but to share stories of the crazy things that happen to us… But this entry may include a little complaining.

We still don’t know where the next assignment will be, but projected move date is some time in January, so they’ve still go time to determine things.

The next projected deployment date for my husband’s squadron was also January. We had planned on him not having to go since it was our estimated move date… Well, on April 7^th, we found out the deployment had been moved up to October. This was really disheartening to hear. There’s a good chance that he’ll have to go for at least part of this deployment, if not all of it.

I was pretty upset not just because they’ll squeeze 1 more deployment out of him, but for several other reasons. This means another missed Christmas. My husband was sent on a trip 3 days before Christmas last year and was deployed for Christmas in 2008. In fact, the only time he’s been home for Christmas is during training classes of sorts like pilot training. It sucks. As much as I hate that term, there’s no other way to describe it. We have a joke that AMC doesn’t stand for Airlift Mobility Command, it stands for Another Missed Christmas. There is a good chance he could get back early and I’m staying hopeful for that.

To add insult to injury, I found all this out right as the government was on the verge of a possible shut down. (Please note, I really don’t want to start a political debate or anything, just sharing the events of those 2 days.) If the government had actually shut down, it would have meant my husband was working for free.

I got an email around 4pm that Friday saying that my husband would most likely not be paid beyond that day, but was expected to report to work on Monday morning. On top of the deployment news, that just felt like a slap in the face. I got multiple emails from the spouses organization stating that they were prepared to help those in need if it did happen. As much as I complain about them, I think it’s nice they were standing by to help.

We have money saved in case of something like this, but many military families are not so lucky. I know quite a few who have to live pay check to paycheck and I was concerned for them. It was so frustrating to me that people who give so much were about to get absolutely nothing in return. Thankfully that didn’t happen, but it wasn’t a good feeling, even when you’re prepared.

The funny thing is, I kept thinking, “well, at least I can blog about it!” Many thanks to those who have been reading this. It's my hope that this year won't include Another Missed Christmas:)