March On

Well, it's March here in the Pacific Northwest and things are starting to get sunnier and warmer. It's going to be time to break out the lawn mower soon because all the rain from the past few months has begun to really make the grass grow!

I've only got a few things on my to-do list for Spring because I'll be so busy with truck preparation and running the business so I'll keep it short to:

-Clean out the garage 
-Have a garage sale/donate what we don't sell
-Plant new flowers in our pots (which is all I'm spending on flowers this year, not worth it)
-Keep grass cut
-Maybe buy and spread more mulch around if needed
-Clean off front porch and walkway
-Buy a new doormat for the front door 

That's it. We're going to be so busy with the business and making it successful that I'm not going to have the time or energy to devote much to making the outside of this rental look beautiful. It'll have to just look decent this year.  

And also, with Spring comes... Russ' deployment which happened yesterday. I got home from seeing his ship leave, got in my pjs and uploaded the pictures to Facebook so his family could see the departure. It wasn't until then, after a full morning month of holding back tears that I allowed myself to fully cry. 

There are moments in your life that you'll never forget what you've seen and how you felt and I believe that yesterday was one of those moments. I watched as other spouses said goodbye to each other with hugs, kisses and hand holding. I watched children hugging their fathers tightly while clutching a sailor teddy bear in their arms. I saw fathers cradling their babies knowing that the next time they see them will be seven months from now when they've already grown up so much and they will have to witness those moments only through photos or videos.

I watched Russ' ship being pulled further and further out by the tug boat to the chorus of seagulls and seals. The chilly sea breeze whipped my hair into tangles and made my hands numb with cold while in my pockets. 

I don't remember anyone really speaking. There were just silent waves, kisses blown or the sporadic cry from a small child. The families slowly left until I was the last one standing on the pier just barely able to see the white sailor hats lined up around the ship as they manned the rails for departure. 

It was a tough day. I can only look at it as Day One and we'll get to the end of seven months eventually. It may feel like forever now but he will be home.