And it begins...

I dropped Lincoln off for training in the Cali desert yesterday morning at 4:30 am which means we were awake at 3:15/3:30 and left the house at 4.

I am no morning person, it takes me a while to function appropriately so it wasn't until I drove off that it semi-hit me that I wouldn't get to see him till July...and it wasn't until I walked into our too quiet apartment that I realized I wouldn't be coming back to our apartment until July. And even in July, we'll only have a couple of weeks before he leaves for 6-ish months.

It's a lot to take in in just a week. I know it comes with the territory but at some point there's a decent courtesy that doesn't come with our contract with the military.

After months and months of them telling us Lincoln would NOT deploy, there was NO way he was deploying, get comfortable you're not going anywhere...

Then *BAM* they rip the rug out from under us and everything changes. Everybody else deploying has had almost a year to prepare, get their families settled, make plans for whatever...we got less than 3 months to rearrange our lives.

I get that we're not the only ones, I get that there are people that have it harder than we do, I get that it's his job...but I think the military forgets that this little decision they decided to make on a spur of the moment is something that changes everything for us.

Sometimes I get the feeling that we're just disposable pawns in this game.

Did I mention that he's not even going to do his job...he's just going to fill a spot left by some high tech guy who is taking a break. Lincoln's not even qualified to sit at this guy's desk but he can fill a spot on a list so he's going.

But I'm being supportive, Lincoln is excited about the deployment so I'm excited for him. The base he'll be at in the big big desert should have good communication abilities so we should be able to talk often. Luckily we're in a flexible enough position that rearranging, though it's a hassle, is doable. Also we're lucky enough that this all falls around the beginning of the school year so I'm still hoping to find a teaching job around our hometown so that I'll be able to keep myself busy.

The downside to finding a job will be that I'll be anchored in Texas when Lincoln gets back to California around February... but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.