The Life of an Army Wife

Well Philip left for Iraq a couple days ago. This is his 3rd year fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Another wedding anniversary apart from one another, birthdays,holidays and other special days will be spent away from one another again this year. We hope Philip will be able to make it home for the birth of his first baby in April. He will be allowed to come home for 2 weeks and then have to go back to Iraq to finish up the year deployment. Philip has been able to call home and I am so thankful for each and every phone call I get! You may find this weird, but I feel some comfort in seeing his dirty clothes in his basket. Those are the clothes he wore before he left. I know eventually I will have to wash them and put the clothes away. I also find some comfort in seeing his shoes next to the door. I know I will have to move those back to the closet too. As I run errands around the post I see other women who have husbands down range also. My friends are all going through the same emotions and have the same feelings I have. It makes it a little easier knowing that so many other women around me know EXCATLY how I feel. What other neighborhood would I be able to get this kind of support? Even at the girls school, more than half the students' father's (and few mother's) are deployed. Even the school mascot, Wilbur the pig, deployed to Iraq with the soldier's and will send pictures back to the students of his adventures in Iraq. This community has really pulled together and has so many support programs for all of the soldiers' family member's here in Schweinfurt! This will be a long year for me. I just need to focus on staying busy, taking care of myself, the girls and this house! Please keep our family in your prayers!