And he's off!

His Address is:

CPL Finegan, John M.

MWSS 271 DET/Operations

Unit #23925

FPO AE 09510-3925

After almost 2 and a half months of being paid to stay at home with Mommy, Oliver, and Elizabeth, (really can't complain!) John got THE call about 2 weeks ago (actually 2 days into going back to work) that said he had a flight to Afghanistan between May 23-25. We were so happy to FINALLY have an answer but reality sank in quick when we realized the repercussions of this answer. "This is really happening," we thought. We'd been waiting for an answer for so long, you kind of forget what you are waiting for. You'd think after 2 and a half months we'd be prepared to say goodbye but I don't think you can ever be fully prepared.

As the three day timespan drew nearer, John got more definite details. He was scheduled for departure on May 23rd. Then the week before, he got his paperwork and it stated his flight was scheduled for the evening of Wednesday May 22. He needed to report to base at 4pm. There it was, the MAGIC hour.

With one weekend left to spend with our whole family intact and realizing we couldn't go very far because still ANYTHING could happen, we rented a pet friendly beach house in Emerald Isle which is about 45 minutes away from us. We had a 3 day and 3 night stay in a little hideaway literally right on the beach and it felt like we were hours away from home. It was a perfect little escape and a great distraction for what was ahead.

getting ready!!

on our way!!

oliver needs shade with all that fur!

 

 he could see daddy fishing from the back door

 her little bathing suit and flops!

 she loved the beach!

our shack

pals

soo tired!

her first mini golf game!

our last night walking on the beach

Monday came too fast (it always does) and we returned back to Havelock. John's parents came down to say goodbye (for the fourth time) on Tuesday. Since we had a babysitter :) John and I got to go out to lunch together just us. Then we braved it and took the little one with us out for dinner and John had a nice "last meal" if you will. When we came home that night, John had one on one time with Elizabeth and she had a lot to say. After this video was taken, Elizabeth fell asleep and slept her first 12 hour night! What a great gift before daddy left! I hope it happens again really soon!

Wednesday came and went by very slowly. John packed up his things and said goodbye to his parents and Oliver at our house around 3:30. Then John and I and Elizabeth went on base and got to sit in the car for a while before finally saying goodbye around 4:15. It was only him and another guy going and since the other guy didn't have family with him, it was a lot less dramatic saying goodbye than it would have been if his entire unit were there. For that, I was grateful. It made it a lot easier. There were mixed emotions of course. John is very excited, but nervous excited, for the adventure ahead of him. It is somewhat rare to be deployed with your entire unit (mostly), with all your friends that you trust, and in John's case, for only 5 months! He has missed them dearly and they have been talking to him along the way saying they couldn't wait for him to get there. They needed him to complete the group dynamic, saying they missed his sarcasm. As for me, I feel completely blessed that we got these past 2.5 months with him and a non working him at that. We really have gotten the best of both worlds--more time with him and less time for him to be away. It was incredibly tough to say goodbye obviously but I know not to worry too much about him over there for he will probably be behind a desk the whole time and he knows not to worry about us, for we will be with family the whole time so we won't be alone. It's more just sadness that we'll have to spend 5 months away from each other's best friend and of course him being away from Elizabeth. He took a notebook with him and said that he was going to write to her while he was over there to keep that connection going. And there is wifi over there that will allow us to talk every day and see each other on skype. I really feel blessed that we live in this generation and not in the 40's where they could be gone for years and only had letters to rely on. I don't know how they did it.

John's parents left early Thursday morning to head back to NJ. I will be staying here packing and cleaning up the house until my Mom, Charlie, and brother come on Saturday to pick me, Oliver and Elizabeth up. Since he left, John has texted and called along the way to Afghanistan. His plane first went to Norfolk, Va then to Maine then to Germany. He called Thursday morning from Germany with a couple of hours ahead of him before they got back on the plane and headed to their next stop, an air force base a couple hours outside of Afghanistan. He has since called from that air force base and said they will be there until tomorrow night so he has a bit of down time to rest before he gets there. I am planning my first trip to NJ for everyone to meet Elizabeth on the weekend of June 8th and plan to stay for a week. I think I will try to come once every month that John is gone and stay for a few days each time, realizing that it really helps us and his family feel connected to him. It will help break up the time too. I know it will go by fast...