D-DAY

DEPLOYMENT DAY

Well, he is gone. Sunday was a hard day for the Kelley family. Travis had to be at the squadron at 0630 which meant we had to leave the house at 0545. Trav loaded up the car, we made some coffee and when we were ready to go I went and got Ryan, his blanket and night night juice for the dreaded trip to the base. Ugh! I had butterflies the whole time. When we finally got on base Trav pulled into his XO parking spot right in front of the gate to the squadron, put the car in park and looked at me. We hugged each other, said "I love you and everything is going to be okay" grabbed a quick kiss and got out of the car. He then made his way around the car to say goodbye to Ryan. I didn't go over there or look at them because I didn't want to burst into tears and make it harder for Travis. He then made his way to the back of the car to get the bags, another quick kiss and off he went. It was awful! I jumped behind the wheel and burst into tears. I sat there for about 25 minutes trying to compose myself, but right when I thought I was good to go I saw other pilots and their wives walking up to the gate, hugging, holding hands, etc. and I would start crying again. So, I decided it would just be best to go. Travis didn't want to say goodbye and then have to walk out to the jet which was fine with me. I cannot imagine flying a high performance jet with eyes filled with tears! So, Ryan and I drove home, had some breakfast, played with the choo choo and puzzles and waited for our friend Tricia to give us the word that he was taking off. Finally at 1015 as I was backing out of the driveway to go meet the other wives for lunch, I heard him roar above our neighborhood. I jumped out of the car to see if I could see him, but he was a little too North, but I did hear him! I stood in my driveway waving like an idiot with tears streaming down my face. I was so proud, yet so so sad! He wasn't just flying away for another 3 week trip in Key West, Tampa or 29 Palms where he would be staying in a nice BOQ by himself furnished with a bed, tv, private bath. Nope... He was flying away to go and live in a country 9000 miles away where all hell breaks loose everyday! I then hopped in the car, grabbed the steering wheel, took a deep breath and off we went to meet a few of the other sad wives for a recap of the day and lunch at Islands! It was good for me to get out and socialize with the other wives and kids and know that we were not the only ones feeling so cruddy! We then drove home to our home, grabbed a sippy of night night juice and curled up in my "nigh nigh B" to read a zillion books before taking a 2 hour nap that we both needed....especially me! Then we woke up, went for a walk and tried to figure out our new life for the next 7 months. We are going to be okay.