I decided to take a couple of days off from the excitement of deployment to have a little time to myself. Well, not as much time as I would have liked, but you get it. As much as I would have liked to take a break from this life, I have learned that you can't be a mom only part of the time. So I thought this post would be a great time to share what my babies have experienced with daddy being gone.
For those of you that don't already know, (and there's not many of you that don't). Sissy, Kitty Cat and Chubby Bunny really translates out to be: Sadie, Katie and Jordan. They are 3 of the 4 spoiled little children in this household. (Guess who the other is?) While they all walk on 4 legs instead of 2, and wag their tails in place of laughing, I love them as much as anyone could love their own kids.
Sadie
Sadie was my first baby. I adopted her a couple of weeks before PJ was coming home from his 1st deployment in Iraq. After reading an article in the paper about how black dogs are discriminated against during adoption, I called the Humane Society to get more information. Surely enough when people see a black dog, they can't do anything but imagine that dog turning into a BIG black dog. I marched myself down there and adopted me the beautiful mess that is Sadie. Lab mixed with something, with the most adorable, innocent brown eyes.
The first time Sadie saw PJ, he was in a uniform. She had no idea who this stranger was coming into our life, since it had only been her and I. But she didn't care. She loved her daddy, and was immediately attached to him. Now, every time she sees the ACUs in the dryer, she has a fit. She has learned that when there are that many uniforms in the laundry, that PJ was going to be gone for an extended period of time. She can be very withdrawn when PJ is gone. And I think with her watching our behavior over the last couple of weeks, on top of the fact that PJ was gone all the time this year, she knows that time has come. She doesn't want to have anything to do with me. She expects me to feed her, and that's about it. She has decided to go about her business and do her own thing for a while. It makes me sad, but she knows that I am here for her.
Katie
If there ever was a dog that acted out ALL THE TIME. It is Kate. When we adopted this dingo, it was very clear that she had been an abused dog. She had a horrible (relatively new) scar that was up the side of her nose. She had a horrible infection in her mouth (which Sadie took care of by knocking out one of her teeth), and she was so scared of everything. She is a good looking kid. Blue heeler with a tramp stamp. More beautiful brown eyes.
Katie's take on this deployment... As far as she is concerned, daddy is the center of her universe. Who gives a crapola about mom? She spends her days waiting for PJ to get home, only to be greatly disappointed to see me. She runs around the house looking for PJ in his usual spots, pulling back blankets to see if he's under them, even checking in his closet. When we go outside, she even stands up to the window of the car to see if he is in there. It's so very hard to get her to understand that daddy will be gone for a long time. She just thinks he's at work. How do you tell your 3 year old something like that? LOL. I know I can't compare dogs to kids, but you can't blame a girl for trying!
Jordan
The BLOB. The dark spot on the carpet. Jordan is my medicare aged dog, who sleeps like an old man, but has the personality of a teenager. And those brown eyes! I inherited Jordan from one of my bosses. I never thought that present I was given, would be one of the biggest gifts I have ever treasured. I don't think that there is one of you that knows me, that hasn't read or heard about the shenanigans that Jordan causes. (Like his affirmative action speech, or the cheetos incident). If you don't know of them, then you're really behind the times folks!
Jordan might be my dog, but he's PJ's boy. Once upon a time Jordan used to wait for me by the front door every day until I got home. But now it's quite opposite. When I would come home, I would find the two of them just hanging out in the basement. Sharing a pizza. Or Popeye's. Or whatever other nonsense PJ would be eating that day. Not a care in the world. Now when I come home, I find Jordan perched atop a pile of PJ's laundry, or military stuff that he has hoarded for himself.
Jordan is taking this deployment the hardest. When we got up on Tuesday morning. I did the usual roll-over-to-the-side-of-the-bed maneuver to see if stinky butt was awake yet. He was already awake, but had been nice enough not to get me up. When we got up and moving, he went to PJ's side of the bed and tried to stand up to see if PJ was there. I tried to tell him that daddy wasn't there, and so he went downstairs and looked around the rest of the house. When he discovered that PJ wasn't in their usual spot in the basement, I'm sure that he knew. He's been spending his evenings laying next to the couch on his pillow, missing PJ terribly. My biggest fear of all is that Jordan's broken heart will get the best of him. I don't know how PJ or I will be able to handle that. But I pray about it a lot.
Not a whole lot more to say at the moment. Been spending time this evening thinking about PJ. I can't ever communicate enough to him, or to anyone I know for that matter, how proud I am of him. I know that I say it to EVERYONE, and I'm sure you all are tired of hearing it. I am so proud of what he has become, that my heart just aches not being able to be near him. For those of you that might read this who are deployed, I envy your proximity to the Bush awesomeness. For those of you who are reading this here at home, I appreciate all your love and support for our little Bush family. The doggies and I thank you from the bottom of our furry little hearts.
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