Absence makes the heart grow fonder!!

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder" - this statement is most often made regarding girlfriend/boyfriend relationships or spousal relationships. However, this has a two-fold meaning for me right now. First, Peter has one week left in his school in KY which means I am a "single mom" for a little over a week. Even though I went thirteen months without him and any other family in Germany, it was also without kids. This experience has made me sit in AWE of those mothers who made it through the deployment WITH kids (and their sanity!).

When I walked in the house after dropping my mom at the airport and there was no one holding the door for me or helping me in some way, that was when I first realized that I was on my own. It was a little scary at first, but I have to say, after a couple of days of caring for Ben and myself and keeping us both alive, fed, and clean (well, at least Ben is clean!) I feel such a sense of accomplishment and pride that I CAN DO THIS! Being a mother is one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I can honestly say that it is also one of the most rewarding. God has truly blessed us with such a precious little boy.

So I said earlier that the title phrase has a two-fold meaning for me. Not only does it apply to Peter being gone, but to me being apart from all my friends. Being an Army wife has given me opportunities to meet many special and amazing women but it has also forced me to say goodbye (for now) to most of them. Not only am I separated from my "new" friends, but I am also separated from my "old" ones (from college and high school). However, the great part about this upcoming move is that I will be a LOT closer to many of the "old" ones. And I bet that many of my "new" friends will wind up being stationed with us again. If not, then I will just have to visit them.

Thankfully, blogging has kept us in touch with each other in a whole new way. It is so exciting to read about everything that is going on in their lives -it makes the distance seem a lot shorter.