It has been a whirlwind of a weekend! It's "that time" in pre-deployment. The time when family and friends come to visit to say goodbye, time for the going away party, time for doing all the last minute prep work, and coming up on my week off work before my husband leaves.
We had an amazing and busy weekend! On Thursday my husband's father came into town to spend a few days, and on Friday afternoon my husband's two sisters, two nieces, and nephew came to visit. Everyone stayed with us and we spent the weekend hanging out and playing with the kids. On Friday night, my husband's brother came over - it was first time in years my husband and all his siblings and father have been in the same room at the same time.
My husband's sisters and nieces and nephew left Saturday afternoon around 2pm. I took a quick rest, then got up to get ready for his going away party. The party was at the American Legion, and our Legion here in town is a beautiful log cabin with 2 stories, pool tables, and a wooden bar. The staff there was amazing, and I got a fantastic price for catering and the space because they were happy to support a fellow service member. We served hot wings, beans, macaroni and cheese, and corn muffins - everything was delicious! A few of my best friends and my husband's mother were there to help decorate and made the place look amazing. A close family friend provided delicious cakes that were decorated with an anchor and the Navy's seal and my Mother in Law provided us with a wonderful and very sweet DJ who was a Veteran and wanted to support us. My best friend who is a photographer took all the photos for the evening. I was completely overwhelmed by all the help and support.
One of my husband's close friends from Arizona came in to surprise him (as well as provide so much help!), as well as friends from Tennessee, and other friends we haven't seen in years! We had an amazing turn out, well around 100 people. Guests started showing up at 7pm when the party was started, and we had a steady flow of people coming and going until 10pm. The party went until 2am (3am with daylight savings time)! We had at least 30 people from my husband's work, they are very tight-nit and like family. All of my husband's in-state family was there, as well as our off-roading friends, college friends, and high school friends we haven't seen in forever. I was so happy with the turn-out! My husband wasn't allowed at the Legion until everything was decorated and guests were arriving, He knew the party was happening, but he didn't know much of the details so much of it was a surprise. Our guests were all amazing and supportive, and I was told my so many different people to call them if we (or I) need anything while my husband is away. I keep saying we were overwhelmed by all the support and kindness and love, but there is really no other word for it. We are so blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives.
In all my anxiety over the party, I tried to focus on relaxing and just being with our guests. Hopefully I was able to greet everyone there, but I'm sure there's people I missed or who didn't get to visit with very long. It occurred to me that while I was working on getting all the final details in order and making sure we had enough food for all our house and party guests, my husband was dealing with the fact that he was saying "goodbye." It's so easy to get caught up in all the pre-deployment arrangements and planning and to forget what this is all about, what is actually happening. Now it's time to really spend time with each other and our loved ones.
Thank you so much to everyone who came to the party, sent well wishes, helped out, and offered their love and support!
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