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That's not that long....

So, I headed back to work yesterday.  I'm a high school math teacher, but the first two days were just teacher meeting/work days.  I can't tell you how many times people would ask me where my husband was now...hmmm...we've been out of school for three months and he was supposed to be gone for a year...yep, he's still in Kuwait.  Being a math teacher, this question really got to me!!!  So then when they found out he was still gone, they would ask when he'll be home.  I tell them maybe the end of Dec/beginning of Jan.  Then I get the number two most annoying comment of the day.  "That's not that long."

WHAT???  I'm heading back to work, trying once again to deal with the stress of planning lessons, grading papers, feeding dogs/cats, feeding children (they need food too...ha ha!), giving baths, getting them to bed and then back up in the morning ready to leave by 6:30 am...oh yeah, and somewhere in there try to talk to my husband and/or calm down children who get upset that daddy can't be home.  Right, 4 more months is a piece of cake.  It just gets me how much people still don't get it.  Even a week of this chaos is enough to make you go crazy.  Whether its a day or 4 more months, it seems like an eternity.

I guess they are trying to make me see that an end is in sight, but I do already realize that.  And yes, the fact that we're past the 1/2 way point helps to keep me slightly sane...but to say it "isn't that long" is stretching it a bit.  This marks 4 out of 5 of the last school years where my husband has been gone for part of the school year...each day is "long" right now.

I didn't ask your opinion!!

Ok, so I just have to vent about one of the things that drives me absolutely crazy while my husband is deployed...people trying to tell me their opinions on the war...

So today, it was a great day for August, not too hot or humid, but just right.  So despite Evan's pleas to go to the mall and play at the play area, we stayed home and played outside.  We were having a great time, drawing on the driveway, riding toy cars, playing in the sand and just hanging out.  But then it happened...the neighbor across the street came out.  I tried to avoid making eye contact as we rode the cars up and down the street, but it was bound to happen.  The question came out "is your husband home now?".  Ah, here it goes...

This wasn't my first run-in with him and these type of questions, so I knew where it was going.  "No, he's in Kuwait this time" I said.  So then I have to stand there with my kids and listen to how crazy it is that my husband didn't get to be home long in between deployments.  Then he asked if I read the paper lately about "the plan" to get US troops out of Iraq.  I wanted to say "no, I've never heard anything about it", but I didn't.  So he continues on about the upcoming election.  His opinion of who better get elected, who would be best for getting the troops back home, etc, etc, etc.  All the time, I'm trying to be as polite as possible but make it obvious that I'm not interested...trying to play with the kids, telling them we need to be going inside in a minute, etc.  But this guy just doesn't care.  He kept talking and talking until I finally just had to start walking away and say I needed to get the kids fed so I could watch the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics (which I thought was great, by the way). 

AHHHHHH...don't people realize that I'm not into talking politics and views on the war while I'm playing with my kids.  I just want to enjoy a little time with them...and they shouldn't have to hear that you don't believe their daddy should be over there.  Right now, we're dealing enough with "why daddy has to be gone", so they don't need to hear that you think its a waste.  You're telling them that they are going without their daddy in their lives for no good reason.  That's just too much for a little one to take in.   I just wish people would realize that there are a lot of sides to this war and that no matter what I believe, my husband is there and that's that.  I can't change it, so for now I just want to focus on getting him back home safely in a few months.  Don't offer your opinion if I didn't ask for it, especially around my kids!!