Two Weeks

We are really getting down to the wire here. Drew should be HOME in TWO WEEKS!!! I truly cannot believe that Drew himself will be here in our house in two weeks. A year long deployment is about to be behind us. Wow. I went to a meeting on base last night where I learned all of the details. Of course everything is tentative but one thing is a fact: It is a matter of weeks until my big man is home! He is in Main Body One meaning he is in the first group out. The first group will be HOME on October 7th give or take four days in either direction. The way it works, without getting into too many details, is I will get a phone call sometime during that week giving me a 24 hour notice before I need to be at Fort Stewart where Drew and his group will parade on the field, have a 10 minute ceremony, and he will be released. Woo hoo!! The same phone call gives me a flight number so I know when Drew should land, check in, and bus on over to the ceremony. Luckily Drew has his cell phone with him which we will reactivate. That way he can also call me when he lands. As I told my family this morning, I am wound pretty tight. I was cleaning the shower with a toothbrush this morning when I was talking to my mom. I go from butterflies in the mdidle of the night to the lump in my throat to tears in my eyes to trying to focus on work to understanding that we are going to realize the dream of being together again so soon. So soon.
The other good news is that Drew has internet in the tents. We have continued to be able to see each other and talk through the computer which is really nice. It is a little different in tents with so many guys in one room so Drew has to talk quietly but he is in good spirits. He was recently moved to a different platoon to be a team leader. At first he didn't want to switch groups because he has come a long way this year with those guys, but he really likes the new group. He has more responsibility with this group too which makes him even busier but busier means the time goes by more quickly. He is on checkpoint now and thinks he only has a handful of missions left. Two weeks. I seem to be measuring everything in Drew arrival time. I see due dates for work and think Drew will be home when I complete that report, or Drew will be home when I have that meeting. I see expiration dates on food and think that will still be good when Drew is home. When I mow the grass I think I will only mow two more times, I will only run this many times, there is only ONE Mizzou football game left before Drew could be home. This is insane. As you can tell, it is front and center. Can't wait. Here's another example.. if I blog once a week, I only have one more blog left and the next week MIGHT be a blog about Drew coming home. Can't wait. Also, last time when Drew came home for R&R some of you sent cards for Drew to open. I will be setting up another table with cards that Drew will see when he gets HOME. You definitely do NOT have to send anything but feel free to send anything you would like our way and I will make sure he gets it. And we love pictures for the fridge too if the kids want to update their artwork. :) This is the fun time! We plan to come back to St. Louis in November where we look forward to seeing friends and family, but if you want him to see your note ahead of time go for it! If you need our address just let me know. Again, you do NOT have to send anything but wanted you to know you are more than welcome to. Thank you for all of your love and support this year.