What if I need help?

Every time Tom has been deployed I get asked the same question....

WHAT IF YOU NEED HELP?

I know you are all thinking.."Hey, hasn't she had to 'hold down the fort' before? She knows what to do!

Yes, I have. Too many times to count and for the most part I know what to expect:

• The kids taking full advantage that I am flying solo...CHECK
• Haveing a hard time falling asleep...CHECK
• Trying to coordinate phone calls between Tom and I....CHECK
• Missing him terribly..CHECK

But I cannot account for the unexpected which is always sure to happen.

ALWAYS. SURE. TO. HAPPEN.

Experience has taught me that Mr. Murphy always knows when Tom is leaving and most often times he annouces his arrival within a few days of Tom being gone. During our 14 year marriage a myriad of problems have occured while Tom has been deployed. Everything from chicken pox to flooded basements to one tire flying off my car while I was driving at 65mph. It isn't emotional support that I question (I have my BFF on speed dial). It is the mechanical stuff that he usually takes care of!

It is the car breaking down, the AC unit not working...... blah blah blah blah.

When he was about to be deployed to Qatar and Iraq I quickly shoved the "what if I need help" question out. Because I knew without a doubt he couldn't readily help me. Hell I had no way to even get in touch with him but I wasn't going to burden him with these petty things when he was going to a potentially dangerous place. He needed to know that I could take care of things. He needed to know that I had HIS back. Thank GOD nothing weird happened....on either front!

Go ahead and ask..."Lori, what about your family...can't they come and help?"

The short answer is NO.

The long answer is my family lives over an hour away and I don't think any of them would drive to Springfield and help me get the van started should the battery die. I don't think they would drive here and take care of one of the kids if they were sick so I didn't miss work. I wouldn't even ASK. I don't hold any bad feelings because they can't come and help. Geography plays a HUGE part in our situation.

Luckily Tom will be in the States and so I am not flying totally solo. If I need my car worked on, I call Tom (who can easily be reached by cell phone) and he calls a friend in his "network" that can help. Same goes for heating and A/C and plumbing. This wouldn't have worked when he was overseas!

So yes, it does suck that he will be gone until July, and yes it does suck that I will be a "single parent" But I will be OK. We are prepared. We have our backs covered <wink>

Comments

[whit]

Now I cannot fix much (OK, anything) but I will be here to provide any non-mechanical type of support you need! Just call!If you happen to need a "fierce" ready to wear outfit, I am sure that our buddy "Christian" would be happy to help out!