I'm fine. No, really.

Watching my husband turn to board a plane for basic training, was the easiest part. I kept anticipating fear, sadness, overwhelming anxiety, and more. These feelings did not come. Text messages and voicemails from family and friends poured in, everyone offering their condolences. However, I felt fine.

The hard part was when his family bolted out of the parking area with a quick word “goodbye” from over their shoulders and I was unexpectedly left with no one and no contingency plan. “What about lunch?” {Winnie the Pooh}

I know that in the next few days everything will seem normal. We had been apart for a week, at most, prior to this parting. Logically it will take about that long for the feelings to set in.

I arrived at MEPS at 7:30 AM to watch my husband swear in and follow them to the airport. It was not until 11:00 AM that we finally stood at the airport saying our goodbyes. I imagined that would be the last I heard from my husband, but it wasn’t. Between flights he called and text messaged me. Then, we said goodbye at 9:30 PM that night when his bus arrived to take him to Ft Benning. At 10:30 PM I got another text that the army did not prepare enough transportation for everyone and about 35 of them volunteered to stay at a hotel in Atlanta. And so, my husband and I had been able to stay in almost constant contact for the first 24 hours, from 11:00 AM at the airport until 11:00 AM the next day. Though this was a result of incompetent planning on the army’s part, it was also a blessing to spend our first night apart on the phone.