I used to be one of those people. I used to think ADHD was fake. I thought maybe the parents needed to take a look in the mirror and readjust how they actually discipline their child or that maybe the parents were looking for an excuse from a doctor for their lack of parenting. Or even that it was a made up disorder given for drug companies to bank off of disciplinary cases in school. 

                                              I was wrong.

                                          My son has ADHD.

                           He’s not sick.He’s not a problem child.

                                            He is different.

His mind works differently. He sees the world and everyone in his own way and copes with it all differently. He is just as bright, beautiful, and wonderfully made by God as every child. He has the same ability to do anything he wants, he will just have to find his own way of doing it and everyone else will just have to be okay with that! 

This journey has just begun for our family. It is completely new territory for me. Things are changing. We have to readjust and routines are becoming priority. We’re creating a new “normal.” My son will have the best care we can get and and all we can do now is move forward. One thing that will never change is how much I love him! My husband, daughter, and son are my #1 concerns. We’re a team. And we’ve got our littlest teammate’s back ;)

When it comes to surviving deployments, I’m in my 9th round. I’m definitely a Veteran at this. I wouldn’t say it gets easier the more deployments you go through or the longer you go through one, but I guess I can say I have learned how to best manage the time for myself. Considering I’m already over halfway through this one, it might be the easiest yet. It sure started off with a bang though….

The day my husband left, my body decided to put me through the worst of the Flu. I had a horrible fever, headache, aches and pains, coughing, congestion….you get the picture. I couldn’t function and both kids just happen to be home. Awesome, huh? I definitely think it was a God thing that his report time got pushed back 2 hours because I really needed him, even for that little extra time. He’s so sweet, he went to get my some good meds and my favorite soup from my favorite Chinese restaurant. He also called my mom who drove 4 hours that day to come take care of me for the rest of the week! Needless to say, passed out in bed for almost 4 days will make time pass for sure! 

Spring Break was up next, along with my birthday in the middle! “Time flies when you’re having fun” is a perfect quote for the week, despite missing the best part of me. I miss my husband even more on my birthday because I know how much more he would try to spoil me on top of how much he spoils me on any other regular day.My mom and my best friends really picked up the slack! 

Since then, I’m still surprised at how fast the time has gone. I’ve been busy, I haven’t moped around or felt sorry for myself like I have in the past. I saw a quote on a support page I frequent. It said “Don’t let this deployment keep you from living, he’ll be home soon.” I’ve been trying to live up to that because I believe in it so much, I have to. I’m always scared for him. It’s taken me a while, but I have learned that no news is good news. I’ve learned that I don’t need to watch the news because I will overreact if I see anything relating to soldiers. I’ve learned what cheers me up and what kills time. I’ve even learned that I can do a lot more than I thought without my husband’s help. That doesn’t mean I don’t need him, but it means that I am capable of taking care of myself, our kids, and our home while he is gone. And when I do that, it not only makes him proud of me, but helps him to worry a little less of how things are going here. I won’t say “I can take care of myself”, but I can definitely manage until he’s home.

This is usually the time in his deployments where it starts slowing down for me, I get a little stir crazy, and my nerves don’t last as long. I’m constantly searching for things to do to fill up the calendar and I think I’ve done a good job this time! I’ve got a pretty full plate coming up after this week. 

I will never say deployments gets easier. There is nothing easy about watching your husband drive away and knowing the reality of the danger he will be heading into. There’s nothing easy about going through holiday after holiday, and birthday after birthday without him. It never gets easier, you just learn how to deal with. I feel like I’m numb to the routine, but I’ll never be numb to the feelings…the fear, the worry. I have just learned how to breathe a little easier through it all because constantly dwelling on those feelings and the fear doesn’t make it better for anyone, especially myself. I can get through this, I’ve done it many times before. I’ve worked on replacing my fears with faith. I know God will keep my husband safe and knowing that has helped me so much.

So bring it on! This is the home stretch! I can do this and everything will be fine. I’m so anxious for him to be home, to hug him, to see him, to talk to him face-to-face! I love talking to him…he’s one person I can tell anything to. Just knowing that I will be able to hold his hand again soon is a great feeling. I won’t let this deployment keep me from living because he WILL be home soon!

P.S. I think the best thing about going through a lot of deployments is that we haven’t ran out of our “first kiss” yet ;)

My new neighbor is very antisocial and paranoid. I’m pretty sure the biggest reason she comes out of her house most of the time is to stare at us in a very obvious and creeper-ish way……

Here is a status from someone on my friends list on Facebook:

“Why is it that men who are taken are the ones who try to get with me? I mean really WTF.”

Here’s the translation of what she’s REALLY saying:

“I’m just so hot that even your man wants me. Poor me, why do I have to be such hot stuff?!”

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I feel quite insulted when I come across another SAHM who has a disgustingly messy home. If you are unemployed and stay home all day with your kids, I do not think you have ANY excuse to have a messy home. And anyone who actually wants to make an argument that there is a difference between “dirty and messy”? Are you serious?! It’s the same thing, and you need to clean it up regardless!!! There IS a fine line between dirty and clutter. I have some clutter and very little closet space, BUT I have a clean house!!! I have two kids and since they were born, my house has been clean. Yeah, we’ve had some weekends where I put things off because spending time with my family is more important, but then it’s right back to work and I get everything back in order. I’ve even been so sick I can’t move, BUT because I stay on top of my house work it was okay for a couple days so I could get better. I’m a pretty lazy person, too, but I make sure my kids have a healthy, happy environment to live in and my husband gets to come home to a comfortable, clean house everyday after work. It’s not hard to manage a clean house. I sweep daily, I use my dishwasher daily,  fold at least one load of laundry daily, my kids are old enough to help clean their own rooms, and once a week we have a deep cleaning day to do the bigger jobs. If you just suck it up and do it, you can spend 30 minutes a day and have a clean house all the time. Maybe that would also leave you enough time to actually supervise your children, but that’s a different rant…

• (while watching Titanic with my 30 yr old brother and 6 yr old daughter...)
• My brother: Hey Letitia, wouldn't you like to go on that boat?
• My daughter: ....It sank....
• My brother: So that would be a No-Go for you then?

I’ve been with Chris since day one when he started his journey as a soldier in the Army. I was very bitter because I had no idea what to expect. I wasn’t lucky enough to know people who had gone through what I was was going through to tell me what to expect. As time went on, I warmed up to the Army lifestyle, but it took me a while to come around. I learned about as much as I could about what he was going through and tried my best to picture what it would be like when we were finally stationed somewhere. The one thing I learned quickly was that nothing in this life will turn out like we think it will being an Army family. Plans WILL change and often. We won’t always get to go where we want, or make plans the way we want, and Chris won’t always be home when I want him to be. I’ve learned to just roll with it. I’ve done some complaining, there’s been times where I have been very bitter about the way things turned out with “business trips” and our time together. Sometimes, it does wear on me, but I try my best not to complain because I think of how things could be different and what I would rather be going through. I’ve learned that Chris won’t always get what he deserves when he deserves it and sometimes other soldiers will be dealt what seems like a better hand. I’ve learned that there isn’t necessarily an “easy” job in the Army because soldiers will always have to deal with something or someone difficult. I do believe there are people that do the job for the wrong reasons or walk into Basic Training expecting it to be a breeze for them and for everything to go their way. I have come across people who will always find something to complain about with being an Army family, I’ve come across people who think they know all about it even though they have barely had a taste of what this life is really all about, and I’ve come across people that think no one will ever be able to handle or know as much about this life as they do because they know all and handle it perfectly, and to all of them….you’re wrong. Clearly, everyone will have different experience, every soldier will have a different job and responsibilities, and every spouse/family will handle it all in their own way. If you have the opportunity to get advice straight from an Army spouse who has been there, listen. If you do things one way, don’t assume every Army spouse is going to agree with you. If you think one soldier’s job is easier than another’s, try doing it yourself for a day and then tell me what you think. There will always be someone more “seasoned” than me and there will always be a “newbie wife” who thinks she already knows it all. I still appreciate advice and I have my own to give also. I love this life and I feel blessed to have everything Chris and I do because without the Army, things would be a lot different for us. We’ve learned not to expect anything and we just take the good with the bad and continue to learn along the way. Probably the most important thing I’ve learned…..to appreciate so much everything Chris does for this family and give him credit for everything he goes through and let him know how proud of him I am. Every soldier that is doing all of this not only for their country, but for their family deserves more credit than anyone could ever give them.