Back To Normal. Almost.

My sister-in-law and nephews left yesterday morning in the middle of Tropical Depression Hermine's rampage on DFW.  They got a slow start, but made it home to Arizona safely last night.  My brother-in-law will be leaving tomorrow to report to Fort Hood.  So, it's almost back to normal for Aaron and I. 

I say almost because it's going to take me awhile to get used to having a quiet house again.  What did Aaron and I do before our TV was taken over by video-game-playing teenage boys?  Can I remember how to cook for just two people?  What was it like to go into the living room and not have to think about where there was room for me to sit?  And most importantly....how in the world are we possibly going to entertain Rowdy and Pepper enough to pacify them until they get used to not having the boys around?  This is a serious problem, folks!  My puppy is now a spoiled rotten diva, and Rowdy keeps looking at me with sad eyes full of fond remembrance of what used to be.

I learned a lot over the last couple of weeks.  I'm not going to throw most of it into cyberspace.  It's pretty personal, and it's not just myself I'd be putting out there for all to see.  I will, however, tell you that I have a whole new level of respect for military wives.  I watched my sister-in-law say goodbye to her husband yesterday morning.  She's not sure when she'll see him again.  She's not sure when his duty will take him overseas to a place that we spoiled Americans can't really understand.  She's not sure what the next two or three years will hold.  This would be enough to send me (control freak and fearer of the unknown) into the fetal position in a padded room where food is easy to chew and medication is plentiful.  But my sister-in-law got into a van in the middle of torential rain and blustery wind and drove away. 

She'll tell you that her kids need her (which they do).  She'll tell you that this isn't the first time she's dealt with this (which it isn't).  She'll tell you that she just does what she has to do (and she's right).  But what she won't tell you is that her faith is strong enough to send her into the unknown with her chin held high because she truly knows what it means to rely on strength that is not her own.  She won't tell you this because she doesn't have to say it out loud.  You can see it in what she does everyday. 

And now that I've seen that I don't think I can ever completely go "back to normal".