Yesterday was our deployment brief..during the brief they explain the mission, show us where they are going and then several post agencies get up and talk about how they can help during the deployment or help prepare for the deployment. The Rear Detachment Commander spoke in length about the Causality Notification process. Just hearing the information makes your mind wonder to "what if it is us", just enough to make tears come to my eyes.

Today Spouse Buzz had a post about a blog of a wife whose husband was injured in Afghanistan in late October and died yesterday. Not for the faint of heart to read.

I often get caught up in worrying about how I am going to survive for the next year, do I have enough wood to get me thru the winter, can I make it out here on the farm by myself thru the toughest 3 months of the year? Can I be a good single parent? Will anyone come visit me and keep me company for even a weekend? During all this worrying about me I often forget that he is headed to a dangerous place to do a dangerous job. They will be at around 8000 ft, living in tents, eating MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) and eventually their showers will have hot water. (Eventually, are you kidding me?) They will miss birthdays, anniversary's, football games, award ceremony's, school musicals.

To keep my mind occupied during the next 12 months I have a goal. I found this project on a blog and I would like to make one of these quilts every month that Terry is gone. Salute to Stars, Stripes & Soldiers I have a group of women here that I know are going to get together to make some of these, but if you would like to help I can think of several ways that you can. 1. Donate the fabric to make one quilt, send it to me and I will make it. 2. If you can sew, make one and donate it. 3. If you can't sew and would still like to participate you can buy the fabric, and I can help you cut it out (that doesn't require too many skills) and I will sew it.