Saying Goodbye Part 2

I wrote Saying Goodbye Part 1 hoping there would be a part 2, and there was. Mr. Simple got to come home for just a few days for Christmas. I know we are lucky we got that time.

Picking him up from the airport was a surreal experience. There was so much anticipation in waiting for him…

… and we were so happy when we got him!

Those few days were a whirlwind. Part of me wishes it wasn’t Christmas. We got one good night to spend together like the good old days. Every other day was full of Christmas get togethers or power outages.

The first night he was home was my favorite. We went to eat at The Olive Garden for a late anniversary/family meal and then we spent the rest of the evening being us. The kids went to bed on time and all was well.

Christmas Eve was interesting. Mr. Simple had to take care of some things. We quickly put up our tree and Mr. Simple moved stuff around in the shed. That took forever. We went to my family’s Christmas Eve party. When we got home the kids were tired and grumpy. We did have a lot of fun setting up their presents after they went to bed!

Christmas morning was so much fun. The living room was a mess, but we loved seeing the kids open their gifts!

After all of the excitement, we noticed it was raining. Well, the rain was actually freezing rain and ice was forming. We were supposed to go to Mr. Simple’s parents, but I went outside for just a few minutes and got soaked and frozen. Everything was getting icy, so we decided to stay home and his family came to see us.

When they got back to their house, they let us know their power was out. It wasn’t long before our power was out, too. Yeah, no fun. Down here in Arkansas we aren’t prepared for ice storms. It only takes some frozen branches falling on the power lines and practically the whole state loses power.

We spent the night piled up in our bed to keep warm. We had candles for light. Definitely not how I envisioned spending the last night at home with my husband.

The next morning we woke up to this.

The snow was almost a foot deep and there was no sign the power would be back on soon. Mr. Simple was supposed to leave, but we couldn’t get out of our driveway! My in-laws had a generator going, so we decided to pack up and my father-in-law picked us up in his four wheel drive truck.

We didn’t know when Mr. Simple would leave. Flights were delayed and cancelled and we couldn’t get a hold of the airport. We did learn that flights were leaving, just behind schedule. Because of my husband’s status, he had to go to the airport and wait as a priority passenger.

I was heartbroken to say goodbye to him. There was no power, the roads were icy and dangerous, and I couldn’t even see him off at the airport. I couldn’t help but cry. This was not how I wanted to say goodbye, but I didn’t have a choice. My father in law took him to the airport and he ended up flying out that night. He even got a first class seat because he had to be given what was available! He enjoyed that, at least!

So, I spent the next two nights at my in-laws waiting for the power to come back on. I was thankful for a warm place to stay with the kids and we had a pretty good time!

When I got back home I had the task of taking down our Christmas tree and decorations by myself. That was a first! I hope I don’t have to do that again!

Obviously, I still miss my husband terribly. We are slowly getting into a routine and my husband does his best to keep in contact with me. Thank God for the Internet. I pray for him every day and cannot wait to have him home!

Happily shared with:

Teach Me Tuesday, Raising Homemakers,