And they are off

Today was hard, but not as hard as yesterday. Watching Scott pack and knowing that this was his last day here was really tough for me, and I found myself moping around and tearing up a lot. As much as I wanted to be in a good mood, it was hard to be in a good mood knowing that the countdown was coming to an end. We ate such fatty and horrible things all weekend - but my consolation was that this was our last In N'Out burger together, our last pizza together, our last Hawaiian plate lunch together - before he left!

This morning we got up bright and early, and I drove Scott to base where they loaded buses to take them to Riverside to fly out. They are going through Maine, then Ireland, then into Iraq. It was kind of nice seeing all the families and the dogs out there, and sad to see some of them with no one there to see them off. I held up ok, I think. I figure: Scott takes such good care of me and doesn't let me get into stupid situations, that I know he's going to take care of everyone and himself out there. I just hope the time goes by quickly and they return with the same enthusiasm that some of them had as they boarded the bus. There were a few that were not deploying for some reason or another, and I was surprised to see how emotional they were to say goodbye to their team and not be there with them. It's not all relief when you find out you can't go - I guess. I wonder if they feel like me - saying goodbye to someone that you see day in and out and the mystery of what life has in store for you without them.

We had a good weekend though - We started it off by going to Roy's Restaurant (Hawaiian Fusion) in La Jolla. The meal was amazing, probably the best meal I have had since we moved here. We are going to have to keep this place in mind and try it out on special occassions. On Saturday, Scott did some repair work and cleaned out the garage. I can finally park my car in the garage - woohoo! We BBQ'd our last steak - no way am I grilling on my own, I'm sure I would set the dog on fire. On Sunday, we took the dog for a bath at Petco, saw an adorable Chia Rat (Chihuahua/Rat Terrier) which may become a part of this family in the next couple of weeks, and went out to dinner with my folks. Monday night was spend with Scott on the phone with his entire family and friends, call after call after call....

I forgot to mention that we saw Eric, Billy and Amy on Thursday night in Laguna Beach. It was nice to see them, and they wished Scott a safe and quick deployment. I think these are the friends that Scott is going to have for the rest of his life, no matter what county, state, or planet we all end up living in. It's nice to see him feel so at home with them. People you can just be goofy with.

Here are a couple of pics - one Scott took of me as he was packing with his 50 lbs. of gear, and one that was taken right before he got on the bus this morning.

Honey - I'm going to miss you like crazy - I love you.