Communication is Key!!

So here we are...our fourth full day without daddy at home and so far so good! The hardest part is not being able to just pick up the phone and call and say 'Hey'. After a few days the cadets were able to 'earn' phone privileges and it appears he will have time to call at 8 p.m. every night. AWESOME! A little communication each night will go SUCH a long way! I just talked to Justin an hour or so ago and he mentioned that today was the hardest yet in regards to homesickness. Everything else is to be expected, but the homesickness is really bad at the moment. Apparently he has trouble talking about the boys and me without tearing up...so please keep him in your prayers that he can get through this initial stage of adjustment. I realize that I have the easy part in all of this. I get to hug and kiss my boys each and every day! Yes...they are busy and trying at times but after talking to him I would gladly take this part of the deal any day of the week. 2 weeks in Europe was tough...but to be away from them while being yelled at, sleep deprived and sensory overload (as he put it)...I can't even imagine. So first off...please keep him in your prayers.

Second...here are a few comments about his first few days that I have gathered in our short and rushed phone conversations:

1) LOTS of push ups :) He said he was doing push ups in his dress suit within 5 minutes of arriving!

2) The class started with 175 (give or take a few that probably didn't show up). The class reported on Sept. 19th and as of Sept. 21st they were down to 149. Today another quit for medical reasons so that makes 148. However, 0 have quit from his platoon (there are 3 platoons). Funniest thing...he said a few people quit in the parking lot when they reported!

3) In his words...it is an OCD paradise! He couldn't go into huge detail about how they must keep all their belongings, but right now he is overwhelmed with all the details of how to fold, iron, hang, walk, eat, speak, etc. I do know they must measure where they put their shoes under their bed and it took him over 30 minutes to make his bed the other day. Hmmm...I don't know about you, but if I spent more than 3 minutes on my bed I would be crazy!

4) Good news! He got a great roommate. That was a big relief! The funny part is that his roommate's name is Derrick! That must be a lucky name for him since Derrick was his zone partner for years at HPPD :)

5) They have been doing A LOT of cleaning! Apparently the facilities haven't been cleaned since the last class over a year ago...so they are the lucky cadets that get to scrub everything. So he went from helping me scrub baseboards here to scrubbing baseboards there. Hmmm...I wonder if they can teach him how to load the dishwasher while he's there?? I wonder if they take suggestion cards? No...that would be too obvious...he would know that came from me :)

6) Running started today and it went well. Ironically...running was probably the hardest part for him when he went through the academy for HPPD and could very possibly be the easiest part for him in PA!

well....I'm sure he's told me more and I will think of other things along the way, but today has been very long! I'm off to bed so I can be ready for my little rug rats tomorrow :)

Last but not least...I want to thank everyone for checking in on my this week :) It really has helped me not feel so lonely. Thank you all very much!! Have a wonderful week!

rachel