The Adventure

So are y'all just dying to hear how things are going with Rob home? Yeah, I thought so. We were grateful with the airport and airline that Rob flew in on for allowing us to go through security as smooth as silk so that we could meet Rob at the gate. We had our kid-made "welcome home, Daddy" sign and got many smiles while we waited for the plane to come in. I noticed that the crew for the next flight was particularly interested in our reunion. I'm glad that we provided some heart warming entertainment for the folks waiting at the gate. The kids were thrilled when they saw him and Gideon quickly wiped out any worries that I had that he would not know his Daddy. Rob took him in his arms, Gideon was all grins. A little while later he passed him back to me in order to take Gabe to the restroom and Gideon was NOT happy. He pointed to the bathroom and grunted over and over until Rob came back and immediately leaned to go back to him.

And nothing welcomes home a deployed soldier like immediately taking them to a one-year old's birthday party. We were a little late due to the time of the flight but we went straight from the airport to my friend Nora's house so we could celebrate little Sarah's first birthday. I'm so glad Rob is a people person and was happy to go.

Sunday we got to go back to church as a complete family for the first time in a really long time. Even when Rob was home on leave last we didn't get to do this because of sick kids so it was really, really nice. We had a nice lunch afterward and a leisurely remainder of the day.

On Monday morning we awoke to a commotion outside. Neither one of us could identify what made the noise but then came a frantic knock on the door a few minutes later and I knew without opening it what had happened. As soon as I opened it my neighbor confirmed, her dogs had attacked one of my cats who in her backyard. I walked right over, in my pjs, my glasses, no shoes, hair a mess to find my poor kitty laying in a heap in the gravel. She was head to toe froth and slobber, she was panting, not moving, clearly injured. I wrapped her in a towel borrowed from my neighbor and took her home just long enough to ditch the pjs and don clothes and shoes. I drove the entire way to the emergency clinic with her cradled like a baby in my right arm, driving with my left and realizing how glad I was that Rob was home and I didn't have to try to take care of her and try to organize all three kids. They would have been frightened by seeing poor Spot kitty in that state not to mention me in mine.

Spot's injuries were not as bad as I thought but she's still in a sorry state. She came home yesterday with a broken sternum and damage to her liver and possibly her pancreas. She is a walking, when she can manage, bruise and has swelling all over. She refuses to eat or drink. This morning I had to force water into her with a syringe. But she purrs like mad when you pet her and tries to arch into your hand as it travels down her back. She has a towel bed in our master closet which is a small walk-in type, with a litter box on one side and food and water on the other. She doesn't have to move more than a couple of steps for anything that she needs and doesn't have any tempting places to jump up to or down from.

So, as I said the other day a new adventure is beginning. I wish it hadn't been quite like this but I'm so grateful that Rob is home. Things mostly feel like he was never gone. We are going to have a lot of fun this month before Rob goes back to his civilian job. Lots of down time and lots and lots of fun.