Halfway

I feel like I haven't blogged in ages. This week has really flown by for us, and I am so grateful for that. My best friend from college, Jessica, was visiting for a few days. We had such a great time together, hanging out, staying up till the early hours of the morning reminiscing and laughing. I really needed it; seeing my old friend was like an extended visit to a spa - relaxing and rejuvenating.

Today we reached a big milestone, we are halfway done with deployment. When this journey started, it seemed like we would never get here, and now that we have, it is more exciting than I can say. Richard and I have been counting down the past few days, he even sent me an email at 1am this morning to tell me that we had officially reached the halfway mark. It really seems as though we can start counting down the days, now that we will have the majority of them behind us. Rather than feeling like it will be an eternity until he gets back, things seem a little chaotic now, and I find myself worrying that everything won't be ready by the time he gets home, or that I won't have accomplished everything I wanted to do while he is gone. This halfway point has lit a fire in me, and I am excited and encouraged by this spark of motivation.

The seasons are already starting to turn, too. I can hardly believe it, since we are still in the first week of August, but the tree in our front yard is shedding leaves, and yesterday on our walk I saw a tree a few streets down, and its leaves have already turned that beautiful electric yellow that means fall is upon us. This is exciting too, I am ready for fall, because it means that we are that much closer to Richard's return. I am ready for "sweater weather", hot chocolate, days full of rain and windstorms. I have even pulled out my fall recipes - pumpkin bread, and chili. I think I will force myself to wait until September, but to see that things are already beginning to change...it's almost as if the universe wants Richard to come home too, and I won't argue with that.