Its been a week…. Well If Im being completely honest, its been a Summer….

Being a Navy Family stationed abroad brings so many amazing experiences… We get to see the World outside the US, experience cultures and traditions of other Countries, adapt new philosophy into our lives… We have grown and evolved and organically molded into different people, open minded and, well, International.

With all of this, Sea Duty Overseas can be rough…. And this Summer its been just that. The kids and I have ventured out, road tripped all over Kyushu, visiting mountain tops and volcanos and waterfalls and coastlines… We have allowed Mother Nature to be our guide down winding dirt roads and into forests, lost then found. It has been a beautiful Summer, yet everywhere we go, everything we do, there is still an underlaying emptiness that creeps in and brings me tears… He isnt here.

Since being back in Japan, Andrew has been gone so much. SO MUCH. We make our time together the best we can, pulling the kids from school on his days off, traveling, curling up on the couch, wrapped like pretzels, binge watching shows like Everest, and dreaming up what our future may hold. I know thats what counts, right??

This weekend we were thrown for a loop… After a hard week where we couldnt even talk to each other (has never happened in over 10 years of the Navy!) his coming home date changed… Not for the good. And this seems to be a familiar song. I cant lie, I cried for a while, like 2 days… Not like me, but well, this sucks… Last night I did Yoga with the girls, read an inspirational Blog that cleared my mind, and meditated for the first time in a while, like long while…. It was so cleansing. I woke today knowing we had to get out of the house… Get into the mountains, breathe. So thats just what we did…..

Packed up the van, in a downpour, and just headed out… No GPS, just the road. We drove up through the country, then over to a Fall a friend had taken me a while back, that I somehow found by memory… We had it all to ourselves- The girls took off their rain boots and danced in the river, Madi got as close to the Falls as she could without actually swimming, and Rye ventured off quietly.. They all have their thing they do when we find bliss like this.

And I sat back and watched…. Soaking in a moment I hope to share with Him when he returns to us… Our kids Free and Wild.

There is always that saying, The Navy will make you stronger, the deployments will make you stronger… There is some truth to that i guess, yet I dont want anymore strength, just him home…. We all do…

Over half way through this Sea Duty…. And Fall is knocking at our door, with a new routine in store, a new Motherhood Season… Its gotta be uphill from here right???

Rainy Day Falls....