Thoughts on a rapidly approaching deployment.

Well I've managed to be lucky for a long time... almost 5 years in the navy and only one deployment. Till now. Thanks to the USS Howard, I will be gone for the next 6 months. Leaving my girls, my dogs, and essentially my entire life on land, while I go out to "fight for freedom" or whatever group of buzzwords the navy is associating with their 6 month cruises of inconvenience these days.

My kids don't get it. They're used to daddy leaving for a while, but never this long. Ally was around in 2008 but that ended up being just over 3 months and she was little. It's gonna be rough on them.. and in turn it's gonna be rough on Jess.

I am fairly sure I've forgotten something. It's not just possible it's probable. For those who don't know, you have to pack enough everything for 6 months, you never know when or if you will see another store. That means 6 months of laundry detergent, shampoo, toothpaste, enough clothes to last 2 weeks or more without washing. It sucks. All that and pretty much as much storage space as.. oh lets say 3 large couch cushions, 2 lying flat and one on its end. It's not pretty. Then let's talk sleeping arrangements.  Imagine if you will for a moment, a crib mattress. Now, imagine that crib mattress is 6 and a half feet long. Ok, got the picture in your head? Well that's pretty much it. Now take that long crib mattress and put it in a cube.. one thats only about a foot and a half tall, just tall enough to roll over if you tuck your shoulders in. Also your bed is only one of 80 and some guys really don't like to shower. Seriously. Grown ass men, not showering. It smells bad. Probably worse than you're imagining.

I'm hoping to update this as I can, which should be  pretty regularly. I do have a decent camera and will be taking plenty of pictures along the way.