"That homecoming kiss definitely does not mean happily ever after "

"It does mean, though, that we can finally move on to start ever after. And that is something."

Read more: http://spousebuzz.com/blog/2010/09/hes-back-now-what.html#ixzz1FYRfqYve

This made me think of the topic of reintegration.. We just had our squadron reintegration meeting a few nights ago. Those of you who have not gone through this, its a meeting to explain what to expect when they get home. Every wife who has not gone through this before thinks that its going to be nothing but a fairy tale, but those wives who are seasoned know different. As we sat in this meeting the SGT who was doing the breifing asked for a raise of hands for those who were bringing family in for the homecoming. Only two women out of the group raised their hand. Now this subject can be touchy. It really matters what your husbands relationship is like with their family. One woman said she was surprising her husband with a big family reunion. YIKES as we all listened to her tell us this you hear loud gasps from each and every spouse there. She is a brave woman. Other wives have lists of planned events for their husbands. This is crazy These men have been in Iraq for 6+ months working hard. they are jet lagged and tired They want to relax, be home, wind down. Now me on the other hand our 'to do list' is a must and my husband knows this. He has surgery less then a week later so there are things that have to get done before hand. Not to mention he wants to be on the court everyday. But he will have pretty of time to relax when he is on the couch after surgery.

   Anyways so yes this reunion is going to be so amazing. Seeing him walk off the plane, having him next to me when I wake up cooking more then a pb&j every night. But there are also things that are going to be not so easy to deal with. My laundry load is going to triple, there will be no left overs for when I dont feel like cooking, the xbox will take over my downstairs tv, I will constantly bee picking up after more then myself, I have to make room for more then the dogs in the bed, my shower schedule will change from whenever I want to whenever he doesnt need it, my bathroom will go from spotless to his stuff scattered around the sink, my closet im sure will be rearranged to the way he wants. I have to remember he has never been in this house. He will come home and not know where anything is. He might even get a little frustrated at this. He will take down and put things the way he wants which Im sure will irritate me since I worked so hard to make it the way it is. Im sure furniture will be moved at one point or another, and he will have something to say about how the electronics are set up.

    Every reintegration will have its hardships. Some might not be as hard as others and we will always look back and possibly laugh at the little things that stressed us out. In the end he is home with me and safe at least for the moment and I will take all the hardships that come with that.