Monday, June 6, 2011

Clean Freak

When My Husband is about to leave for extended periods of time I get slightly psycho about cleaning.  I never really understood why...I assumed it's about controlling something to make me feel better about the fact I can't control his time away from home.

This morning I figured out the real reason.

My Husband is gone for the next few days...overnight in the field doing training exercises.  He left this morning about 4:30am, kissing me goodbye in the dark of our bedroom while I was still half asleep.

When I came home from my shift at the shelter a few hours later, the first thing I saw walking through the door were his running shoes...tossed at the base of the couch where he left them yesterday after returning from his track workout.

I can't really put into words the feeling of seeing something he touched a few hours ago and knowing he won't touch it again for days.  It's just this huge reminder that he's gone and he won't be back for awhile. 

This, of course, makes me think about how I would feel seeing those running shoes and knowing he'll never touch them again because he's dead. 

Do all soldier's wives have death in the forefront of their minds like I do, or does my depression predispose me to dark thoughts like these?

So before he leaves I clean like a maniac so that everything is in its proper place...and most importantly, anything that belongs to My Husband is tucked safely out of sight until he returns and has some use for it.  I stow away the physical reminders of his absence the way I ignore the truth of the dangerous nature of his job.  Until I have a weak moment and those dismal thoughts, always hovering somewhere just out of consciousness, strike home.

I think I'll go to the gym and tire myself out so much that I can't think anymore.

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