Extension...?!?!?!

WTF DO YOU MEAN EXTENSION?!?!?! Yeah that was pretty much my first reaction to this news. But we talked about it before he ever even left so that was my reaction to the entire deployment too.

But Dick & I have been discussing this on & off for months now. He's never said he didn't want to extend but just dropped it some times so I took that as no extension. Boy was I wrong. He's decided that he wants to extend. I say he decided even though we talked about it together because I put my 2 cents in. My thoughts, my worries, my pros & cons. But in the end I left the decision up to him and told him I would support him in whatever he chose.

And he has made his decision. He's gotten as much info as he can, and I believe has started the paperwork. So I decided that it was time to let people know. My life just changed... again. I'm probably gonna be a cranky bitch for a while... again. And I'll find out who my true friends are... again.

As far as the extension goes we're pretty sure they are 9 months. Don't think there are any 6 month ones available. At least from what I've been told. So 9 months is what I'm going with. This changes a LOT for me for the next year. A 1 year deployment has now turned into an almost 2 year deployment. My 6 & 7 year olds will be 8 & 9 when their Daddy gets back. Like I said. A LOT has changed. And a lot will continue to change. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all but I'll get there.

I'm also focusing on the positives, yes it's hard to do but if I can try to focus on the pros of extension then I think I'll have an easier time with it.
So my pros include:

• I WILL be at my goal weight when he gets home. I'll have an extra 9 months to do so, so there are NO excuses.
• A LOT more money. Sounds shallow, and I'd much rather have him home but hey its a major pro so gotta include it.
• More twin time. Yep more weeks where I just get to spend time with my most favorite-est adult in the entire country!
• More care packages. This is by far my favorite part of deployment. I love everything about this. Coming up with themes, shopping for them, putting them together, sending them. All of it. Well except for the reason WHY I'm sending them, but I don't focus on that. 

Well there ya have it. The few pros I can come up with at the moment. I'm sure as time progresses I'll come up with more pros, and more cons. But as long as the pros (for him & our entire family not just for me) outweigh the cons, then I'll still be happy. Not that I am happy with the extension. That's not quite the right word, but I will get happy about it. 

The way I see it I have 3 choices. I can 1) Support him. 2) Tell him to not follow after his dreams. or 3) leave him. Those last 2 are just not options in my book. So I am supporting him. Like a good wife should. I love him and we are supposed to support those we love. I would expect him to support me in what I wanted to do and what I thought was best for our family. And I will do the same for him.

No matter how long he is gone I will ALWAYS be right here waiting for him. Maybe not patiently. I'm not a very patient person, but I will be waiting. Faithfully. No matter what!