Day 26

The best part of my days looks like this.

When we're chatting and the kids are running around in the background, it doesn't feel at all like Josh is on the other side of the world.

But as soon as we hang up, he seems very far away.
Partly because once that little icon on Skype disappears, I have no real way to reach him if I need to ask a question or get his input on something.

You know, like when you've been sitting in a car dealership for an hour and 45 minutes with your monsters and some guy is telling you that you need a part that costs over $400 and you kind of just want to get your husband's opinion on that.

Decision making is not a strength of mine.
Luckily in this instance, the decision was pretty much made for me-- agree to the part, or take my pinging van home to wait for the pinging to drain the battery.
That would solve the noise, but it would make driving difficult.

(Also, at that point I probably would have paid $436 dollars just to get out of that waiting room.)

I'll just have to tell Josh to watch his spending over there to make up for it.

(That's a joke. There's not a whole lot of shopping over there. Also, you should see our grocery savings here at home! He eats more than I thought.)

But just knowing that I can't pick up the phone and call him is a definite inconvenience. I usually try to get an idea from him as to when he'll be online, and then if I'm home I leave the computer up and listen for the sound that means he's messaging me.

It's not ideal, but it beats this oh-so-generous offer from the Air Force:

I know that beats what a lot of Army and Marine wives are getting these days, and blows out of the water what the spouses of the World War vets had, but 30 minutes a week is just not quite enough for little 'ol me.

Josh is in good spirits over in Afghanistan. He sent some pictures to his family along with this little snippet--

I miss you all, but I'm having a great time here.  I have a bed, a shower with hot water, as much food as I want, time to work out every day, a terrible mustache (thanks, dad), a shaved head and I get to carry a gun everywhere...besides having Erin and the kids, what else could I want?

He makes me laugh.
Let me get this straight:

Bed + Hot Shower + Food + Gym + Upper Lip Hair - Head Hair + Gun= Man Paradise.

They are definitely the less complex gender, are they not?

Enjoy it, my love. The real world will be waiting here for you when you get home.
And the real world requires head hair and no upper lip hair.

Oh, and I don't really care for guns either.