8 weeks left!!

8 weeks left! Woo Hoo! I must say that this deployment has gone by so smoothly and quickly so far. And I hope I don't jinx myself by saying that. ;)  I feel very thankful that there have been no major issues with the house or car, but I find myself holding my breath, waiting for something to go wrong. After all, isn't it written in a handbook somewhere that something MUST break down or go terribly wrong during a deployment? I'm pretty sure that's a rule! But, fortunately for me so far, there have been no hot water leaks, flat tires, no major accidents or trips to the hospital, no lightning strikes on the house, power outages, ruined appliances, expired cards or documents, no gypsies or salesmen peeking into my windows, and no major hindrances from simply living abroad. Whew!  I'm wiping the sweat from my brow just thinking about all the past deployments. It's amazing just how much can arise when the husband is away. It makes me wonder how we ever manage without our husbands, especially if they are such great problem solvers and handymen!  One thing is true, though: with each deployment I always learn something new about myself. I find new strengths I never knew I had, even if it means simply learning how to fix a temperamental lawn mower, change a flat tire, spend countless nights alone or hopelessly try to speak Italian to the locals! Life has to go on, and sometimes there's no one else to do the hard stuff, so you simply have to do it yourself!
Lets hope the next 2 months go by just as quickly and painlessly! We are hoping this is Allen's last deployment!! Since he will be teaching for the next 4-5 years in Georgia before retirement, there will most likely be no more deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and other hostile territories. If he does deploy again, chances are it will be just for two weeks at a time to Europe or places in the States to teach a class. I will be so thankful to have a full time husband again! :)  If you add up all the deployments and assignments Allen has had since we moved here, it adds up to roughly 15 months.  That means I have lived alone in Italy for 15 months without a husband! And I survived!! You'd think somewhere in that book, it would also be written that a wife deserves a medal too just for putting up with all the deployments! :) 

Slowly but surely I am sorting through and getting rid of things before we move. Thankfully, since Allen got his promotion, we are allowed a bigger shipping allowance. We are allowed to ship 11,000 pounds of household items, and I doubt we will even use all that. But there's nothing I hate more than moving to a new place and having a bunch of things we don't need! Because unpacking is even worse than packing!!
My Nigerian 'friend' Paul stopped by the other day. He's a door to door salesmen who sells mostly dollar items. Normally I don't like the salesmen here because they are nosy and pushy, and they will peek through your windows if you don't answer the door; but every month Paul will stop by during his usual rounds in my area. He usually sells cheap socks and tissue paper since he doesn't have a lot of money, but instead of buying things from him I usually load him up with can foods and other things he can use. So the other day as I was bringing groceries in from the car, he stopped by and I loaded him up with not just food goods this time, but also a few things that I really needed to get rid of. Since there are no thrift stores to drop junk off at, and since we are not allowed to have yard sales over here, it's very hard to get rid of things you no longer want or need. Everything has to go to specific recycling centers and it's very time consuming and inconvenient.  So, I loaded Paul up with some things he could use or sell, and what may sound like a good deed on my part, is actually me being selfish by unloading all my junk on him! :) It's a win-win situation!  Next time he comes, I plan on loading him up with even more! :)