Today, Joel flew this flag over his HQ in Bagram in honor of our anniversary. He’ll bring it home folded nicely and we can frame it and put it on the wall and remember… how bad today stinks. 
Ok well maybe by then I’ll have come up with a more eloquent, inspiring thought for it to stand for. Perhaps a reminder of how God brought us through tough times, or a symbol of the the nation that we so proudly sacrificed for… something like that would probably look nicer on a plaque than, “Remember how bad that day stunk?”
Joel also flew a flag on Jeremiah’s birthday and brought it home on R&R. I wasn’t sure what I should do with it. Joel suggested framing and displaying it… but, a folded flag means something different to the wife of a deployed soldier… something I don’t want reminded of every day. We unfolded it and hung it on Jer’s wall instead.
Speaking of framing flags, I’m trying to re-frame today. Instead of thinking of it at as a time to celebrate our wedding day, which seriously is no fun without Joel here… I’m trying to think of it as the day we celebrate the founding of our family.
My husband may be miles away, but my two little children would much rather celebrate “our family’s birthday” than watch mommy cry.
So we had ice cream for breakfast. To celebrate.
My mom loved to eat ice cream for breakfast. and lunch. and dinner. and bed time snack. and….
Sorry about a lonely anniversary. I can’t believe it was a year ago I watched the kids so you could go to zio’s for your 11th! Time is moving fast!
Comment by Amber — June 3, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
Actually that seems like forever ago. Definitely during some different lifetime at least.
Comment by Amy — June 3, 2007 @ 3:56 pm
Ah yes. The dreaded anniversary. When Jon was gone, I got a professional massage and had dessert with friends to, uh, “celebrate.” (to add salt to the wounds, it was our FIRST anniversary…)
I even took it a step further. (I mean hey, if the whole year is going to stink, you may as well live it up, right?
I celebrated each month as a huge accomplishment… the 15th of each month (he deployed on May 15th) became a party, whether it was me getting together with friends, bringing Dunkin Donuts to work, or whatever- I would find something to do to celebrate. It started with “One Down, Eleven to Go” Day and went on from there…
I like your way of looking at it as a “family birthday” though- that way you can celebrate with the kids too! I say, when the spouse is gone, sometimes you just need ice cream for breakfast!
Comment by Sara — June 3, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
Family birthday…EXCELLENT idea. I’ll have to file that away for future lonely anniversarys of my own.
Comment by Rachel — June 3, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
The way my wife and I have dealt with this stuff over the decades and deployments is to time shift the days. So our anniversary is some other day, or her birthday comes a month early, or we have a big ol’ blast because I’ll be gone too long.
It seems to work for us.
Comment by Chap — June 3, 2007 @ 11:53 pm
Family Birthday! I like it…remembering a couple of those miserable anniversaries from our long-ago USMC days. And ice cream for breakfast! YAY!
Comment by SingingOwl — June 5, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
The ice cream for breakfast approach works for me — although I’m guessing you might have set a new tradition for the kiddles
Then again, I bet Joel will enjoy it also – next year. I’m glad you made it a Family Birthday.
{Hugs}
Comment by Barb — June 7, 2007 @ 7:06 pm