Counting Down

This has been another long weekend.  I have been looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend for the past month because Karl's squadron was getting Friday-Monday off- not abnormal- I mean, hello, are these not the people that should have the weekend off?  Well, do I even need to say the following predictable course of events that went down?  Probably not... Karl was 1 of 2 people that was called in to work Friday.  And Saturday.  And Sunday.  And Monday.  I don't know why these happenings still get me in a tizzy, it is so the norm that I should be all frenzied when he does get a weekend off or a federal holiday.  I HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO become less Type A.  How can I do this, people?!?  God is painfully shaping me and molding me into something that I have never ever been.  So Monday I was thinking he would surely get off by lunch and we could make it to the pool for a picnic lunch and an afternoon of relaxing.  I was sunscreened, cooler packed, and waiting in my coverup for 3 hours.  Woof.  We did, Praise The Lord, get to the pool at 4:00 and get to enjoy ourselves for a whopping 2 hours.  I promise someday I will stop complaining about military norms.  The Lord frequently reminds me how Karl & I got to this place and in this place- by no accident.  And I know thousands of families (Karl's included) love & thrive in this lifestyle- which gives me so much peace & hope.  I guess this just still isn't the norm for me.  I still have a hard time accepting the fact that people are OK with this lifestyle of little/no notice, separation of families and couples for ridiculous amounts of time, and getting shuffled around from office to office by paper pushers. Sorry... I'll stop.  Clearly I need respite for a minute... and to keep praying for the two fruits of the spirit that I lack the most- gentleness & self-control.  Amen.
...All of this to say that I am counting down until Wednesday at midnight- when Karl's leave officially starts and we head home for Cuppett Family Vacation 2011!!!!  That's right people!  Get ready Mexico, our family of 9 is headed your way for a week of sun, sand, & snorkeling! After a couple of rough months and feeling seriously slapped around by various government establishments my soul just feels weary and in need of a break from this town of seclusion, lack of friends-a-plenty, and my family.  I know Karl feels the exact same way, I hate that it isn't as easy for him to escape for a weekend with me and I am so grateful for this trip with him.  He is more deserving of time off than anyone I can think of!!  We have both been looking forward to the break and time of rejuvenation for literally months, we are both feeling very burnt out at the moment.  My dad swears that he won't drive any of us to the airport until we can all sing Kenny Chesney's, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," by heart.  He was a little shocked when I told him that song is super old and I have known the chorus since I was in Junior High and he did not discover the perfect vacation song himself.  Sorry, Dad.  Until then, I'll be distracting myself with cleaning, packing, and making lists... my specialty. As always, clinging to the verse that has brought me to where I am- "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."- Romans 12:12- am I going to laugh in 10 years remembering that I felt like this is a time of affliction??  We'll see.  That's what this blog is for...

See ya when I'm tan!!  (Joke.  Do you know who I am?)  
Hannah K.C. Burton