Yesterday I took him to the airport. He should be midway between Amsterdam and Bahrain about right now.
We were lucky enough that when his boat left back in March they let him stay behind. I had just given birth to Monkey Boy two weeks earlier. Sunday our son turns three months old. I’m grateful for that little bit of time we had. So many sailors not only miss out on the birth of their children, but up to the first six months too.
I’ll miss his name. Tres’ cool.
Oh, Shadi, I’m going offline for about a week and a half, but e-mail me if you like. Ivylad left for a six month Med run two days after Ivygirl was born, so I completely understand what you’re going through.
Thanks. He’s on a sub which makes everything so much worse. Our only form of communication is email. Not instant email either. Everything I send gets screened. And the entire boat shares a 3k connection so that means no pictures. I know I’m one of the lucky ones though. He’ll only be gone until the end of September. I could have been the entire six months.
Shadi,
I’m glad he could spend the extra time home with you and the baby. My son was in Iraq when his son was born, although he’s back stateside now. Tell the sailor that we, even those of us who think the war is ill-conceived and ridiculous, appreciate him and his crew and what they do. Especially us old disgruntled veterens!
Hawk
Shadi, I’m so glad you and he got some extra time together before he had to leave to catch the boat.
Thank you for putting up with him and his job at this point, and tell him that there’s another nuc vet who’s hoping he comes home safe and well.