Today is officially Day 1 of RAP week for Zac. This makes it my first day holding down the fort solo. It’s been about two months since I have posted an Update so I am going to try fill that gap now that I have some extra time on my hands.
Lets start with Zac:
After he graduated IBOLC, things were a little confusing for a while. As the Army often does, they made and then quickly changed his plans. We were expecting him to start Ranger School in May, and here we are, near the end of June. But during that time he was able to attend RTAC, which gave him an extra confidence boost that I think will really help him during RAP week. We also got to meet up with his friend Chris, from EKU, and his wife Tabitha. The four of us got a chance to go to the Infantry Museum together, which really gave me a better understanding of Ranger School and everything Zac is about to go through.
Outside of his Army Career, Zac started taking Scuba classes. He completed all of his pool sessions and will have to finish the rest after Ranger School. He is very determined to have completed it all before we make the move to Hawaii.
Little Old Me:
I have had a roller coaster of events happen these past few months. After Zac graduated, I got to spend a lot more time with him than I did while he was in IBOLC. He was of course, very focused on training for Ranger School, but getting to see him every night, was nothing short of amazing.
Then I received word that my Grandpa wasn’t doing well.
Now don’t get me wrong, I feel like I’m adjusting well to having long distance relationships with my family and friends pretty well. But the second I got word about my Grandpa, I was over the distance. It took us so long to get leave for Zac to be able to come with me, that I didn’t get a chance to say good bye. That was when the reality of the Army life style really sunk in for me. And it hit me hard. But I am so thankful that we were able to go home and be with my family the week following his passing. We came together and picked each other up in just the way we all needed. And I’m thankful that I was able to have Zac by my side through it all. Grandpa suffering is over and he can finally rest easy.
To our surprise, we were relieved when we got home. We both expected to get extremely home sick, but we didn’t. We decided that this meant Georgia really was our “home” in the way we thought only Ohio could be. We talked about how Cincinnati would always be our City, but were happy that we could find the pleasures of “home” in other places. This will definitely make all of the moving around much easier for us.
A few days after our return Zac took an RPFT (a test to determine if he’d be permitted to go to Ranger School) He of course did amazing. He found out later that week that he would be one of a handful of guys attending RTAC the two weeks before Ranger School. We of course had to scramble to buy everything on the Ranger packing list at that point, and lets just say it was anything but cheap.
When Zac left for RTAC, I started watching Anna Kate and Brooks again for the summer. I spent most of my days with them poolside. Between watching them and taking care of Koda and Smittens, I kept pretty busy. I also went to a painting “class” at Brushes and Beverages in Uptown Columbus with Katie and Tabitha. We had a blast and I’m sure the three of us will be going back. But even with all that going on, those two weeks seemed to drag on forever. When he finally called and asked me to pick him up I was watching the kiddos. The three of us picked him up and took him home. I still had several hours of watching the kids ahead of me, so he slept until I got back. We had Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, per his usual request, and he fell asleep early. Throughout the next few days we ate at all of Zac’s favorite spots including Chipotle and Buckhead’s Bar and Grill. He wasn’t home long, but I cherished every second. It was over way too fast. But I felt more proud and excited to watch him walk into Ranger School, than I felt sad to see him go.
Before he left, I told him that I was going to attempt to finish a project a week. We talked about a few and I have the first few weeks of projects lined up. Between working, taking care of the fur babies, organizing Zac’s fan mail and keeping up with my usual chores, I should be plenty busy and hopefully have no time to feel lonely.
The Fur Babies:
Koda Bear has had an interesting few weeks. He spent a few days throwing up all over our apartment. At first I thought he got too much of a bone, then I thought he got into Smittens’ litter box, but after a few days of watching him I learned no matter what he was getting into, he was puking because he drank his water too fast. I have limited the amount of water I give him at a time and he stopped getting sick. The crazy boy just loves water so much that he can’t get it in his face fast enough. Once Zac left for RTAC, Koda started sleeping in bed with me through the night instead of just the mornings. He loves it. We had some issues when Zac came home because they both LOVE to spread out and take up the whole bed so there was no room for me. But we are back to normal now and both sleeping great. We also took him to the dog park for the first time with Chris, Tabitha and their puppy. (The two of them have been great friends to us since they moved down here and I’m so happy they are here!) It was so hot that we were the only people there at first. Koda attempted to play but quickly got too hot and tired. When we left, Koda was so tired he slept the whole way home in front of the air vents. He spent the whole time Zac was home giving Zac kisses and following him around. He definitely missed him. He is currently curled up on my lap, giving me snuggles while he chews on his bone. He is such a mama’s boy.
Smittens definitely misses Zac already. He was out playing before we left and when I came back without Zac, he was sitting under our bedroom window and he stayed in that spot all. day. long. The poor boy loves Zac so much. He has been warming up to me a lot lately, though. He has let me hold him without biting me, which is HUGE for us. He still won’t let me anywhere near him with his ShedMonster, so he’s still “over fluffed”. He has made it is mission to wake Koda and I up in the middle of the night, every night. He has knocked a full glass of water off my night stand, knocked over three different picture frames, knocked dvd cases onto the floor and been caught on video playing with his loudest toys, all around 4 in the morning on different nights. He keeps me on my toes, and drives Koda insane.
All and all, we are doing pretty great down here. I will continue to post updates as our journey continues.
Once Upon My Fairy Tale 