Big Girl Panties

There is such a slim chance that a man would be reading this blog...but I do feel an obligation to tell you that if you ARE a guy OR you dislike the word "panties"...you may want to stop reading this post and go grab the sports section of the Sunday paper.  Some people cringe at the mention of unmentionables....oh, wait...that's why they are called unmentionables...okay - here's the deal...I need to talk about something and it involves panties...

When I was a little girl...in Kentucky....I called the underwear you wore everyday..."PAY-NEES".  Yes, I had a stronger accent than even I remember.  Then, let's just say I was going to church and I was going to put on those little white silky doodads that may or may not have ruffles carefully placed on the caboose, I called those "PANTIES"....with a short a....with a "t".  Clearly, there was a difference.  And...there is a difference in my world...even now...but it's not what you think.

A few days ago I was comfortable in my "pay-nees".  My sweet hubby had returned from Iraq on Christmas Day 2008....we had enjoyed lots of family skiing time, playing baseball time, watching movie time....bicycle rides, days in the German woods behind our house, cozy little restaurants....my cotton "pay-nees" were the uniform of the day because in the army wife world, "panties" are for the darkest days.  Hold on...back up...I should say that "BIG GIRL PANTIES" are for the darkest days.  The "special" occasions like  deployments, memorial services, helping friends through their own shadowy days...and so on.  I really prefered the cotton variety days.  We get up, we start to get ready for school, John gets up and goes to PT, the kids go to school, John comes home, showers and hops in his uniform and goes off for a day of being awesome - everyone comes home, we eat dinner, play a little family baseball, watch TV and go to bed.

I had my cotton girlies on when we went home for Thanksgiving.  "Home" being the "My Kentucky" I wrote about and it was to be a lovely little trip that would recharge my Kentucky batteries with some sweet tea and cream candy...and then I would come back to Germany for my last 5 months and "hang out".  But, on our second day in Kentucky, John received a call that duty once more was knocking and he would deploy rather quickly once we returned.  I'm not sure I even saw THAT one coming.  These are the legends that army life are littered with

...."We found out we were moving to Virginia and once we had unpacked every last box...they called and we moved 2 days later to Alaska!" (Army wives everywhere shake their heads in sympathy....which leads to more stories...) "You are not going to believe what happened when we moved to New York..." and our ears perk up.  We know the drill...listen to the legends....learn from the legends and never ever think the legend will not be YOURS some day.

  And yet - when John said he was leaving within 2 weeks...I just stared at him.  Okay...maybe I glared but there are no witnesses...except for John and I'm sure he won't tell...

Once I returned to my Home Sweet Home across the Atlantic, my friends already knew.  We are one big happy family.  They are such awesome sisters - they said things like, "Come over to my house for Christmas!"  and "At least you have lots of skiing to look forward to!" and "I'm sorry...I really am..." and I knew they meant it.  But, one friend came over and said, "Christy - take your time - be mad - be sad  - and put your big girl panties on when you are ready..."

Yep...the rumba panties had to come back out.  Good thing they were on top of the pile - I always figure they need to be close by.

And so...we enter the 3rd Christmas season in a row without one of the sweetest and hardest working guys I know...and the only one I'm actually married to!  All I have left to say about this particular deployment is that I am thankful from my head to my toes that I have 4 awesome children who make Christmas fun fun fun...that those 4 awesome children love to ski as much or more than I do...that I have wonderful army sisters...amazing biological sisters...family that loves me and a husband that places God and country above all else. 

Yep..life is good dispite these ruffly things driving me crazy under my jeans.  It will be nice to go shopping for some nice white granny doo-dads once he returns!