When Eric deployed I was sad. Like sat on the floor sobbing clutching my knees felt paralyzed by despair sad. I was surprised by how much his leaving hurt. Not going to lie, it took a few days to stop being super sad. However, it quickly became clear to me that I couldn’t let this become “the 9 months that Eric was gone”. I wanted it to be the 9 months I hiked a bunch of 14ers, the 9 months I learned how to make amazing coffee, the 9 months where I had a bunch of new experiences. I had read before about people creating deployment bucket lists, so I decided to create one of my own.
- Run my first half marathon
- Pay off my car
- Get in shape
- Go on more hikes
- Go hiking in places other than Colorado Springs
- Learn how to make fancy coffee
- Try recipes from the cookbook my future mother in law gave me at Christmas
- Hike at least five 14’ers
- Find my wedding dress
- Get promoted
Setting goals is always important. But during deployment, having set goals that you want to accomplish will make the time go by more quickly. When I look at the things I want to accomplish while Eric is gone, it feels like 9 months might not even be enough time to get them done.