Day 102: Another special occasion

I have to admire my husband. He is such a loving and devoted father to our children. Today was our oldest daughter, Emily's, birthday. This is the second year in a row he has missed her birthday. Last year he was TDY (or training for you civilians) and had to miss her birthday. Last year, he sent Emily a small birthday present to her through the mail, which meant a lot more to her than if I would have given it to her telling her it was from daddy. This year, he did the same thing. Only this time, he sent her the video game she has been begging for over the past 4-5 months. We wanted to make her wait to open it at the party, but decided to let her open it this morning while she was on Skype with Ian. Her reaction made Ian smile and tear up a little. He knew how much it meant to her. It was an awesome start to the day.

Then, at the party, Ian got up at 2:30am to Skype Emily via my phone so he could sing "Happy Birthday" to her with the rest of us. It really was so cool. Ian was there. He may not have physically been there, but he was there. His dedication was recognized by Emily and she was beaming as she watched her daddy sing to her. It made me cry.

It was at that moment that I realized we are doing something right. We are staying so connected it is amazing. I know technology is helping, but a big part of it is dedication, especially on Ian's side. It is dedication to his wife, his kids, and the life we are living here, the life he is going to come home to. He could very easily have said that talking to her in the morning and seeing her open her gift was good enough and left it at that. But, he didn't he wanted to know what time the party was and what time I would be expecting to sing to her. Then he went to bed early so he could get up to be there for her party. And, he was. He was there with all of his heart, tired as he was, he sang to her, watched her blow out her candles and let her show him her friends. It was so special.

I really couldn't have asked for more from my husband. I really couldn't have asked for a better father for my kids and a better husband for me. He is devoted. It is that simple. Our children know he loves them, and he is bound and determined to be there whenever he can. That is how we have made this work. This is how we are so far apart, yet united as ever.

Another successful, special day. These are the days I am scared of, but today we made it through.

A picture of the cake I made for Emily.