Saying Goodbye

We found out that Jeff would be flying to Korea very late Thursday the 12th, we got married on Friday the 13th, finished shopping for and packing everything he would need for the next year Saturday the 14th and we said goodbye Sunday the 15th at 6:50am. Needless to say this was one of the craziest weekends of our lives. Trying to get everything ready for him was not an easy task. Yes we knew that most likely Jeff would be going to Daegu, but we were really hoping that he would be able to instead take a job that was offered to him at the elementary school here in town. Unfortunately he did not make it to the interview that would have been today even though Jeff asked them to fly him out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Once he received conformation that his plane tickets were ready, we did not have the option of backing out. At least not without having to repay them for everything they had spent on him, that being over 5,000$.
At first when I woke up Saturday morning I was so focused on getting everything he needed that I did not give myself time to get too emotional. Not only did we have to finish all out last minuet shopping and packing, but we also had a BBQ at his parents house so they could say their goodbyes. A few times his mom started to cry but I found a reason to walk away and stay strong. I did feel guilty in that I asked his family not to come to the airport with us to send him off. I did this for two reasons, first being I wanted to spend that last few minuets together, just the three of us. Second I didn't want everyone to get really emotional and upset Tyson. I knew that it was going to be hard enough for me to be strong for him, I didn't want him to get scared seeing everyone around him crying. I was able to stay pretty strong until his bags were packed and sitting in the car. It seemed like they were just waiting to be placed in the underbelly of a jet, taking my now husband and Tyson's daddy far away from us. I was good about making sure I was alone when I was crying my eyes out. I did not want to make it harder on Tyson or Jeff it possible. Unfortunately that would not end up the case, but I really did try.
Jeff had promised Tyson one last "boy's night" so we all went over to McDonald's for supper. I do not usually go out to eat with them but I did not want to miss a moment with Jeff. On our way into eat, Tyson started screaming that something had bit him on the foot and when I looked, the bottom of his foot started to swell. I am guessing that here was a spider on the ground and it must have become stuck inside his sandal when he stepped on it. He did not want to go home so inside we went, making sure to keep an eye on his foot. All in all supper was great, we even got a surprise visit from Nannie while we were there. After we were all done eating, we all drove around so that Jeff could say goodbye to anyone that he could find. It was sad to see him telling everyone that it was his last night in Millinocket. It was even more sad having some of his students ask me to go to graduation and record it so he would not miss his first class walking. After we went everywhere he could think of, it was time to go home and try to get a little sleep. Tyson was out so fast, but Jeff and I stayed up talking. I wanted to make sure that I had everything set for him to go, along with knowing everything that needed to be done around the house so he would not worry. Just as we both finally started to fall asleep, around 1am, Tyson woke up screaming in pain. Jeff and I were so close to taking him up to the hospital, but with some ice and a new place to sleep on the couch, he was back to sleep. I then let Jeff go sleep for a bit while I stayed awake to make sure he was up by 2:30. It was not a great start to the morning, but once we were all in the car and heading to the airport it was better. I tried so hard to be the strong one, but ended up crying the entire hour's drive. Thankfully Tyson was sound asleep and did not hear me.
Once we finally got to the airport we realized that we did NOT have to be there 2 hours early like they had told him on the phone. It was nice having that extra time to spend together instead of having to just drop him off and leave. I have to say when we got to the airport I was not ready for all the solderers that were there getting ready to fly out. Seeing all of them truly made me feel even more blessed that Jeff was traveling to be a teacher and not going where all of those brave men and women were. I prayed the entire time we were there for each and every one of them to come home safely.
As the time got closer, we all started to feel the weight of emotions building up, I was actually doing good until I saw Jeff getting a bit red in the face. When they actually called for his flight to start boarding it all became too much for all of us. Tyson seemed to suddenly realize that this really was happening and started screaming for his Daddy to come back. Seeing him so upset made it impossible for me to hold back the tears any longer. We got one more quick look at Jeff through the glass and I knew from the expression on his face that he could hear Tyson calling him back. Tyson and i stayed until we saw Jeff's plane take off, then we tearfully walked back out to the car. Tyson reached up and held my hand and asked me if we were ok and I told him of course we were. That we are going to have to be partners while Daddy was gone and help each other not only get through today, but through the next year. That seemed to make him feel better and when we got into the car he was done crying but I had a hard time driving away from the airport. When he realized I was crying again he said, "Mommy are you crying again, you can't miss him already". Thankfully he was so tired that he slept the entire drive home as well and let me be to cry alone.
When I finally got home I checked the computer and Jeff had sent me an email the night before. It showed me Delta's flight tracker and after I typed in his information, i was able to watch his flight in almost real time. Watching that little orange plane move across the screen made me feel so much closer to him. Like I was somehow able to watch over him and be with him. i don't know how I would have made it though that day without that. I was able to see when his plane landed in Detroit and was even able to talk to him with Skype during his 6 hour layover. He finally had to say goodbye again at 2pm to get onto the long flight from Detroit to Tokyo Japan. I was hoping to talk to him once he landed in Japan, before his next flight to Busan South Korea, but after almost 40 hours without sleep, I finally gave in. I missed his message to tell me that he had arrived in Daegu safely, and I did not get to talk to him to know how he really was until about 12am here. Even though there are a few bumps with his apartment, he seems very happy and already at home. Hopefully we will get to talk more tomorrow night (our time), For now I thank God for getting him there safely and giving me the strength to get through the day in one piece.