While He's Gone: Tip #3

Believe it or not, this is not my first rodeo, ladies. I actually have 4 other blogs that I run, purely for fun. I love to write, and it's something that is important to me. My Sailor likes to call it "my creative outlet", which I think is a lovely way to say: "Something to occupy my time when Abel is away." I would hope that I would draw a lot of readers to my blogs, but I am realistic enough to know that although I know my blogs are enjoyed by some, they are most likely not high on very many to-read lists.

That's why, when I asked my Sailor about one of my blog posts, I got upset when he hadn't read it. Then, we talked about it, and I will now share with you, my few but faithful readers, just what I learned from that conversation...

Your Sailor loves to keep up with what you are doing while he is away. It makes him feel like he's still a big part of your life. Just think how you would feel if an old friend of his came up to you at Wal-Mart and asked what he was up to nowadays, and you didn't really know! I don't know about you ladies, but I have to feel in-the-know. I hate feeling left out of anything, especially the love of my life's day-to-day. So, although he loves keeping informed on anything and everything to do with you, realize that his life is extremely busy. He'll have 18 hour days, uniform requirements to meet, inspections to prepare for, tests to study up on, problems & glitches to handle, and he still has to eat, sleep and breathe, too! He may be off for the night, but his day certainly won't end there. He'll catch up when he can, so don't make him feel worse that he can't be with you as much as he wants, even if it is only of the cyber nature.

Incidentally, once I accepted the fact that he would read it when he could, and stopped asking if he'd read it every time I posted something, he started surprising me with little quotes and comments about my blogs. And let me tell you, when I stopped getting my hopes up that he'd be able to read them all the time, it made the times he did read them, that much more special to me. (He even read my wedding blog! Now that's a sturdy Sailor.)

Happy Independence Day!

In honor of Independence Day this year, I am posting this lovely picture of Cake Pops, made with our Armed Forces in mind. Tomorrow will not only be a day to celebrate America's Independence, but also to thank all our Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen for defending our nations Independence! This wonderful website, aptly named Bakerella, is a baking blog that I read on a daily basis.

Incidentally, (and you knew I was going to tie in some advice here) baking is a good hobby to take up while your Sailor is away, for multiple reasons.

• You are going to be bored with all that time on your hands, normally reserved for TLC time with your Sailor. Taking up a hobby is the key to keeping your sanity. You need something fun and fulfilling to occupy your time, and what better way to do that then by making something sweet that you can reward yourself with?!
• Baking can be so rewarding. It gives you a feeling of accomplishment that helps so much when you know your Sailor is contributing his whole life to service our country. This way, you can feel like you did something cool too!
• Speaking of helping out, if your Sailor is deployed, or in school, you can bake various sweet dishes and send them to him or his shipmates. If he's in school, make sure the package you send him is resealable, because only sealed packages of food are allowed in their rooms. There is NO outside food allowed at boot camp! Also, make sure the items you send can weather the trip, *pun intended! Remember, chocolate melts, dairy expires and dough dries out, so follow these tips from Treat The Troops, from a lady that has been baking for our troops since 1990!