Days of Waiting

Hans was supposed to be back in Germany yesterday morning. No go. He got down to the AFB at Bagram on Monday, just like he was supposed to, and they told him that although the flight he was supposed to be on had been listed as available and he'd been allowed to sign up for it, he wasn't actually allowed onto said flight. The Air Force stock answer: Sorry, it's against policy.

Well, then I think it should be against policy for the Air Force to list flights as being available when they really aren't. And here I thought that the Air Force cared about people...I go around all the time talking about how the Navy could really give a damn about any of us, anyone's family, the stuff we have to go through to keep our service member afloat (hah, see, I still have my sense of humor!). I always wax poetic about how the Air Force really seems to care about its airmen and their families. Well, humph!

Anyhoo. I got the news that Hans wasn't going to be allowed on the flight well after the kids had gone to bed on Monday evening. Well after we had gotten everything arranged. Baths had been taken early, everyone was in bed early due to having to get up early the next morning. Toys and books and movies for in-car entertainment had been picked out and packed. Signs declaring love and longing for Daddy complete with hearts and trains had been made and carefully set aside. Even their little outfits had been picked out with care and set out for a quick change in the morning so that we could go, go, GO!

Yep, to say that everyone was a little excited was an understatement. I'm surprised that they were able to fall asleep.

But then the phone rang and it was Hans, telling me that he might not get on the flight, he would call me back later on to see what the decision was. Apparently, the desk AF people talked to the pilot AF people to get some sort of decision...so, was it really "against policy?". If you can discuss it and make decisions, then I really think that maybe it wasn't against policy, but that that is the nice, stock answer. Convenient. I may start using that with the kids.

Anyway, long story short, I had to explain to these children, who were bursting with excitement, that we were not going to pick up Daddy. These children, who were awake before me and were sitting on the couch with their specially picked-out clothes, waiting to get dressed. There was much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Yeah, some days I hate the military too kids. Get used to it...

So...we got dressed anyway, though everyone was feeling very deflated. We decided that the only thing to salvage the day was a trip to Toys R Us. With a price limit of 10 Euro per child, I didn't think that was too over-the-top. I know you'll be shocked to hear that Josiah got a new train, Rheneas (yeah, where do they come up with these names?) and Annika got two new Schleich cats and a Hello Kitty toy. She's really getting into Hello Kitty, which makes me regret that I didn't spend a bunch more Yen at the 100 Yen store after she was born. They had so much Hello Kitty stuff...oh well, you live and learn.

And what did I get? Oh yeah, I bought a new stroller. I know, I'm slightly ashamed too, but let me explain: I didn't pack our infant car seat, so we have to get a new one...I'm also hearing that car seats expire after five years. Not sure if that's true or not, but if it is, Josiah's is defunct. Also, my dear sweet Maclaren stroller, which we have loved for four years, is really getting beat and I wanted to get a new, lightweight, compact-folding stroller. How I am going to get rid of the Mac, I don't know...it will require a great deal of strength to put it in the trash, thinking of all the places that it's been and its little riders. Sniffle.

Also, we got that SUV thingy--you know, when the third row seat is up, there's about 3-1/2 cubic feet of cargo space, so I knew that I wouldn't be putting the jogging buggy OR the travel system full-size stroller in.

So here is what I got yesterday:http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=9717&f=4946&pc=262

It is the smallest folding stroller on the market, one of the lightest, it corners beautifully and can be pushed with a finger, it looks stylin' and it takes a carseat. It also came with its own carrying bag, rain cover and canopy. And it is small enough to take ON the plane, so the airline can't wank it up. Now I just have to get the Maxi Cosi infant seat over here and I'm set. I would buy a German one, but believe it or not, they don't use bases with their infant seats, just the seatbelt, which...eeek...freaks me out a bit.

This turned out to be a long and somewhat whiny post, sorry about that. Hans is trying to get on a flight that comes in to a different base here in Germany today. Otherwise, it will maybe be tomorrow morning, early again. Good grief! Wish us luck. And try not to judge me for being stroller-obsessed.