We miss you, but.....

Jackson woke up this morning missing his daddy.

"I waaaaant. I waaaant. I waaaaant Dada!!"

It was so pitiful. He was super sensitive about everything and I couldn't get him to calm down until we looked at some pictures of Derek and then he smiled big. That is, until I broke his pop tart in half to show him the stuff on the inside. Then he sobbed. Then he got mad-- crushing it to pieces. And then sobbed some more because he was trying to put it back together and it wasn't working. Enter more pictures of Derek and he's been alright since.

Yesterday was Derek's first day of basic training (up until now, it's all been processing stuff) and it was the first day we didn't get to talk to him on the phone. It's been 10 days since he's been gone, and it's gone by pretty fast. I miss him a ton (even more when it makes Jackson sad) and all of the things that he typically contributes to our household... but if I focus on them, I become a mess, so as a coping mechanism, let's focus on some of the positive aspects of his absence.

1. The freedom to wear his boxers and t-shirts without complaints
2. A lack of smelly farts while tucked nicely in my bed
3. Fewer conversations about farting and bowel movements, in general
4. No one to complain about my many shoes throughout the house
5. Making the bed is super easy because I only use half anyway
6. Time to practice on the Wii so that I can totally kick butt when he comes home. (I am so sick of losing at bowling!)
7. Freedom to chose movies that he wouldn't like
8. Being able to talk during a movie and not getting yelled at
9. Actually remembering to jot down the little things Jackson does and says each day
10. Not having to explain to people that "Daddy dressed him"...

... or explaining to Daddy why plaid and stripes don't go together, to begin with.