A Bad Case of the Blues

I don’t know what it is this week but I find myself yearning for the sound of ocean. I miss the mountains. I miss the fragrance of the pua trees and the moso’oi. I miss the birds chirping outside as they devour all the ripe papayas. I miss the kids running around bare feet and without a care in the world. I even miss the nosy villagers that seem to know everything that’s going on in your life before you even know it yourself. I miss the smell of taros and palusamis fresh out of the umu. I even miss the cranky old women who seem to think that we are never quick enough. I miss the sound of Samoa. Guess, I’m just a little down today.

We need to do something to get out of this funk so I’ve told the boys we’re going to the movies after school today. We’re going to see Ironman that comes out today so that should be nice. I think the boys are so ready to go back home and I’m pretty much there too. For some reason, this assignment has been harder than others we’ve done. We’ve always been able to enjoy other places where we’ve lived but this has just not been one of those places for us. The boys and I are heading back to the West Coast when hubby leaves in June. They’ll be closer to family again which will be wonderful for them.

We were hoping to be able to go home to Samoa for a visit before hubby leaves for Iraq but that’s not going to be possible now. His schedule is so tight and they have so much to do before they go so the trip is shelved until he comes back. I know I’m feeling blue mostly because I’m already missing him and I’m worried for his safety. He’s actually away for several weeks for training with his unit, all in preparation for their deployment to Iraq. I’m really going to miss my husband but I will do my best to cowboy up and do my part, plaster a smile on my face, be strong and all that. What a miserable mess!

On the bright side, our oldest will be home from college tomorrow so that is something else to look forward to. He was planning on coming back here to the East Coast next fall as he really likes the university he’s attending now. However, the last time he came home, which was several weeks ago, he told us that he felt he needed to be closer to me and the boys. He seems to feel that with his dad deploying to Iraq, he was responsible for me and his younger brothers. So, he will be going back with us and going to the local university there. I’m relieved too as I won’t worry so much now that he’s going to be a little closer. He’s still going to be about 5 hours away at the university but that’s definitely better than being across the country.

I would make some Samoan food to help get rid of the blues but then no one else would eat it. My younger boys never developed a taste for it. They would eat a few spoonfuls here and there but they would rather have a burger or a pizza. And there is definitely no fun in going to the hassle of making Samoan food that you’re going to eat by yourself. Oh well, maybe a big bowl of strawberry ice cream will do the trick.