Goodbye

Yesterday, Asa left for boot camp. We had been trying to spend as much time as possible together and with our families, but I had a presentation to give that morning at school. As soon as my class was over, Asa picked me up and we spent the morning together making sure he had everything ready. We went out to lunch with most of the family at Peking and Asa said goodbye to his dad and Mary and his sister Noah-Beth there since they all had to go to work.

After that, Asa's mom and sister Emily came back to our house to hang out with us before he left. One of the things we needed to do was take our Christmas card picture! So, Donna and my sister Emily helped us get that done. Donna was literally jumping up and down behind the camera trying to get Marley to smile, but she wasn't in a fantastic mood. I think we got a few we can use. We even convinced Asa to wear a Santa hat in some of them!!
We spent some more family time playing Yahtzee and talking to people who called. Asa's stepbrother Brett, who is in the Army, called and wished him luck and gave him a little pep talk. And Asa had friends texting him all afternoon with good luck messages also.
But, the time quickly came. He said goodbye to his sister Emily, my sister Emily, and then finally his mom. I was so sad when it was finally time to leave the house. It was stressful having to make sure he had everything for the next month and that I had everything for the trip to Shreveport to see him off.

He didn't want me to come inside the office with him because he didn't know how long it would take. So, I just dropped him off and then headed to pick up my mom and get on the road to Shreveport.

Marley was less that happy to be on the road, but my mom entertained her with a Cheerio throwing contest and waving at the trucks that passed by. We were actually ahead of Asa and his recruiter, since he had to sit around the office for a while so they could get his paperwork together.

We arrived at the hotel where Asa was staying at the same time they did, so we waited in the lobby to find out what was happening. We went up there not knowing if he could leave the hotel or when he had to be back in his room. Thankfully, he found out he was allowed to leave and he didn't have to be back until 10:30. So, we asked the front desk where we should go and she directed us to the Boardwalk.
It was so cold, but we still loved walking around outside. The Boardwalk was beautiful and my mom and I are definitely coming back to go Christmas shopping.
We decided to have dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Asa asked for a table away from everyone else so we didn't have to make Marley sit in her seat the whole time. We ordered a huge bowl of crab and shrimp and enjoyed sitting around together smashing on crab legs.
On the way to dinner we had seen a Build a Bear store. We all decided at dinner that we should go there and make Marley a bear from Asa, dressed in the Army uniforms they sell. It was so neat! You get to pick out a bear, decide how much stuffing you want, what clothes you want. We even got it a heartbeat that bumps very lightly when you press it.
She really loved the bear before it got dressed, but she wasn't such a fan of the outfit.
It turns out she really likes him now. Once she woke up this morning, she hasn't wanted to stop playing with him. We took a few family pictures in front of the river and then we really needed to get out of the cold.
We got in the car with the intention of finding a coffee shop to waste the rest of our time in, but Marley was asleep within five minutes of getting in the car. We decided it was probably best to drop Asa back off and say goodbye now instead of waking Marley back up to do something else.

So, for weeks I have been talking about how I probably wasn't going to cry when we left Asa. But I did cry. Just a little at first and then really hard once it was really time to say goodbye. Watching him kiss Marley on the forehead broke my heart for some reason. I was sad she wasn't awake to tell him goodbye and kiss him. I know we will only be apart for four and half weeks, but when I think about how much Marley will learn in the time, it breaks my heart. He is giving up so much for us and for our happiness and I just couldn't thank him enough. We will all miss him terribly, even if it is only four weeks.