I remember very vividly the week before Mark left. I was more upset about him having to leave Abbie than anything else. I knew it was going to be hard for him to leave her, and I knew she’d change a lot while he was gone.
Now that we leave here in two days, I’m again finding the hardest part to be knowing that my parents won’t be around Abbie anymore, and I know how hard that will be for them. They absolutely LOVE having Abbie here, and she enjoys her time with them just as much as they do with her. I know it will be a huge adjustment for her to not have them around anymore, and to not be the center of three adults attention. She wakes up and asks for “gammy and gampy” right away (if I beat them to getting her out of bed in the morning that is), and every time they leave she asks where they’re going and when they’re coming back and if she can go with them, and every time they come home, she goes running to greet them and jumps into their arms. I would imagine it’s pretty much any grandparents dream.
Our visit hasn’t been all rainbows and puppies and there has been more than once where I was ready to pack up and head back to Italy early. But overall, we’ve had a fun summer here and I’m glad my parents had this bonding time with Abbie. They really got to know her better than they ever would have if Mark hadn’t deployed and we hadn’t come home. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise with this whole deployment thing. I know my parents and Abbie gained a lot from our time here and it is amazing to me the difference I see in my parents and how they handle and react to Abbie now verses when we first got here. And Abbie is infinitely different as well since she has matured a BUNCH in the 6 months we’ve been home. And I think she’s grown 4 inches as well..
Hopefully it won’t be too long before my parents can come visit us (and the new baby) in Italy. I’m hoping they can come to Italy once or twice next year to get their Abbie fix. And vice versa.
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