Shaping up and shipping out

Memorial Day was a kind of bittersweet day for me.

Jeremy had his marching orders -- he was to be in Hays, Kan., at 0845 for shipment by van to Kansas City, where he would then be transported to Fort Jackson, S.C. after two days of PT (physical training) and his final weigh-in.

We dropped him off at the Hays military recruiting station and watched as he, the driver and another future soldier prepared to leave.

I thought I controlled myself pretty well. I didn't throw myself on the ground, kicking and screaming. I didn't drop to the ground, grabbing him by the ankles and begging him not to leave, and only a few teardrops escaped down my cheek -- barely noticeable behind the dark sunglasses I was wearing.

Then they were gone. Brad and I sat in the parking lot of the recruiting station -- which also happened to be a Wal Mart parking lot -- I looked at Brad, and simply said, "I need to go shopping."

Shopping is something akin to Valium for me. After the first stop, I was feeling a little better.

"It'll be less than six months and he'll be home again," I told myself. "Just in time for deer season."

It was still pretty early in the morning. The mall in Hays was closed. Fashion Bug wouldn't open for another hour or two and I had no desire to go back home and do any yard work.

Instead I wanted to continue my shopping. I got Brad's atlas out of the glove box and started looking it over.

"You know, it wouldn't be a whole lot out of the way if we went east a little ways and went through Hastings," I told Brad.

"If that's what you want to do, Babe, we'll go to Hastings."

By the time we reached Hastings I was starting to feel a little euphoric, my body shooting off little endorphins and I was starting to realize some of the benefits of having the house back to just the two of us -- and the dogs.

My couch would finally be converted back to a couch, instead of a filing cabinet/trash can/tool box/computer desk.

As long as Brad kept the shades down, I could run around the house in my undergarments before I had to get ready for work. Heck, I could even make a quick trip to the basement in my birthday suit (Please don't visualize), if I happened to forget to grab a towel from the laundry room on my way upstairs.

This may not be as bad as I thought.

We finally made it to Hastings, taking the scenic route after we got lost north of Russell.

We stopped at a couple of shops in Hastings, drove on to Grand Island and stopped at the mall and a couple of discount stores, had dinner and headed for home. Brad was sure I was a lot more depressed than I was letting on, since I'd spent less than $100 during the entire trip,

Things were pretty well back to normal for the rest of that night. Tuesday, my phone at the office rang. It was Jeremy on the other end. "Mom," he said, "You may have to come and get me tomorrow."

"What's wrong," I asked, nervous that he had contracted some horrible disease.

"I have to lose 30 pounds before I can ship out."

I felt a little tinge of panic and then went into action. I called the YMCA and had my single account switched over to a family account. After work, I went to the grocery store and bought everything I needed to put both of us on a low-carb diet. And then I called him back and gave him the details of my plan.

"Low-carb, at least an hour a day at the Y and no more sugared drinks," I told him. "I'll be right beside you all the way."

So far, that's been true. I hope we can continue. I'm still looking forward to running around the house in my underclothes.