What I've learned the past 8 months...

David has been deployed for 8 months now.... 8 months of living on my own, 6 of those with a beautiful son. During the last 8 months I learned I can do most anything I thought I couldn't. Some of the things I have learned during this deployment are:
I can drive 20 hours and cry the whole time.
I can make it through holidays with or without the cherished phone call.
I can give birth to a child.
Childbirth sucks even if you get pain medicine.
I can love someone just as much as I love my husband.
Driving in a snow storm by yourself and with your child are two totally different things.
I can shovel out a driveway all by myself.
I can shovel out a driveway twice in one day at record speeds all by myself.
Romance can happen even when the person you love is continents away from you.
How to jump start a vehicle.
How to fix a toilet.
I can drive a manual without my husband in the passenger seat.
I can feed a baby, write a letter, eat, watch tv, and talk on the phone at the same time.
How to give a dog a haircut.
How to put a stroller, car seat, and highchair together... Reading the instructions is a good thing.
How to deal with all the bills.
I can bring my baby to the ER at 4 am with a fever of 103, watch him get a spinal tap, and not freak out.
Getting ready to see my husband for the first time in 7 months does take 4 hours.
Don't worry about making sure the house is spotless, he isn't coming home to inspect the house.
I can argue and fight over the phone and internet... It just takes longer.
Care packages are the way to a man's heart.
I can never send enough pictures or care packages to make a deployed husband happy.
Coupons are worth it.
The library has good movies.
I can read a book or watch a movie without disruption if I do it after 10 pm.
To get over any fears of the dark or small creatures cause there is no one there to save the day.
Other Army wives are the only people who know exactly how I feel.
Yard work isn't just a man's job and neither is taking out the trash.
How to talk so the mechanic thinks I know what I am talking about.
Job hunting and house hunting aren't easily done over the internet.
Planning a wedding is impossible with a husband in the Army.
No one is going to do it for you so suck it up and get it done.