Update on Brandon and the frustration of getting things done through the military

I heard from Brandon! It was a four minute, seven second phone call. Not enough, but more than he had time for, honestly.

They are very busy and he sounded exhausted. . . and overwhelmed. . . and stressed. But I know Brandon, and I know that he can handle it. My only concern is that he will work so hard that he forgets to take care of himself and gets sick. As long as he stays healthy and hydrated, he will push himself through it no matter how tough it gets. And I'm hoping things get easier instead of worse. . . it seems like they get more privileges and things let up as time goes on. He says that right now, every time he starts getting his head wrapped around everything they are asking of him, they dump ten more things on top. I hate hearing him so stressed, and not being able to help carry the burden. I'm just trying to handle everything here at home so that he doesn't have to worry about any of that on top of everything else.

Speaking of that, I've been trying to set up our TMO, and it is a NIGHTMARE. Brandon got his orders on such short notice that he wasn't able to take care of it before he left, and things are too crazy at COT right now for him to deal with it. Luckily, we have an all inclusive POA, so I am just going to get it set up myself. Hopefully.

We had virtually no information on how to actually get it set up, so I started by trying to call what I assumed would be the nearest TMO location. No answer. For days.

I eventually got a phone number for the TMO "hub", which referred me to a website where I could apply and do "self counseling." It was supposed to save me time so that I didn't have to drive to a base and have a meeting in person. Sounds great, right? Yeah, not so much. The first problem was that the site used all of these abbreviations and anagrams that I was unfamiliar with. I called a five year military wife friend of mine, and even she wasn't sure about all of them! But that was just the beginning. Five hours later, and I still can't get the website to work correctly. It doesn't support my browser. I tried using the browser it suggested, but that didn't work either. I tried updating my browser. Nothing. I tried a different computer. Nothing. This is where having Brandon around would really be helpful, because he's good at all of that computer stuff, and I'm, you know, not.

I'm taking a break from it for awhile, because I really don't want to resort to literally pulling out my hair. I'll try again later, and if that doesn't work, I may just sell everything we own that can't fit into the car and buy new at Brandon's duty station. Okay, not really.

It's a wine night.