Deployment. The word that every spouse of a military member dreads hearing. It's a world of the unknown. Not knowing the days or times in which your loved one will actually be leaving. Going days, and weeks, not hearing from them. Of learning to depend on yourself to protect the life the two of you forged. Not only is it up to you to take care of the kid(s), pay the bills, take care of house, and manage to take care of yourself. And for those working spouses, maintain your job/career. You are accountable for the life that two people share while your other half is doing their job in the service of our country.
I've found that I catch myself staring at my phone. Willing it to ring. Or tell me I have an email waiting for me. But, I know its not going to. Not for a while. I call this the fog. It just doesn't quite feel real. That they aren't quite gone...
But they are. The adjustment will set in. Emotions will transition. There will be days where you miss them so much that you can hardly breath. But there will also be days where you get trough a day without feeling like your heart is only being held together by threads.
Deployments are hard on both parties, just as much on the home front as they are on the front lines. But with strong communication, willingness to work hard, and dedication deployments don't have to be so scary. So here's to the next handful of months, sooner or later the end will be in sight. That I am sure of.
