For those of you who haven't heard, my hubby Chris is deploying again to Iraq. I've been lucky enough to have had him home for the past 2 years, and he was present for my entire pregnancy (our first) and the birth of our son, Aiden. So I really can't complain that he is leaving again.
He'll be leaving sometime at the end of the Summer, and will be gone for most likely 18 months. I know most of you are saying, "WHAT? 18 months??" Yep, 18 months. We could get lucky and end up with 15 months, but I'm not holding my breath.
This is not our first deployment, or our second, or even our third. This will be Chris' fourth deployment since joining the Army 9 years ago, so we are old hat at this by now! Things will definitely be different this time around, though. During his last deployment to Iraq, we lived in Germany, didn't have children, and I didn't have a job. So my 13 months by myself consisted pretty much of spontaneous trips to various European countries, lots of "girls nights" with all of my best friends (whose husbands were also deployed), and LOTS of sleeping til noon!
But this time will be different. For starters, we are Stateside. While I enjoy the shopping choices I have now, it's not as easy to take a quick jaunt to Venice or Croatia for a long weekend! We also have a toddler, for whom I will be Mommy and Daddy for the coming year and a half. I also work full-time, and my job keeps me pretty busy during the day. One thing that has remained the same, however, are my friends. I was lucky enough to have most of my closest friends move to Ft. Benning at the same time we did, so my support system is firmly in place!
It's going to be tough, being without him for so long, but long separations do have their benefits. I read an article recently about a DOD study that says the rate of divorce among the military is the same now as it was before the war, and soliders who have been deployed for long periods had a lower risk of divorce than soldiers who stayed home. No one can explain it, but I think I know the reason. When your loved one is gone for so long, and in harm's way every minute of every day, you realize really quick what's important. You remember why you love them, why you miss them, and why you chose to be with that person forever. All the petty, stupid stuff we tend to argue about just doesn't matter. That old saying - absence makes the heart grow fonder - has never been more true, in my opinion. We celebrated our 7th anniversary today, and we are stronger now than we were 7 years ago.
Anyway, I want this blog to be a window to the world of deployment for those of you who don't experience this on a regular basis, and for those of you that do, you are my moral support!
I will do my best to keep everyone updated on the latest news from "the sandbox", but keep in mind that a lot of what I know cannot be posted due to OPSEC (for those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful world of Army acronyms, that's "operational security"). I will tell you what I can, and do my very best to keep you informed.
