The In Between Times

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One of the hardest things about the military is all the "in between" and the waiting. On the night Sweetpea was born, as I was sitting in the room holding her after everyone had left.  My husband was exhausted after being my cheerleader the whole day, and he had fallen into an exhausted sleep on the small and very uncomfortable looking chair the hospital room had. I remember looking at my new baby and thinking, "This is going to be a very hard year."  I don't know why it had never occurred to me how difficult it was going to be until that moment, but it hadn't.  Two weeks later my husband called to tell me that the military was going to move us all the way across the world, from North Carolina to Alaska.  Only a few weeks later, we learned that not only would we be moving, but shortly after the move, Hubby would be deploying for the third time.  My one really hard year had suddenly become three hard years. 

 Now we have completed the first few months of parenting, our first transcontinental move, and are waiting for the deployment phase to begin.  The last few months have been even more difficult than I could have ever imagined.  This is the first time since I was a teenager that I haven't had a car of my own, the first time in almost 6 years that I have had to start over somewhere without any friends. Since arriving here in Anchorage we knew I wouldn't be staying more than 3 or 4 months, so even if I did miraculously meet some people, it would be difficult to form any lasting relationships.  Needless to say, the isolation has been extreme. 

The extreme pressure of this isolation has been eased best by some great military wives that I have met in the past few years. Even though geographically I'm alone most the time here, I am part of a larger group of military wives who are currently, or have been "alone" while married.  My friend recently posted this quote on her facebook page and it really hit home with me - "Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough..."  In light of the last few months, and since we are about to start the deployment cycle again, I think I need to post this quote somewhere that I can see it to remember. Its been worth it to be with my husband during the last few months despite the hardship.  And we will make it through this next deployment.  It will be hard, but it will be worth it, to be back together as a family.

Anyone else going through a hard year?

As an afterthought, the link to the picture above also has an article about patience that was something I really needed to read!

<3 Rebekah