Obviously it has been a long time since I wrote, but Mike was deployed in March 2010. So he'll be back sometime in early 2011. I wont know until it gets closer when he'll actually be back. Also we got married July 26, 2009, so I am officially an army wife and have been for over a year now.
We had R&R in August. It was originally supposed to be in December, but Mike had the option of moving it to August. I was a little upset by this because I wanted to wait as long as possible to take R&R so that there wouldn't be that much time left afterwards before he got to come home for good. But it was good nonetheless. It was really good finally being able to see him again. This is my first time dealing with him deployed. I gotta say the last half is a bit easier than the first half. I know I can get through this because I've already done it for 6 months.
FAQs (I get asked this all the time by non-army people)
Q: What is R&R?
A: R&R (rest and relaxation) is a 2 week period where soldiers get time off during the deployment. R&R starts the next day after they arrive in their destination country. For us it was here in the USA, so his R&R started the day after I picked him up from the airport.
Q: Do you miss him now that he's gone?
A: Honestly, this is the stupidest question I get. Of course I miss him. I start missing him the day he got here for R&R because I knew our time was short. I knew I had to cherish each moment.
The last day he was here I could barely eat and I cried a lot. When I had to drop him off at the airport I didn't want to let go. I felt resentment for everyone who doesn't go through this and gets to be with their S.O. I felt pride as I watched my soldier go through the gate to get on the plane.
Even as I type this, I am tearing up, remembering that day. It feels like a piece of my heart gets ripped out of my chest.
Q: When is he coming back?
A: When the Army lets him. It should be around Feb/March but you can never really be sure. It's not supposed to go past a year, but you can never really be sure.
Q: Do you get to talk to him?
A: All the time. I am very blessed to be able to talk to him on the phone everyday. It makes this a lot easier. I don't have to go days, weeks, etc without hearing from him like other S.O.s do. I know how lucky I am. I don't know how I'd be able to handle this if I didn't get to hear from him every day.
I have to remind myself that I chose this life. The only thing that wasn't really my choice was falling in love with my husband. I knew when I met him that he was in the army. At the time I didn't really understand what that would mean. I chose to quit a job I loved to live with him on post after we got married. I chose to marry him. At times I am unhappy with the choices I have made but even if I only get to live with my husband for a few months every so often, it is worth it. Sometimes it is easy to feel pity for myself because my husband has been gone, but I have to remind myself that I did make the choices I made and I am extremely proud to be his wife. <3
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