I just think it’s funny how...
Chris and I have dealt with our time apart. We did long distance for almost 2 years while I was stationed in Texas (in that time he was in Korea for 9 months) and then he was deployed for 10 in Iraq, UAE, and Afghanistan. So we are no strangers to being on our own.
But the funny thing about all the deployments and times gone for field time or training, once they’re back you become dependent on them all over again. It may not be right away, you’ll maintain your independence for the first few weeks, but then you’ll feel like you can’t function without them.
Chris is working gate guard so he is on 12 hr shifts, from 0400 - 1600. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Well what you don’t realize is he has to wake up at 0200, be at the MP station by 0325, is taken to the gate at 0400, works 12 hrs, gets picked up from the gate at 1630, and finally gets home at about 1700.
The hard part about this is, it’s like he’s in the field on the day he works. He comes home and is physically, mentally exhausted. So I don’t really have the help I need with the kids after I’ve had a long ass day too. And I’ll hear it a lot “oh but he was deployed so this should be easy”. No, no it’s not. Being without help is not easy. I made it through the deployment with an infan and toddler bc my mind kicked into survival mode. “If I don’t take care of these kids and myself, we will not be okay” Sounds dramatic but that’s how it was for me. New baby, toddler, depression, anxiety. It wasn’t easy.
I just think it’s funny how.... we make it through and survive these deployments with everything getting dumped on us. And yet, within weeks of them returning, we don’t know what we would do without them or how we made it without them.
But the funny thing about all the deployments and times gone for field time or training, once they’re back you become dependent on them all over again. It may not be right away, you’ll maintain your independence for the first few weeks, but then you’ll feel like you can’t function without them.
Chris is working gate guard so he is on 12 hr shifts, from 0400 - 1600. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Well what you don’t realize is he has to wake up at 0200, be at the MP station by 0325, is taken to the gate at 0400, works 12 hrs, gets picked up from the gate at 1630, and finally gets home at about 1700.
The hard part about this is, it’s like he’s in the field on the day he works. He comes home and is physically, mentally exhausted. So I don’t really have the help I need with the kids after I’ve had a long ass day too. And I’ll hear it a lot “oh but he was deployed so this should be easy”. No, no it’s not. Being without help is not easy. I made it through the deployment with an infan and toddler bc my mind kicked into survival mode. “If I don’t take care of these kids and myself, we will not be okay” Sounds dramatic but that’s how it was for me. New baby, toddler, depression, anxiety. It wasn’t easy.
I just think it’s funny how.... we make it through and survive these deployments with everything getting dumped on us. And yet, within weeks of them returning, we don’t know what we would do without them or how we made it without them.
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