The life of a military spouse

So I have been a military spouse (Navy Wife to be exact) for 8 years now, although my husband has been in for 12. We met in high school and he enlisted when I was a senior. I went on to college while he was stationed on a ship and had numerous deployments. Somehow, we made it through those tough and trying years and got married as soon as I graduated, a week after graduation. The next day, his ship was on deployment. Being a military spouse is tougher than it might seem. Many civilian wives, as I will call them :) wish their spouses would leave on deployment! I, however, dread deployments. While distance does make the heart grow fonder, you do turn into a different person. You do become independent, but you are also lonely and wonder what your point of existence is. It is very depressing to go home to yourself, your dog and your child when the other part of your life is not there. You cannot share your daily lives with your spouse and when you do get to talk, it's for brief periods and long delays over the phone. Both spouses worry about the other spouse and what they are doing.

With all that being said, I am preparing for my spouse's first deployment in 5 years. He became an officer and a navy pilot (naval aviator as he likes to call himeself) in that time. Also in that time, we adopted a dog and had our first born son. So, life will be very different for me on this deployment. And to add more confusion and stress, we are going through a home-port change so when the squadron comes back, we will be station in a different base. Moving from Maine back to Florida. My timeline this last year: January 2008, moved from Texas to Florida; June 2008, had our first child; September 2008, moved from Florida to Maine; April/May 2009, moving back to Florida and spouse to deploy for 6 months. So, that's the navy-wife-life!

But after saying all that, I do, in fact love being a military spouse. I wouldn't have it any other way right now. Although I do leave that opinion open as I am sure I will change my mind mid-way through the deployment.

So, if you are a military spouse, have children and pets :) I am sure you could understand at least some of my postings....