Single again

I hate it when he leaves. The drive the airport is always so rushed, and it goes by way too quickly. Maybe I should start having him fly into the airport on the other side of town just to have a longer trip together. But, that causes problems of its own with scheduling and, let's face it, gas prices aren't exactly cheap right now. So, it's back to working late, spinach salad suppers and finding things to occupy my time while I wait.

I don't know how my friends with spouses deployed overseas do this. Friends here tell me how impressed they are with the way I deal with the separation. I get comments about how strong I am and how they could never do it. Some of them even get mad at T for leaving. They think it's inconsiderate. I don't enjoy him being gone, but I am so proud of what he does. It's a sacrifice I am learning to make. I never thought I'd be able to do it - especially the first one that seemed to go on forever (it was only 3.5 years, after all). Watching him drive off that time was hard. I kept waiting for him to turn around and tell me he'd made a mistake and that the Navy really didn't need him in PA without me. The year in CA was better because it was a shorter time, but it was still really hard to go home from work that first night. Even though it's much more expensive for us, I like it better when he flies because it seems so much less permanent than driving away.

Our deployed friends go 12-18 months without seeing their loved ones. Not only is the separation hard, it's compounded by the fact that the deployed person isn't always in a safe spot like PA, CA or FL where the biggest threat is a snow, an earthquake, or a hurricane. They face much more serious threats like bullets and bombs. The one left behind waits for those random 4am phone calls and worries that a CACO officer will show up at their door. I may get those random calls, but they are usually because T can't sleep and is bored. And, I don't worry about a CACO officer showing up. I hope I never have to figure out how they do it.

So, once again, I'm single. This time, though, it's only for 25 more days and then he'll be home - just barely in time for our anniversary and hopefully for longer than 6 months. I'm not looking forward to the stillness tonight and will probably work late to avoid it. Did I mentione I hate him being gone?