Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Only the Strong

Almost invariably when people find out that I am a military spouse they make the comment "wow, you are so strong, I don't think I could do that."

I really kind of hate hearing that.  I also hate the fact that within the military community you have to be strong and if you show any signs of weakness then you are kind of looked down upon.  Well, here's a newsflash. Today, I do not feel strong, I don't feel weak necessarily, but definitely not strong.

I want my husband, I want him home and by my side. No, I'm not whining, I am simply stating a fact. I married him because I love him, I enjoy his company, and he makes my world whole and complete. Having him gone for so long is hard. I know some would say that you signed up for this when you married him, and you know what I would say to them...I didn't sign up for anything more or less than loving him. I would also say, that I married him, not his job. I don't have to like the deployments or enjoy them, in fact I would say that any military spouse who does like and enjoy them...well they need to work on their priorities.

It is hard to be away from him, it is hard to live with so much uncertainty.

I almost feel some days like I have to ask permission to have a bad day, or as if I should feel guilty for it. I am so OVER that. I am allowed to have a bad day once in awhile. Nobody can be 100% strong, 100% all of the time.  Today, I give myself permission to miss my best friend, to feel bad that my daughter is missing out on him. I give myself permission to be sad. Tomorrow, I can put my big girl panties back on and be strong again, but today...I give myself permission to grieve the time we are missing.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Sleep

Ever since he left I can't sleep. Well, I can but I really struggle to turn the light off at night. I am left alone with my thoughts and no one to share them with. It is the exact opposite when he is home I can't wait to turn the lights off, we talk in the dark, we cuddle and I fall asleep in his arms.

At the end of each day, good or bad, I feel like I am left with a burden on my shoulders and it has taken me exactly 4 months to figure out what it is: the burden of the day. Each and every happening: the milestones, the setbacks, the good, the bad, the ugly. I have no one to share them with. Now don't get me wrong, I have my girl friends and I have my parents, but it isn't the same as your partner, the person you share every part of your life with. I think that is one of the hard things about deployments, I don't get to share with him anymore.

Not because he doesn't want to listen and not because I don't want to share, but because our time is so limited and we need to discuss so many things that all the little details get forgotten. I miss sharing the little things with him. I mean I really miss it. When he calls I want to hear how he is and make sure I am doing everything I can on my end to support him, sometimes I forget that I need some support too, that it is ok to tell him that Toddler D hit me twice today and I am struggling to figure out a way to get her to stop.  I keep these things to myself because I don't want him to have that extra burden and worry while he is over there. Unfortunately, that means I carry the weight of a lot of things alone.

I'm not complaining, more than anything I am thinking and typing out my thoughts. Trying to figure out as I go with this post why it is that I can't sleep at night when I am so totally and completely exhausted. Every bit of me, from the tips of my toes to the ends of my hair, is tired.  And yet...I can't bring myself to turn the light off. The most counter-intuitive part of all of this is that if I just went to sleep, tomorrow would come faster and we would be one day closer to him coming home. Hello! Turn off the damn light and go to bed!