Navy Wife: One Day at a Time - HA!

I am a Navy Wife, notice the capitals, as though it were an official position. When you are married to someone in the U.S. Navy or any other military branch, it’s kind of like you work there too. You have responsibilities and obligations. It’s like you are in some sub-funky military branch. That is why I’ve decided to add this new blog component—to share my Navy Wife experiences with those who are curious and with those who smile and nod because they know…

To start things off my most recent big Navy Wife experience was the oh-so wonderful realization that cruise is rearing its ugly mug. Cruise, by the way, is the probably once sarcastic term for a six-month deployment. The realization that this horrific period of separation is coming happens about a year in advance. A year? That seems like a long time in advance to start fretting. It would seem so, except about a year before they go on a cruise, they start something called work-ups, which is when they deploy for about a month at a time an average every other month—working up to cruise.

So you start to do the math. He’s leaving in October 2012. He won’t be here this month, that month, not this month, goodbye Valentine’s day, see ya birthday, sayonara Thanksgiving, audios Christmas, etc. Then you count the months—crap it’s not even a year, like nine months—ok calm down—he will be here—one, two, three, please … and that’s when it smacks you like one of those red kick balls right in the face—We’ve got four months. FOUR MONTHS! It is nine months away, but really he will only be around for four months out of that. Cursing—various obscenities ... big breath.

It’s kind of depressing, I know. Makes you wonder why I’m blogging about it. So many people ask me, “How do you do it?” And I have a bunch of answers, none of which are—one day at a time—that’s a cop out if I’m tired or something. How do I do it? That’s what you are going to read about in this blog component starting now at the realization that’s it is coming. The “dealing” starts now.