Underways

Navy life bring with it special challenges for families. We sometimes spend a lot a time living apart instead of together. Sometimes we split our living together and apart times with a ship, deployment, TAD's or TDY's. It all brings it's own set of challenges, changed routines, new out look on how to get things done, loneliness and yes even emptiness. This time can be especially trying for some. Our family is not exception to this. However, we try hard to embrace it. Wake up to a new a day, one less on the count down chain, and a new beginning. A new beginning because this new day has the chance to be something special, to not be like the day was yesterday, to not be as hard. Some days are really challenging mentally, emotionally and some days even physically.

We have entered into this part of our life again. Except right now we are lucky. He will only be gone for a short time. He is underway on the ship is currently working on. They are doing whatever it is the Navy has told them they need to do in order to have the ship ready for deployment. We call it playing in the ocean because it sounds much better then I don't really know what they are doing. Something in this life we are not authorized to know. That's fine by me. It means less to worry about.  However, you still stand by worrying about things you have zero control over. It is a strange thing at times.

We live one day at a time. On the hard days we live one second, one minute or one moment at a time. Just waiting for that day to end so a new one can start and it can be better then it was. Hard days are part of the process. It's almost like having a law. If it is always easy it would be something everyone would want to do. This life sure isn't for everyone. It is hard. It is lonely. It takes far away from family and sometimes it leaves you without any support. You have to learn to plug yourself into programs, groups and neighbors to make connections so you aren't left behind, in a sense. It can be dark at times, but the light is always within reach if you push ahead for it.

We go through a process while being separated. It's kind of like going through the grieving process. All the different steps of it. While some seem to mirror those you feel while grieving they can be very different and can happen at different times during the process. For us, we seem to be at the end. When counting down the days is exciting instead of being taxing or seem like it will never get here. This period will unfortunately be short lived. He will come home and be here for short amount of time and then he will return to the water. It is a job he loves and he loves being on the water. He loves his career, most of the time, and I honestly couldn't imagine him doing anything at this point. We take these moments in stride because they are always temporary. Even, when that temporary feels like eternity. 

I couldn't imagine my life or my families life being any different then it is now. We have grown and learned so much living this life style. I will sad when it does finally end and we have to be in one place "forever." We always refer to that as our "forever" home. I am left wondering at times if we will ever have a "forever" home because I can see us getting antsy staying in one place for long long periods of time. We haven't lived in a signal place for longer then 4 years. I see us getting antsy here as his time for moving to a new command is just around the corner. It will bring lots of changes. Especially for him, but for us we will still be here in our home that we are in now. Still doing some of the same things we are doing now. Only time can tell where we will end up when this chapter closes. For now, we just live in the moments and take each one in stride to see what happens next. It is an unknown journey and the path isn't always clear, but we definitely navigate it together one step at a time.