It's the best part of being a military wife. The home comings!
We are days away from reuniting with my husband who has been deployed since just after Christmas! It has been seven long months.. loooooong months.
I am the kind of woman who loves to power through. Grin and bare it. Stick it out. My first daughter was born while my husband was overseas - he returned when she was almost three months old. My youngest had to say goodbye to her daddy for the first five months of her life when she was only days old. But this tour.. well this tour was different.
First of all, we are in the middle (or maybe end?) of a global pandemic! Has anyone really figured out how we have survived it so far? This homeschooling business has been next to impossible - especially for Ontario mamas! We have been doing this for MONTHS. I am exhausted - my daughter is exhausted - our internet bill is exhausted. I was so desperately hoping the kids would return back for the few weeks so my little lady could have a "true" kinder graduation but alas - we are forced to say "have a good summer!" to our favourite teachers and best friends through our screens.
I also have to comment on how IMPOSSIBLE it is to be a solo parent- navigating the lockdown procedures with two kids in tow. Luckily, we live in a tight knit military community and we were never judged for dragging both kids around a store - consistently reminding my two year old to socially distance. Stressful nonetheless! Thank goodness for curbside pickup - I don't think I can ever go back to in store shopping.
Secondly, I have never managed an entire company without the help of my husband... or during a pandemic for that matter. I have since relied on my best girlfriends, my B&B team and my family to fill in the gaps when I couldn't. Whether that meant deliveries, helping package orders, or offering to take on more tasks to their own workload to make it manageable for me. I am floored by the support and love we receive from our family and friends - and not only that but the patience from our customers while we navigate the kinks.
I'm not sure if you have heard of Murphy's Law - but this applies one hundred fold to military families. I warned my husband before he left - this one was going to be a wild ride. Boy, was I right!
This deployment has offered me a broken shower, a closet door that fell off, a furnace breakdown and basement flood, a dryer replacement, a broken lawn mower, an air conditioner replacement, an ant infestation, an interaction with the BIGGEST spider I've seen and almost touched, and some minor cardiac issues which landed me in the hospital and on bed rest for over a week.
I believe it was Chumbawumba who said "I get knocked down.. but I get up again."
It is no secret that all of us are excited to welcome our spouses home - my story is no different from the others who have also some how navigated the last seven months.
I am so proud of us all - the struggle was real but here we are .. the days are in the single digits and we can finally see the sleep-ins, solo shopping trips and girls nights out in our future!
For the wives who have a deployment or course looming - because this is our reality - breathe. You can manage it- you really can! When you look back you will have no clue how you did it but you will. It won't be painless - but it will be achievable. My advice is to sink into your friends and family. Don't be afraid to admit you need help - or even a conversation with an adult in person. Cry when you feel like it - your children will cry with you - then dust yourself off and remind them that although the distance is painful.. you're a bad ass and there's no way you'll let that pain stop you from living the best damn deployment life possible.
Cheers to a decade of this crazy life for us and to many more!
PS- stay tuned for some super amazing reunion photos!!
With love,
Erin