Needs of the Navy

It was that time again to play Station roulette. He called his detailer up and was given a couple of choices on where his next duty station could be. All of them were on ships in San Diego. We weren't to fond of that, I was ready for a change in scenery and he was ready for it too. He asked about other obscure places and he was told of a small island in the middle of the indian ocean. It would be shore duty but considered sea duty, and it would be only for a year, it would be unaccompanied, meaning his family could not go with him, but he would have choice of orders when he returned.

We talked it over. This was a big decision for us. could we handle being apart for so long. He would miss us but he would also miss our daughters growing up. He would miss one whole year of her life, and since she was one at the time it would essentially be half her life. There were pros and cons to either decision, a ship would mean he would leave also but for less time and he would leave more than once and frequently depending on the needs of the navy. Either scenario was a big change from having him come home every night.

We decided that we could save money if I went to live with my parents while he was gone. I was worried about being lonely and Bored, but being with my parents allowed me to have  that adult conversation I so craved. I would have my sister nearby and some of my high school friends still lived in the area. It would work out. He would be shipping out in August to go to Diego Garcia. It was still a couple of months away but the count down was painful. the decision was made and that was that. We had several people question our choice and even declare that we were making a mistake. Luckily they they had no say in the process and therefore did not understand and did not matter.

I wanted to support him in our decision but I knew that I would feel abandoned. I knew that I would miss him, I knew that when the baby was ornery I would blame him, I knew that I'd be angry at him, I knew that it would be hard, I knew that I would miss his companionship. I told myself that I knew what I was getting myself into when we married, but that didn't make it any easier.  The decision was made and set and now it was just learning how to deal with it.