Dual Military Life

August 7th 2004
That was the day I took my oath of enlistment. 

I was ready and expecting to go on deployments and see the world even if sometimes I would be sent to some unsavory places, but this was my job, its what I would do.  I don't see this as "answering a call to duty" or "serving my country" because this is what I grew up with.  In a different time not ours if your dad worked in the steel mill that is what you would do when you grew up, I guess I followed in my daddy's footsteps because I'm just old fashioned that way.  It's my job. 

The one thing I never expected was to be the one waiting at home for my other half to come home from a deployment.

November 28th 2008 I left for my first deployment.  Also the same day I first met Patrick my hubby to be.

We're both very lucky in a sense that we are aircraft mechanics in two different areas of specialty him electrical and environmental systems, me fuel systems.  We go where the planes go which is usually somewhere not too dangerous because for once the government has a shred of common sense and doesn't put multimillion dollar aircraft somewhere they could get damaged and we would become unable to complete our missions (in air refueling). 

We are both also lucky because our deployments are a year and a half apart and we can go for as short as a month.


I have just been stressed lately because I feel like I'm all alone.  I moved from my home town to live with the boy where I don't know a single soul, my friends (most live at least an hour away) have all just graduated college and are either working their butts off at a new job or starting grad school and my family just moved to North Carolina.  Maybe, it will change once we have kids but it was so much easier when I was deployed to deal with missing people because you are surrounded with people who are in the same boat and can offer new perspectives on how to deal.  I'm pretty sure this all started when I was off work for a week and a half for the kidney infection, but I've never felt this depressed about being alone but you'll have that when the only things you talk to are your two dogs who aren't very good conversationalists.  Soon this will all be over for another year and a half...

Active duty bases have spouse support groups for this reason this may be only one of  the very few times I am jealous of people who chose active duty instead of guard and reserve.


P.S. This wasn't meant to be all woe is me I just had to get it out please don't feel bad for me because I am well aware that there are millions that are way worse off than I am