13 Pieces Of Long-Distance Relationship Advice From Military Spouses
They move fast. This may not go for everyone, but typical military life usually means being away for months at a time. Because of this unique schedule, members of the armed forces tend to move on different romantic timelines than the average Joe. Often, that equates to getting a lot more serious a lot more quickly. There are plenty of young adults who opt to join the military all on their own.
Keep busy and stay active. Connect with other military spouses through your local Family Readiness Program, or Military OneSource’s Blog This is a great way to nurture your love while keeping your spouse up-to-date on life at home.
All joking aside: deployments during COVID feel like the worst kind of Groundhog Day—never making forward progress to being reunited. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. My husband, Mathew, is an Army Reservist, and this is our first deployment as a married couple. He left home in May of , but before that, he spent about 3 months training in Arkansas. In the past year and a half, we have spent about 45 days in the same place as each other.
We met in while he was on active duty and stationed at Fort Bragg, so we are used to the typical training and separations together. A few weeks ago, my social media memories showed a photo of us on FaceTime…two years in a row on the same date. During the coronavirus, the ambiguity is the hardest part because for the longest time, we had a range of dates, and I planned a large part of my life around that date. A few days ago, just as the military suspended all troop movement related to deployments, my husband was able to get back to the United States, going right into quarantine.
We watched our original homecoming date roll by with no definitive return-home date to plan our life around. And in a tinge of jealousy, we also watched as others around the country maintained their normal homecoming reunions. This deployment gave me an even deeper sense of gratitude for Gold Star families and the pain and struggle they go through at the loss of their loved ones in service to our country. I feel thankful that my husband can serve our country in this capacity, and I feel thankful that all our bills are paid, we have a roof over our heads, and at some point: this deployment will end.
I have done a couple of things to keep myself busy during this time, to include raising my hand for opportunities, like this one!