Truth be told, I could do without deployments, long TDY assignments or field excercises, but as with everything, there are some silver linings to the cloud. One of them, at least for me, is "me" time.
Me time is that time when I have no obligations and I can do things like veg in front of the television, eat what I want to eat, surf blogs all evening, flip though magazines and read books, or work on a special project that I ordinarily don't have the time -- or wouldn't take the time -- to work on if my husband were around. I like me time. It recharges my batteries and is a great way to unwind and de-stress. A quiet house is a good thing sometimes.
Sometimes me time is spent in a more productive manner than just lounging. Sometimes me time is a chance to get things done and be productive. Things that never seem to get done during the day-to-day grind of life when the spouse is around because other priorities, understandably, take hold.
Military spouses tend to have a lot of me time, which of course is not by choice, but it's me time nonetheless.
It occurred to me yesterday that since we've been married, my husband has had very little me time, and my guess is your spouse hasn't either, unless you travel with your job, etc.. Usually our me time comes at a time when our spouses are living dormitory-style with hundreds of other service members who are out saving the world. I think they deserve me time too, but it's much more difficult for them to get it. Just thinking outloud here.
Have you ever discussed this concept with your spouse?
