I read a post by Claire over at You Served today that I want to recommend to everyone. I think, for anyone who's dealt with or is dealing with a deployment, it will resonate.
To be perfectly frank, the thought of having both Lancelot and the Dark Prince deployed to a combat zone was nightmarish. Even the thought of them overlapping their deployments or of back to back deployments would keep me up nights. I know people who have dealt with that, I know it can be done but I did not want to do it. Claire writes about dealing with that too.
I think what I liked best about her post was the internal conversation and conflict that comes from being a single parent of a young child, a military mom AND a military wife. It is not easy to be a single parent with a loved one in harm's way. We all know this. It can wear you down and cause you to doubt your decisions. We've all been there in some form or another.
Having your son deploy is a different beast than having your husband do it. You are dealing with different roles and different kinds of missing them. Obviously. I remember hating weekends when Lancelot was gone. I would feel resentful and jealous of those families who had Daddy home. Then, I would just feel petty because I knew those families had or were getting ready for a deployment. Moments like that are when Claire's comment (and the title of this post) are most important. My soul came equipped with boot straps. In those moments, we pull ourselves up and we move it along.
Go and read. It's worth the click.
