Oh the life of the military.

I was born into the military. My dad had been in for a few years when I was born, and I spent 19 years of my life as an Army brat. I was blessed to only have moved twice during that time, and that my dad was never deployed. Sure, he was gone a lot because of his MOS, but he was still around. After the Army, he worked at my old school until he got his current position.

Right before my last semester of college, my dad got sent overseas for a year. During that time, I found out I was pregnant, graduated from college, got my first big kid job and had JJ. For the first time in my life, I felt like my dad missed out on so much. Of course, pictures and technology allowed for him to be there more than I ever thought he would, but still. It wasn't the same. Soon, he'll be leaving again, and I can feel the dread building again. J and I want to try to get pregnant again, JJ will turn 2 in December, we may be moving away due to the Air Force...I feel like all the major things that could take my life in a different direction will probably happen while he's gone again. I know that he's doing what he loves, and I support him 100 percent...but it still makes me sad. I just try to keep thinking that one day closer to when he leaves is one day closer to him being home again.

J had Warrior Week this past week - he graduates in less than two weeks now! I've been surprised at how much communication I've had with him since he's been gone. He's gotten to call the past three Sundays, and I've gotten four letters from him while he's been gone. He's gotten all the letters and pictures I've sent him, too. I was expecting to only hear from him one or two times while he was gone, so this whole process has been much easier than I thought it would be. Yeah, I still miss him (a lot), but being able to get letters from him and hear his voice once a week has made it easier. The only bad thing is that he generally calls while JJ's napping, so he's gotten to talk to me but not to our little boy. I'm hoping that if he gets to call later today, he'll be able to talk to JJ - finally.

I'm so anxious and excited about graduation that it's all I think about. Eight long weeks apart are finally drawing to a close...I can honestly hardly believe it. He left at the end of April, and we're already at the middle of June. So, not only has time absolutely flown, but we're already almost halfway through the year. Absolute craziness. I know in the grand scheme of the military life, eight weeks probably isn't a long time - but it's the longest I've EVER gone without seeing J. It's new to me.

My mom wasn't kidding. The military way of life is way different when you're a child and when you're a spouse. When you're the kid, you don't really have any worries or can grasp just what everything means. But now that I'm a future Airman's wife...my entire prospective on things has changed. I feel like I have so much to learn about the Air Force, but I'm not really quite sure where to begin. All I know is, I'll miss my dad a lot once he leaves, but I know he'll come home. And I miss my husband a lot, but we're in the home stretch. I can't put into words just how proud of him I am...but I'm hoping that I'll find some way to show him when I get to see him.

Oh the life of the military. It's fast approaching...