Well, DH left last night for a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. This is his third deployment in about 5 years.
I have to say that whoever came up with the 15 month deployment has never had to tell their spouse, daddy or children goodbye for that long. 15 months just seems like a lifetime to me. Knowing it is for so long just made it that much harder. DH will miss 2 of DD's birthdays, 2 of her dance recitals, one and half school years, DS's first archery tournament, and probably his first shave. I'm sure there will be lots more firsts as well.
It was so very hard to tell him goodbye again. We were lucky enough though to have him with us for 18 months between deployments and we had a wonderful time together. He of course wasn't home all of that. He made a trip to Afghanistan, and several to Virginia and Florida but he was safe.
We had lots of great family time during those months filled with camping, games, playing and lots of loving. The last few weeks were really hard but we tried to squeeze as much into them as we could.
So, we will continue on and try to get back into our deployment routine and get through this as best we can.
Prayers are always welcome.
Praying for you all during this time. 15 months...wow...what a long time to be apart. Praying the Lord's protection over you all.
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