Deployment Update: Six Months In

Before your significant other deploys "they" (meaning everyone from well-meaning friends to some nameless person on the internet) will tell you, "make sure you stay busy, it'll make the time go by faster!" Well, Russ has been gone for six months now and I have stayed really busy the entire time and I can say that that advice doesn't really work. I have killed myself trying to start this business and been extremely busy running it and the days seem to go fast. But, when I look back at the length of time that has transpired it doesn't feel any shorter just because I've been busy.

Source

I track the time by things Russ has missed. "Russ has been gone since before we went to see Paul Stanley in Portland in May." "Russ has been gone since our anniversary in June." "Russ has been gone since we got the truck graphics finished in July." Those events feel like a million years ago to me and he's been gone the whole time. 

There's going to be inside jokes he won't get and will feel left out. He's going to feel like the world has kept turning without him; movies have been released, video games have come out, new restaurants have opened, buildings have been built, and concerts have came and went while he's been out there in the ocean drifting. He hasn't driven for six months, pop culture has moved on, and news has happened. 

I can't imagine having that feeling- like being an alien in your own home. 

I've grown and changed, he's grown and changed and we'll come back together and we'll both be a little different. We've both had experiences apart but I really look forward to getting to talk about them and share them with each other. 

We've still got a little way to go but this deployment is now about 85% over, finally. We've gotten to the point where I can no longer send him care packages because they won't be in port much to even receive mail so that means time is counting down!