Reintegration and Mixed Emotions

Josh's return is getting close. While I'm excited, I'm also nervous/anxious. Soldiers and their families have to prepare to reintegrate back into "normal" life. While most civilians just see a soldier coming home, military families have to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thankfully, most of it is good, if you allow it to be. It's so exciting having your other half come home after so many months apart. But what most civilians don't see is the deep seated issues that come along with deployment. Soldiers see a dark side of war that the rest of us will never understand. Having to return to a world where people don't understand and life continues to go on around them is not easy.

I have never doubted that God put me in the position of an Army wife for a reason. Even with all the emotions that come along with this life, I still love it. I love having a husband with such a love for his country; I love the ability to be part of a military community and am thankful to have met many wonderful military wives. I love the ability to move around and experience different parts of this country. But mostly, I love that this life forces me to completely depend on my husband and forces me to realize the importance of a close family. Things around us will continually change but our family won't. It's the only stability we will really have.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that materialistic gains are not important. Me getting my master's degree is nothing compared to developing a strong, loving relationship with my husband. While I've spent a lot of time working on "me" this deployment, it's time that I focus on "us."