On Our Own
It’s been a little over a week since Matt left, with Ben and I truly on our own. And the more time that goes by, the easier it gets.
One of the hardest things about the training work-ups and then the actual deployment this time around was that there was a very short amount of time between when Matt got home from training and when he left for deployment — less than two weeks. But the upside of that, now that he’s gone, is that Ben and I have been able to pretty easily settle right back into our routine without much fuss.
I worried that Ben would be stressed or upset when he woke up the next day and realized Daddy wasn’t there, considering how much they bonded over that week and a half. But, as with training, he’s been remarkably resilient. He hasn’t cried anymore than usual, or been fussier than usual, or all that much clingier. He just goes upon his daily business like nothing has really changed.
Luckily, Matt’s been able to video call via Skype a few times. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been when Ben is awake, something that has made me a little sad. I have been hoping that over this deployment, Ben will be able to see Matt occasionally through Skype, which still might happen, but just hasn’t yet. I know it would mean a lot to Matt to be able to see his son, but mainly I want Ben to be able to see and talk to his dad. I hope that it will help him remember who he is when he comes home.
In the meantime, we’ll just go about life as usual, spending the next several months on our own. I show Ben videos and pictures of his dad (which don’t excite him nearly as much as watching videos of himself do), and hope the time goes by quickly. Deployments are definitely rough, but the time also goes a lot faster when you have a kid.
