There’s a good explanation for the radio silence around here…
… Elliott came home from deployment!
We welcomed him back last Wednesday, and it was such a joyous day. There’s just nothing like that day your husband comes home. I stood there in a dress he loves, hugging the children and saying, “Daddy’s coming any minute! Can you see him? Where is he?” We held our crumpled “Welcome Home!!!” signs and looked and looked until finally, at last, there he was! Alive and well and hugging them and kissing me and the waiting is over and he’s home.
Elliott was “only” gone for just over a month — a mere blip in the military world we live in. Around here, servicemembers are routinely gone for deployments that last six months (or longer). I was hugging and texting friends that very day whose husbands are where Elliott was or are going there soon.
But a month is a month, and the Middle East is the Middle East, and he’s home and safe and there’s nothing like it! I feel only gratitude and relief when I look at these happy, everyday photos that are dated March 4, 2015… meaning he’s home and the deployment is done and we are together again.
I’ll be back soon with some photos from our wonderful weekend, where we did everything we possibly could to enjoy Elliott’s return and friends and beautiful Southern California.
I also have some more honest — and maybe controversial — thoughts about how this deployment was actually good for us, but those notes need more editing first. Can time apart be a good thing in a marriage? What do you think? I’ll share those thoughts soon.
In the meantime, we’re so glad he’s home!!!
Welcome home Elliott! Glad you’re home safe and sound!
My husband is retired military so I know the joy you’re feeling.
Welcome home!!!
Oh, Becca! I’m so happy for your little family! We’ve only had to let Alex go for two or three nights and are always SO ready to have him back, so I can only imagine your emotions after a month apart! Enjoy your days together! :)
Yay!!! I praise God for this, while at the same time acutely aware and very sad for those who didn’t come home. Thank you for your service, Elliott. We honor you and Becca and the children for all you do for our country.
Hooray! You truly captured the pure joy in their beautiful little faces. I’m so thankful that he is back home with you, safe and sound :) Praise God.
Congratulations on having your husband home again! What a blessing! :)
Wonderful to see that he is home safely. No, it’s not controversial to see time apart as a positive. I think it can build your own confidence in what you can handle when you don’t have your partner there to help. It also builds an appreciation for them and all they do on a daily basis without you realizing it. I actually planned some sleep training with my little guy when I knew that my spouse would be away from home for a couple of nights. I’ll be curious to know how it was good for your family. Enjoy your time together as a family of 4 again.
Thank you for your affirmation and kind words, Kathy! I’m planning to share next week, if I can get a chance to sit down and write up my thoughts.
Yes, a month is a month – and Iraq is Iraq. Thanks be to God! So very glad you are all back together. James and I have spent frequent time apart in our 7 years of marriage – and when we’re intentional with each other throughout the separation, we find great richness from the experience.
Such good thoughts learned from the school of experience. Thank you for sharing, Jena.
So happy for you and your family! Welcome home!
Glad he is home and safe!
So glad he’s home safe and sound! And I totally agree with you that time apart can bring good. I grew the most as an individual during the six months my husband was deployed. While it wasn’t fun by any stretch, I wouldn’t trade that time for anything.
“I grew the most as an individual” is such a good way to put it. I really had a chance to stretch and reevaluate things when my regular routine was gone, and I also did surprising things — like got a writing job! Elliott was gone for a year when we first got married, and the same thing definitely happened then. No, it wasn’t always fun, but I wouldn’t trade it either!
My husband is also in the military and that’s so awesome yours is back home. I can’t imagine my husband going to Iraq. The longest he’s been away is 3 months but it was near Hawaii so I was mostly angry because he was there and I was here with two kids. However, I think him being gone is good for our marriage in that we communicate better. I love words and he writes me the sweetest notes and we can discuss things and problem solve and just fall in love all over again through those emails, so yeah, I totally get you.
Yes, sometimes problem solving and discussing is easier when you’re not face to face! Thanks for your thoughts and words.
Congratulations! The end of a deployment (no matter how long) is something to celebrate! We’re a military family as well and I totally agree that time apart can be good for you. I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on it!
I’m working on them now, Moira, and hope to post them later this week. Thanks for your encouragement!
I’ve been married to a National Guard soldier for 16 years, and we’ve gone through many separations due to trainings and deployments. I will be really interested to read your thoughts about how similar experiences have affected you as an individual and as a partner in your marriage. I would agree that the spouse/parent left at home has a lot of room for personal growth as a result of handling things solo so often, and if a couple is really good about how they communicate during and after separations, it can be a refreshing break for the marriage from time to time. However (and sadly), the time apart and focus on different realms can also result in the shrinking of common ground and the feeling of leading two very separate lives.