Our First Deployment...

[kittyluv720]

Hello, my name is Jessica. Aka Kitty. My husband and I have been married for almost a year now. And the same amount of time he's been in the Corps. But this is our first deployment. He left 5 days ago to Afghanistan. Worse part about it is that he's goin to a fob with no electricty so we wont be able to talk much. And right now it's food or mail so it may take a month-3 to get each others letters. This is driving me absolutely crazy. Can anyone give me advice on what to do to keep myself sane?

[alphasquirrel]

While my husband was gone the only communication I got was seven letters... one for each month that he was gone. He tried calling me twice and I was out for each call. He had no computer and no internet access so I never got an email from him or got to chat. I was thrilled with every piece of communication I got.

My advice would be not to sit by the phone and make your life about the next time you are going to hear from him. Yes, keep your cell phone with you but go out, see movies, make dates with the girls, take a class, learn something new.

Take this time to develop yourself. The real tragedy of this deployment would be if he came back to a wife who wasted an entire year of her life just sitting around.

If you have a job, good. If not, consider getting one or going to school, even if it's just a single class in basket weaving, photography or scrap booking. A lot of gals use this time to get in shape and start a workout plan or join a gym. Just DO SOMETHING. First, it will better you and second, it will make the time go by so much faster.

While my husband was gone the last time I joined a gun club and started shooting every week. Before I knew it they offered me a job and in a month I was a range officer. Next thing I knew I was taking shooting classes and became a firearms instructor. When my husband left he could whup me with any firearm. When he came back I kicked his butt with pistol and he thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was a lot of fun too and it kept me busy and enjoying my time.

Do something you enjoy and get yourself out of the house. Write letters and repeat after me: NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS! If you don't hear from him or from anyone else then it's safe to assume he's okay.

Good luck!

[Rcase]

I see you are in Hawaii, my marine just left to Afganistan too, this is our second deployment, and I know it really stinks. You will figure out a way to pass the time, I write letters almost every day, he appreciates hearing about the boring "home" stuff. Stay busy, but give yourself the occasional time to cry.