Come What May

Jordan recently returned home from an 8 month deployment.  Those 8 months seemed like forever.  The only thing that got me through those 8 months was knowing that this was going to be the last deployment he was going to have to do.  I was able to stay busy and dedicate my self to school.  As April came around I had to decide when I was going to finish the last two semesters of school.  Jordan and I decided that it was best for me to stay in Utah and enroll in classes during the first block of summer.  It was a hard decision to make but in big picture another two months apart from each other was nothing.

I often felt selfish for prolonging the distance between us to pursue my educational goals.  I even had a professor ask me what I was still doing in Utah and to go be with my husband.  I felt like I had my priorities in the wrong order.  I told myself staying an extra two months was going to allow less time away from Jordan in the long run.  

Well the two months went by quickly and I was even able to spend two weekends with Jordan since his return home.  I moved back to California and was looking forward to a somewhat normal life.  Jordan planned to VERP (volunteer early enlisted release program).  He filled out all of the paperwork and he was waiting for  it to be approved.  If it was approved he would been out March 2015.  This meant that he wouldn't have to train for the next deployment and his days would be comparable to a normal 9-5 job.  For the first time in our three years of marriage I felt like we had control of our life, not the Marine Corps.  I should have known better.

A few weeks ago Jordan found out he has orders to 2/7 (a new unit).  This means that we have to pack up our belongings and move to 29 Palms a.k.a. Hell.  This alone was enough for me to lose control of my emotions.  The story gets better though, 2/7 is getting ready to deploy for 7 months within the next 2 months.  I immediately regreted my decision to continue school through the summer.  I was feeling cheated.  I will only have spent a little over 2 months with my husband before he must leave again.  The thing is the Marine Corps doesn't care about the time you have/have not spent with your family.  They don't care about the way this affects the marine or those that care about him/her.  They just expect you to deal with it and go on with life.  

So here I am with two and half weeks left with my husband before he has to report to 29 Palms.  I have two options: I can sit down and think about all of the reason's why I resent the Marine Corps or I can go forward knowing that Jordan and I get 7 more months to better ourselves and strengthen our marriage.  I choose the latter.  I will use this time to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses.  I will lovingly support Jordan from across the world.  I will put a smile on my face and be grateful for the loving family and friends that we have.  Here's to another deployment that will help us become better people and strengthen our the unbreakable bond between Jordan and I.