3. You’re (on your way) to empathizing.
By no means can anyone who hasn’t experienced a deployment empathize, one hundred percent, with a deployment. But going for months without seeing your significant other? At the very least, you’re on your way.
There are innumerable, obvious differences: The shadow of danger, the limited contact, the displacement at home, and so we could go on.
But, if you’re going for long stretches of time without being physically close, there’s one huge deployment kicker that you can relate to.
Riding the LDR train absolutely made me a more sympathetic person, period. Friends of mine — who lived, say, a few hours from their S.O. — would say things to me like, “I can’t complain! Look at you guys!”
I was touched, but at the end of the day I always emphasized: Whether it’s 300 miles, or 3000 miles, one month between visits or six, it still sucks.
So I went into the military life understanding this-
If a friend needs to cancel a plan because her husband is miraculously home for the weekend from the field, or if someone is struggling with deployment, I will ALWAYS lend an ear. Because even though I may not be able to truly empathize — I am partway there.
And that has made me so, so much more appreciative of other couples’ unique fears and struggles.
