Photo Credit: Blue Franswa Fotografia
I am a military spouse—a Navy wife. By not being exposed to anyone in the military during my youth; I was not prepared for the journey of being the wife of a sailor; especially during our impending first deployment when I was also the new mother of an infant.
In 2009, my husband went on his first deployment as a father. Our daughter, Savannah Nicole, was all of nine months old and had not fully bonded yet with her father. It was a stressful time for our household. My husband and I had been married for one year and were still navigating our way through this new union and we proudly brought a vibrant life into the world. However, having to struggle with learning to wade through the challenges of the especially trying initial year of marriage and meeting the demands of a little child who depends on you for everything, proved to be quite daunting. I would venture to say that it has been one of the most taxing, yet rewarding times of my adult life. Sometimes awkwardly finding my way through my new marriage juxtaposed against naturally discovering the delights of motherhood was too overwhelming in a good and bad way–if that makes sense. Being a new wife and mother was perplexing, puzzling, nevertheless peaceful and satisfying. There was a reason to rejoice after we made our way through the first year of marriage, our first extensive deployment, and our first year as new parents.
Yes, we made our way.
