Confessions of the Military Significant Other

Time. 

As a “normal couple” in a “normal relationship” [whatever that means] you don’t have to worry about time. You talk to your significant other whenever you want, see them every chance you can, have dinner/movie dates, and enjoy the random trips you get to take to Walmart for things for the house. As a military significant other we worry about time …. every other chance we get. You never know when you’re going to be apart or for how long you will go without seeing each other or talking. You learn the value of a day, a minute, and even a second. Your time together becomes Facebook messaging and random phone calls, if you’re really lucky you get the chance and the internet connection for a Skype date when you get to actually see them. The time that you get to see them will turn even the worst day into a really good day.

As a military significant other being apart is extremely difficult, no matter the duration of time, you’re missing a piece of you. However, than you get a phone call that says that they might be coming home a week earlier than they originally said and you’re ecstatic! Seven days is seven more days you had between this time apart and the next time apart.  As a dual military significant other I have learned that time is everything, and that it can not be taken for granted. If we have five weeks before the husband leaves for months and I have to spend three weeks in another state… our time spent together is cut short. I don’t know about my other significant others, but for us if he’s playing video games and I’m reading a book on the couch next to him, we are happy as clams spending time together. Not every second needs to be spent doing anything… we can just be quiet, watching a movie, enjoying the company of one another.

Time has always been a funny thing, if you ask me. It goes slow some days and others it’s going by so fast you can hardy believe the clock. But TIME I have found is a countdown, and one day we won’t have anymore countdowns. One day military significant others can stop counting down the weeks until Basic training is over, the minutes until they deploy, the days until they return home. One day the final countdown will be until you can spend all the time together that you want.

Enjoy the time you have together, and if you’re not a military significant other don’t take the time you have with your other half for granted, be thankful that you have that time together.