LONG DISTANCE MARRIAGE

Long Distance: lot of couples go through it at some point or another and I always figured that I would fall victim to the two fateful words but never imagined that I would have a long distance marriage for the entire first year. So before we get into the details, let’s remember that whole Let’s agree to respect the unique decisions that all families make when navigating their future thing from the ABOUT page. I have gotten so many questions, and subsequent judgments, about my husband and I choosing to live in separate states while he goes through BOLC, Ranger School, Airborne School, and Stryker School. What is all boiled down to for us is this: we can do anything for one year.

When going through the ROTC program, we found out bits and pieces of information at a time. First, about 6 months before his graduation, we learned that he would be going active duty. Then, a few weeks before graduation, we got his orders which had a ton of information but most importantly: his branch assignment, report date and location, and our first post assignment. When this news hit it was just a few weeks before college was out for the summer and I had already secured an amazing internship for the summer, plus I had one semester remaining before graduation. We decided that staying in Colorado to finish my degree at an esteemed engineering college was a no brainer – I had already come so far and had just two courses remaining. So, I would be in Colorado from August to December.

As for the summer, my internship was an incredible opportunity to launch my career with a company that is headquartered in the same state as our first post location and has 460 locations in 56 countries. This particular company is incredibly competitive for students, only offering internships to about 3% of those who apply and have a history of converting 98% of their eligible interns into full-time employees. What that meant was, I already had my foot in the door and as long as I completed my internship with success, I would have the opportunity to join the company full time. More than that, a full time job working for a company that could have the flexibility to move me around with my soldier. Knowing all of this, our decision seemed easy. We can do anything for a year and although being in a long distance marriage, especially as a newlywed, is less than ideal, the momentum that this year adds to our goals is immense.

So the lesson that we took away from this experience is to focus on long term goals rather than immediate comfort. Focus on the positive things that this long distance is bringing. For me, the ability my husband and I have to each wake up and know that we are pursuing our dreams and planning for our family’s future is so fulfilling. One year (or fill in the appropriate amount of time for you) goes by faster than you expect. Instead of being too afraid to take the risk of being apart, trust in your relationship and take the leap.

#LIFE #MILITARY