IT'S NORMAL TO NOT JUST GO BACK TO NORMAL

I almost didn't make this video because I feel like it's a little controversial and I'm worried people are going to misunderstand me, but I'm going to talk about it anyways because it's heavy on my heart. I think that the hello, post-deployment can be just as hard as the goodbye when your husband or wife deploys. I will tell you why, or your significant other deploys. The reason why is because reintegration, the difficulties of reintegration is not talked about enough. I looked forward to my husband being home for months. I prayed for him to be home for months. I talked to him every day. I missed him terribly. And the day he got home, I thought life would go back to somewhat normal. I felt weird. It was amazing, but it was weird. I had been fiercely independent and doing my own routine, finding my own rhythm for the last seven months, my bedtime, the dishes, the chores, the grocery shopping, planning the discipline, all of that was on, mostly me. I had the help of some grandparents, but mostly me. And then the love of my life came home, smack dab in the middle of all of our routines again. But life is different because it had to be different while he was gone. I had to flex things, things had to change. And now they're just in the middle of it. And my husband did absolutely nothing wrong. My husband is a gem, he is a delight. But it's weird. And if you are a military spouse or you're in a relationship where you guys are long-distance for a while and you come back together, learning how to coexist. That's okay. That's normal. I feel like that needs to be talked about so much more than the, oh my gosh, the deployment so hard. Reintegration is pretty darn hard too. It's weird. My husband's been back for a couple of weeks now. We're still just trying to figure it out. That does not mean our marriage is failing. At all. If you are a spouse, or a boyfriend or girlfriend, that's about to meet up with your significant other who has been away for a long time. Please know that the day they get home does not mark the end of the deployment separation period. It is the start of a new chapter, a new season. And it can be icky and it can be strange, and that's normal. That's so normal. And I am talking about it even though it makes me sound a little bit ungrateful. I am not ungrateful. I am so happy my husband's home. I would not have him leave me again for anything. I am so, so, so grateful and thankful and excited and delighted that he's home. I wouldn't trade it for the world. But it is weird. So weird. If you are a boyfriend or girlfriend, that's about to meet up with your significant other who has been away for a long time. Please know that the day they get home does not mark the end of the deployment separation period. It is the start of a new chapter, a new season. And it can be icky and it can be strange, and that's normal. That's so normal. And I am talking about it even though it makes me sound a little bit ungrateful. I am not ungrateful. I am so happy my husband's home. I would not have him leave me again for anything. I am so, so, so grateful and thankful and excited and delighted that he's home. I wouldn't trade it for the world. But it is weird. So weird.