Distance

It gets more and more prevalent the separation from my family. In the beginning I didn’t notice it. I realized how far away I was. The 2 days of travel made that really clear. But I didn’t fully grasp how long it’s going to be until later.

When I first got here, I was very busy. I was learning new things, I was meeting new people. I was starting a new job and had to learn how things were done. There was a lot keeping me busy. I was all so new. So I didn’t really think about it. I was in an environment that there were not normally a part of. That gives you that distance. You don’t realize how much you miss them because they were never a part of this life.

Now that I’ve start to get into my routine, and all of this starts to become the norm. I start to feel the distance between us. I miss the moments that I’ll never have. When my son got hurt I wasn’t there to help him recover. When my daughter was sad I wasn’t there to comfort her. When my wife had problems I wasn’t there to help solve them. All of this was done with out me. For them it is almost more difficult. All the times that I was normal there for I am now suddenly absent.

For me it’s just a small time to be away. 6 months it’s really not that long. Just long enough to know what your missing and then you get it all back. Imagine being sent away, told you’ll be home by Christmas, and not getting back for 4 years. I couldn’t even imagine.

Soon enough I will get to see my wife. And shortly after that I will be home again. There are so many ways for me to stay in contact with my family and friends it’s almost like I’m not even gone. I can call when ever I need to hear their voice. I can stream video like I’m in the room with them. All this makes the distance seem that much shorter.