Changes and Challenges
When I think about what the future holds, the only phrase that comes to mind at the moment is Warrant School and the changes and challenges that come with it.
My husband has been planning to apply to become a warrant officer, and this year, he finally put in a packet to hopefully become part of the selection process. I’m partially excited, since he’s been talking about doing this for years now, but also partially terrified.
Warrant School is at least seven weeks long, nearly the equivalent of basic training all over again. Unlike when my husband was in basic as an 18-year-old, there are many things to consider this time for this school. Thankfully, experience will help me when dealing with the many things that will happen while he’s away. But, there are some things that I don’t know how I’ll handle.
Those main things I’m unsure about are our two small children. While our infant will likely not understand or care that Daddy is away, our 2-year-old will. By the time selection comes around, he will be almost 3 years old. Our son hasn’t spent a lot of time apart from his dad. The longest separation was while he was still an infant, when my husband was on his tour in Korea.
I sincerely worry for him and the kind of stress he’ll face as a small child who has no understanding of why his Daddy is gone, no matter how much I explain it to him.
I worry that perhaps my husband will have to go to school during birthdays, which would be unfortunate for our infant, as he’ll miss out on his first birthday. Or that my eldest son won’t have his dad with him on his third birthday. There’s also the fact that this means we’ll be moving again. Though being at an Air Force base and missing a lot of the perks of being at a larger installation, I don’t necessarily want to move again too soon. It’s been a nice change being within a short driving distance of our immediate family, and it’s been great for our eldest son to be near his grandparents and cousins.
I worry for my sanity taking care of two small children by myself for two months. Yes, I know many people do it alone, as both single and solo parents, but I don’t have the support system here that many of those people probably have. It’s great to be closer to my family, but it doesn’t accommodate a break when I need a little time to myself or want a few hours to spend getting things done.
It isn’t just the first school, but the other schools as well. Will we move while he is at his MOS school to be close to him? Will we be able to stay in our house now if that isn’t possible? There are many unknowns and many what ifs.
Like many things, it’s just another obstacle to overcome, but right now it seems daunting. I’m sure many of you have gone through similar things—deployments, trainings, schools, TDYs—with your children. I don’t know what to expect as far as how I will handle my children’s emotions, but I do know that this is what the military asks of us, and I’ll take it in stride.
