Just Because

People tell me all the time that they don't know how I do it. By "it", they mean living life while my husband is gone. Once upon a time I wondered the same thing myself. Kevin was a late joiner to the Navy. He was 26 when he joined. Gyllian had just turned three and I was four and a half months pregnant with Sam when he left for boot camp.

I asked myself many, many times how I was going to do this. It was extremely hard at first, but your mind kind of goes on auto-pilot and you do what you have to do. For me, that was taking care of Gyllian and my unborn son. It was not easy. I suffered from insomnia, went into pre-term labor three times, and gave birth to my son without my husband.

Six weeks after our son was born, I picked up and moved over 900 miles away from home to be with the man I loved. I was afraid, but I knew that it was the right thing to do.

Gyllian adapted quickly, and Sam flourished. I, on the other hand, had a hard time. I gained all of my baby weight back and wasn't taking care of myself. I finally snapped out of it and started exercising. Kevin finally was assigned to a boat, and eventually started leaving more. I wasn't going to let my own fears and doubts dictate how I was going to live my life and raise my children. I started becoming more active and the weight started coming off. My children and I stayed busy and time just started moving faster. I found my inner strength and overcame the challenges that tried to get in my way. Gyllian started school this past year, and Sam is a little more self sufficient. So now, when people ask me how I do it, I tell them I just do. I can't pause my or my children's life because my other half isn't here. We get out there and make the best of everyday. That way when daddy comes home, we have plenty to tell him. Trust me, we have PLENTY to tell him!