A 5 Week "Vacation"

- February 18, 2015

Working Mom problems…Air Force Style

When I got the news that I'd have to go to Alabama for 5 weeks, I was completely devastated. Ok, I knew it was coming, I knew I had to go to this training at some point, and I knew what I had signed up for when I chose the military life style and when I didn't chose to opt out of that lifestyle even though I could have because I was pregnant, I knew the road ahead of me and its potential challenges. With all that said, I was still not looking forward to leaving my little one for 5 weeks! I immediately went to work scheduling trips home on the weekends. Fortunately, flights from Atlanta to Norfolk were really cheap and I was able to fly home every other weekend.

Now that I'm home and sort of settling back into a routine (this Snowmageddon turned my 3 day weekend into 5 day one), I'm looking back on my 5 weeks apart from my family and it wasn't terrible. I think it helped that my class during this training got along really well. One of the guys brought his family with their 18 month old. His wife was full of helpful tips on raising a toddler and their little girl Abigail was beyond sweet. While people usually associate this training as a "break" from the real world and at imd to "let loose" I definitely experienced it as something different. It solidified my love for the military and what we do but at the same time, confirmed that I don't want a job where I can be taken away from my family for long periods of time. Five weeks is one of the shorter TDYs we have and that was tough enough. Hanging up the uniform will most certainly be hard for me since it's all I've known since my freshman year of college, a whopping 12 years already including my ROTC time. But I'll still be glad to say that I served my country even though it wasn't for the whole 20 years like I original anticipated. Jellybean sure did put a damper on that original plan!

Peaks and Pitts Of My Trip

* Matt and Jellybean got some serious bonding time and are now much closer than they were before

* Matt's family flew in to help him out and Jellybean got to hang out with his grandma, grandpa, Aunt, and cousin

* Jellybean took his first steps without me :(

* I was able to maintain my milk supply despite being gone for 5 weeks. It was extremely challenging being a slave to the pump more so than I was before! Setting my alarm every 4 hours during the night wasn't exactly fun, but my stubbornness and desire to breastfeed for a whole year got me through it.

* I made new connections with a great group of fellow Captains

* I learned from really good trips from a fellow mom

* Got to see an old friend. She's a working mom like me too and we gushed over missing our kiddos during our time away.

* Forced Matt and I to work on communicating more both about Jellybean and ourselves

* Read some really good material, heard military leaders share experiences, took part in some fun team building exercises

* Had time to work out!

* Anticipated planning for Jellybean's birthday but all I really got done were his invitations

* Caught up on some sleep! Despite the waking up to pump at night thing.

* No better feeling than seeing your family again after being gone for a while!