Our Heroes
I am a 26-year old; wife, mother, college student, federal employee, and a Soldier. My husband, SGT Andy Sanchez Sr., is on his second deployment in Afghanistan. We have a two year old son, Andy Sanchez Jr.
Each day has been challenging since Andy left for his deployment. This deployment has been harder than the last because we have a son now. I couldn’t have made it without my parents and my friends from work. It’s important to have a support system when your spouse leaves. If you don’t have a support system, find one! You will go crazy without one.
It has been difficult managing my time with work, school, managing my home, and taking care of my son. The only way I could manage everything is to have a fluid system. My parents have helped me out a great deal with taking care of my son during drills and on some weekends so I can get some things done.
There are also some emotional factors that come into these deployments, Soldiers missing holidays. My husband has missed Valentines Day twice, our Anniversary three times out of four, Thanksgiving Day once, Christmas Day once, our son’s birthday once, and hopefully won’t miss my birthday in January.
The other emotional issue that occurs is when your Soldier returns from deployment. Your Soldier may have nightmares when they come home and may have different behaviors. As a spouse of a Soldier, you need to be understanding and patient. The emotional behaviors and nightmares will pass at some point and you may take an emotional beating yourself. When you are deployed with other Soldiers, you are considered to be a family. You know how it feels to lose someone you dearly love, think about how your Soldier feels. Soldiers are also receiving divorce paperwork from their spouses and other Soldiers worry that they will receive the same paperwork. If you want to separate from your Soldier, it is better to wait until they come home. If you don’t wait until they come home, you could risk getting them killed because all they are thinking about is how hurt they are.
For my personal sanity through these deployments, I like to watch Army Wives on Lifetime. It’s on every Sunday night at ten o’clock p.m. This starts my week out making me realize that I am not the only spouse struggling. The show makes you realize that you can make it through these deployments in one peace. Army Wives has almost every possible emotional situation that has occurred within military families. I suggest to spouses, stay tough and stand next to your Soldier through these deployments. They need you more than anything in the world. Even though you may not think so, they truly love you and it’s not their fault that they have been called to duty.
Be proud of your Soldier.
Avis Sanchez