I could hear the excitement in my children’s voices. As they tore through my house, running and giggling, and I too began allow my spirits to lift. We had made it to the end of an unimaginably long season and they were celebrating. The 365-day short tour had officially come to a close and we were one short drive away from the airport, from Daddy.
After scrambling around for shoes and snacks, I loaded our electrically wired offspring into the van. Then, I took a deep breath. For all of the happiness, anticipation, and joy in the air, there was still a thought nagging me in the back of my mind. One little word that has the power to strike nervousness and anxiety in any military spouse’s heart… “reintegration.”
Reintegration, the immediate season following a long separation, is (in my opinion) sometimes much more difficult than the deployment or short tour itself. Reintegration is the process of combining two very separate lives back into one streamlined and cohesive unit. Sounds simple, right? Not so much. But, in the light of keeping things light and humorous, I wanted to share my own personal experience through reintegration in… you guessed it. GIFs.
When hear your significant other has made it on to the right and SCHEDULED rotator:
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Preparing for your significant other’s first day home is like..
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Picking your significant other up at the airport and seeing them from across the room:
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Here’s where the process gets real. You get home from the airport, your heart is full, and you just can’t wait to get back to a normal routine. But first, it’s time for THE QUESTIONS. You know, the WHY questions. Why is this here? Why has my stuff been moved? Why did you do this like that?
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After the inevitable “why” questions, comes the part where you have to learn to parent together again. This is me, trying to let my spouse reacquaint themselves with the discipline process of our house.
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Is anyone ready to talk about merging back accounts and budgets back together?
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And what happens when you discover your spouse is now the biggest cover hog?
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When your significant other asks you where to start on the unending to-do lists…
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Ultimately, after all of the chaos and confusion, things do get back to some semblance of normal. You find your pace and get back to the swing of things. It may not be perfect, or even permanent (the next crazy season is always around the corner), but it does get better.
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