My Married Yet Strangely Single Life as an Army Wife

Wow, this is beautiful. I inhaled the mountain air slowly and looked below me as a line of snowboarders weaved in and out of less advanced boarders. I was sitting somewhat sideways with my arm stretched out over the back of my seat. I glanced back at the couple behind me. I looked back at the empty space next to me where my husband should have been. Sigh.

I managed to trip as I got off the lift (as usual, I’m such a clutz), except this time there wasn’t anyone to laugh with me. Once I was up, however, I was off and suddenly finding myself in tons of powder.

This is something new and exciting. This was only my third time snowboarding in my life, and it had been a year in between my first and second time. Both of those times had been in more packed snow, so I hadn’t yet encountered this. I liked how the little bumps made me jump a little, and I admit, I intentionally made myself fall so I could see what it felt like (I’m such a kid when it comes to wanting to play). My husband would love this! This is so cool!

Groups of friends and couples were all around me. I weaved in and out of some of them, and others I followed from a distance to see if I could mimic their moves and learn something from them. I gained speed and for the first time, stopped fearing it and just let myself go. No one to witness my great feats… My husband would be impressed and we would have so much fun… he could lead the way and I’d be able to keep up right behind him…

I wasn’t entirely alone on the mountain. My friend was taking her beginner lessons down below and wasn’t ready to join me up on the lifts.

The lift ride seemed longer the second time up. As I glanced back at yet another couple, I began to muse how metaphoric this picture was of my time as an army wife.

The very things that drew my husband to me, and that he wanted to enjoy with me, are the very things we often cannot do together as hoped. I love to travel and was drawn to the military expecting to be relocated and endure a little adventure. In three years, however, we have not relocated. And in three years, while he has traveled the world in deployments and training assignments, I have had to stay behind.