284 Days
284 days. That's how long Husband was gone. While it was no secret, we chose not to publicly announce on any platform that Husband was deployed. My trip to Poland several months ago wasn't just for the love of travel; it was the only chance I would have to see him over the course of nine months. Little Man didn't even get that opportunity, so those 284 days must have felt like a lifetime. The news of Husband's deployment, his first, came out of nowhere. We spent months preparing for something we didn't fully understand. Had it just been me, I suppose I could have managed alright -- lots of quiet nights on the couch with take-out and the cat would have been tolerable. Navigating this with Little Man, however, was another thing. Thanks to advice from friends we did our best to support him -- getting him a Daddy Doll , having Husband record stories that he could watch, picking out gifts Husband could "give" him from afar. For awhile his departure date see...