Sea Duty

Has it really been a decade since Mike last deployed? I'm going to have to brush up on those OPSEC regulations lest I inadvertently blurt something here that jeopardizes national security, lands me in the brig, and frees Matt to take off for Harajuku in a Luffy disguise. I'd surmise OPSEC is militaryspeak for Operational Security but that would defy the usual bureaucratic logic, wouldn't it?

If memory serves, I cannot mention that Mike will be floating away from Japan until after he's already floated away and I cannot mention where he's going until he's already there. By the time you know to feel appropriately concerned about Matt's plight with me as his sole source of parental guidance, we'll already have made a big dent in 10 years of Naruto reruns. And how in the world will you be able to snag Super Saver fares to meet Mike in any of those exotic ports if you cannot give American Airlines a specific destination until after your plane lifts off?

But I'm not complaining. Not a bit. The deployments over the next two years ought to be a breeze compared to the 1993 and 1997-98 versions. Living within three blocks of the high school means I won't have to endure that numbing routine of carting three kids back and forth to school and extracurricular activities for 3+ hours a day. And consider how the internet has transformed the speed in which sailors can communicate with their loved ones (as well as spouses of my ilk). Plus this time I will be literally surrounded by hundreds of women and men either in the same boat, so to speak, or with great empathy so I probably won't have to prostrate myself at the feet of grocery store clerks for my daily dose of quasi-adult conversation.

One thing I will miss - besides Mike of course - are those weekly telephone conversations with Mom, the ones where she'd interrupt my whining with an audible 'tsk' and then launch into a detailed report on the mating prospects and batting averages of my nieces and nephews, and never in that order. Instead, whenever I'm feeling a little blue I'm going to check my friend Diane's new blog, The Other Half (link at right), to see how she and the little angels are weathering Brian's first deployment. This will remind me to count my blessings.

Deployments aren't all that different from childbirth. Any painful memories are sure to fade before the balloons deflate and the flowers start wilting.