How to survive deployment
How I did it: I kept myself busy. When a lot of the other spouses I knew were moving "back home," I had a job to keep and tried to focus my attention on that as much as possible. We don't have any kids together (yet) and didn't really know too many people in town aside from co-workers so I just tried to keep busy around the house. I did take a trip to Hawai`i to visit friends but I felt guilty half the time. I just tried to take the opportunity to find new hobbies, etc.
We also did not talk every day on the phone like some of the couples we knew. I talked to him about once a week on the weekend. So rather than expecting to hear from him everyday and freaking out when I didn't, I just looked forward to the weekends. This also worked a lot better with the 9 hour time difference.
Lessons & tips: Keep busy! Enjoy your friends. Hopefully, you were an independent person before you were married and can enjoy yourself by yourself.
