Days, weeks, and months spent waiting for texts, calls, and the occasional Facetime. This is the norm for military families and couples. Families and relationships were never made to spend large amounts of time apart, so when we overcome that obstacle, what’s waiting on the other side is one of the highest highs I’ve ever experienced. This isn’t a blog post full of sales tactics. This is my personal experience about why I’m so glad as a military family, we had a photographer at my husband’s second deployment homecoming after not having one at his first.
I’ll never forget my husband’s first deployment homecoming. It was in June of 2020 amongst COVID restrictions, after 7 months apart. On top of that, he had left when our oldest son was 2 months old. He was coming back to a 9-month-old who didn’t recognize dad.
He came home with a small group, and no one besides immediate family was allowed because of COVID restrictions. I will never forget seeing his face for the first time after months of staring at pictures of him and the feeling of safety having his big arms wrapped around my son and me again. What I would give to have photos of that moment.
I was 7 months pregnant with our second child the second time he came home from a deployment. He had left at the very beginning of my pregnancy, so he came home to a basketball of a belly and a toddler who had grown so much while he was gone. I was able to bring a photographer this time, and wow. Those pictures. The pictures of him holding our son while his other hand is on my belly. Those are the pictures I’ll show my sons when they ask about that chapter of our lives.
That kind of high and experience is rare, and my gosh, does it deserve to be captured.
The military is full of the lowest lows, but it’s also full of the highest highs.
