The Power of Skype

I never intended to marry someone in the military.  Some women look to marry a man in uniform but that was never me.  And yet somehow I met and married a Marine whose father and brother-in-law are career Air Force.  

When Alan and I were dating/engaged, he spent weekends doing drill in Richmond and completed two Department of Defense deployments to Afghanistan.  Currently, Alan's dad is serving a year long deployment in Afghanistan.  The time away from family is difficult.  Over the course of one year, you can miss out on a lot of milestones.  

Rather than dwell on what is being missed, the Sinks Family family focuses on some very specific details :: the number of hair cuts remaining for Mr. Sinks (13), the number of password changes on the computer (3), and of course, an eye on the calendar in anticipation of June.  

One of the best tools to stay connected is Skype.  What would we have ever done without it?  We've even been able to get the babies online for Mr. Sinks to see and talk to.  In fact, Mr. Sinks has special grandfather/granddaughter skype sessions with Addison.  Of course Addison spends half her time slamming her hands on the keyboard often shutting down the connection.  If it weren't so frustrating, it'd be funny.   

I never intended to marry someone in the military because it takes sacrifice.  It isn't easy to spend months apart.  And it certainly isn't easy to worry about a loved one in a war zone.  But thousands of families do it every year.  They have their own special countdowns.  They focus on specific details to help them through the long weeks and months.  They celebrate milestones in different time zones and far apart.  

Mr. Sinks returns for R&R in February.  We'll be celebrating multiple birthdays and Christmas.  He'll get to meet Aidan for the first time.  We'll take a break from skype sessions and get to have real, face to face time.  I very much appreciate the inventors of skype but even more, so we'll all appreciate family time in February.