I was prepared to leave my husband and children for a while, in order to gain a career, a pension, and a paycheck that we could actually grow to count on. But I wasn't prepared for COVID-19. Nobody was. I started paying attention in January, when only some of the world was listening. I credit movies like "Outbreak" and "The Rock" for giving me an early interest in virology and epidemiology; however, it's kind of unfortunate as well. I understood rather early what might be coming. So did my husband. We decided to see each other as soon as possible, knowing it might be a very long time in between visits. They visited me in D.C. in February, only four weeks after I left them in Budapest. We'd planned to celebrate Easter in San Jose together to celebrate my oldest son's thirteenth birthday, but we were scared of buying tickets with numbers rising steadily like they were. A couple of days before we were going to decide, the travel ban went into place; and, thus, I haven't seen my sons or my husband in over four months.
It's hard to say--to admit--what a physical and emotional distance four months' absence can put on a family. I watched, in near jealousy, other FS families go on Authorized Departure really early on in this pandemic (those affected, please excuse me). I saw a dear friend reunited with her family after months apart, and I wanted it to be me. But my husband and I decided that risking exposure to him and the kids during travel just wasn't worth it--as well as leaving our entire household behind in a game of "who knows when we'll see it again." We chose the safer option, and we don't regret it. But I do regret the distance. We all do.
Word came about two weeks ago that travel to the States from Hungary was opening up, and my husband decided it was time to jump. I was in total agreement, because who knows when Europe will allow travel to the United States again, with numbers rising as they are? And, judging by today's numbers and the international news, I'm glad my husband acted when he did. They could have been "stuck" for months! My guys boarded a plane a few days ago and returned to the States. I'll join them in a few days in the mountains. I'm on my ear to see my guys, but I have to finish out here in D.C. before I'm able to join them. It makes me think of the (probably) hundreds of separated FS families during this time. None of us can plan. None of us know when we'll be able to travel to see our loved ones again. No one knows if our children will get to physically go to school this coming year. No one knows anything.
And, personally, for my family, if I go to Post in a month--as planned--while my husband and children wait in the States for permission to go to their Post and COVID-19 continues to ravage the United States, my family operates on the probability that these four months apart might have been a cake walk compared to what's to come. And yet we serve. And we hope to be reunited as soon as we can. But we also know that we are just one of so many out there. To those in this predicament, thank you for your service. And may God bless the United States of America. Because we're going to need it.
