3,000 Miles

My father was in the Army and he deployed a lot, 7 years combined to be exact. It was always different when he was gone and we all counted down the days until he came home again. My mom held down the fort and kept us all motivated and positive about his deployments. It was a normal occurrence and we all started to get used to him being away.

When his deployments came to an end, our family grew closer than ever. We finally had our dad back, for good this time. Now my mom and dad have always been my best friends and support system, nothing will ever change that. But when he came home, and I knew he wasn’t leaving again, our bond grew stronger. I spent every day with them, we had movie nights, daddy-daughter dinner dates, family trips, etc.

19 years spent with my family, 19 years of seeing them almost every day. I moved out when I was 18 and I stayed within a 20-minute radius. My husband and I saw my parents at least two to three times every week. I know, a now 21-year-old still likes to hang out with her parents. Some would say that’s a little crazy, but when you grow up with a tight-knit family, it’s just second nature.

When I was 19, my whole world did a complete 180. My parents informed me of their decision to move over 3,000 miles away from me. It was like my dad was being deployed all over again, but this time for five years. Crazy, right? My dad was offered and accepted an amazing job opportunity in Saudi Arabia. No way they would turn that down for their anxious daughter and no way I would let them. I went from seeing my parents whenever I wanted to only see them over Facetime on Saturdays. Phone call after phone call was missed on either end and messages were responded to hours or days after being sent.

The 8-hour time difference is hard to get around and not easy to be okay with or adjust to. It took plenty of time for me to adjust to not seeing them whenever I wanted. I hated seeing them go, but I knew in my heart it was good for the both of us. I'm going to be the bearer of bad news and say; my parents are going to leave me for good at some point. I needed to get used to being on my own, and not being able to talk to them 24/7.

Yes, it made me anxious and it still does to this day, but in the reality of it all, it was good for me and it still is. You can’t expect your parents to always be there for you in every god given situation. You must be able to take on challenges and life on your own at some point. This was a major reality check for me and some days are harder than others. I learned to not take them or anyone for granted and realized that not every day is promised.

I went to visit them in Saudi Arabia this past December and they came home in March of this year to visit. We still see each other every year in person, but it’s not the same as every day. I count down the days until their next visit every time they leave. We’re at three months and three days until they are home for a month. It’s not always fun seeing how many months or days I have left, but each day is a day closer.

My anxiety gets the best of me when I hear about missiles in Saudi Arabia and plane crashes, thinking that something will happen to them before I see them again. I will never 100 percent be okay with how far away they are, but everything happens for a reason. I’m just thankful that even 3,000+ miles away, my parents are still my biggest supporters and my best friends.