During our second deployment I was running the house, the kids, the bills, and a smile I did not feel, and I was sure asking for support meant I was weak in a community of strong women. Then a spouse two doors down invited me to coffee with her group, and I heard my own life come out of other people's mouths. They knew the language, the wait, the fear that shows up as irritability. I stopped pretending that week. Now I am the one extending the invitation. Deployment is hard on the whole family, and the whole family deserves a unit.
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