I remember the first time my husband and I planned a vacation that didn’t involve moving or going “home” to visit family. We have taken exactly two family vacations in 12 years that were strictly vacations. Two! In the military community, there are times when life gives you the opportunity to have a kind-of-vacation. You know what I mean. Sometimes it’s holiday block leave in January. Sometimes it’s “summer” vacation after Labor Day. We’re pretty good at making the most out of the crazy schedule we’re handed.
Military spouses across the world have packed the car and driven hours to spend a few with their service member. Families have flown across the country or a long weekend. We do what it takes to spend as much time together as possible, right?
I’ve never had the opportunity to travel with my spouse on any of his training, but if I had it, I would take it! One of my friends spent three weeks in a hotel room with her five kids accompanying her spouse on a pre-deployment TDY. On the one hand, I thought she was crazy, but on the other hand, I knew I would do the same thing.
So, I’ve gathered a few stories of real-life military spouses who have put their lives on pause and traveled with their service member on TDY.
When we lived in the US (I’m an Aussie military spouse) we were stationed in DC, and my husband was going to New Orleans. The kids were visiting friends, and I went with him! I loved that I didn’t have to pay for lodging since his was taken care of. We even did a family trip to Orlando when he went TDY there. ~Leanne
My husband was one of the lucky ones who received lodging in an extended stay during training. I took the opportunity to join him there since we knew he’d be deploying soon after graduation. It was a great summer vacation. ~Meg, MilKidsEd
I’ve joined him a few times, to Key West, Memphis, and once to Italy. ~Kate, The Military Finance Coach
Erica has fond memories of traveling with her husband to Key West. “I discovered my love of key lime pie! We have a lot of memories from that mini vacation that we reminisce about often,” she recalled. Nikki agrees. “Every chance I get [I got with him], and he travels with me for work when he can too!” Jessica admits that one big reason she traveled to visit her spouse on TDY was because of the mainstream band they were performing with at a very cool venue.
There are so many reasons military spouses travel with their spouses on TDY. Sometimes, it’s not an option, especially when you add in school-aged children and our careers. But I think most would agree, if it’s a possibility, we’ll do it.
Written by Rebecca Alwine Exclusively for Military Crashpad®
