I am spoiled, I know.

I will now admit something that might make some wives with deployed hubbies/bfs/fiances a little jealous. I have talked to my hubby on the phone almost every day that he's been deployed. And he has emailed me almost every day.

This is truly what has prevented me from gaining 100 pounds, pulling out all of my hair, and constantly having a map of zits spread across my face throught these 13 months. It has helped me sleep at night, helped me get through my days, and kept me sane. And it has really, really strengenthed our marriage because we get to talk just like we used to during our 2 year long distance relationship in college. I get to talk to my best friend, tell him about my day, ask about his, discuss new music, swap movie reviews, talk about our past, present and future.

I know, I've been very, very lucky. Even Gorilla says, "You are so spoiled you know." Not only because I get to hear from him every day, but because he loves me enough to want to talk to me every day. There are plenty of other Marines that have the same access that he does that don't choose to communicate with their families as often. Most of the men he works around call their wives once a week, or once or twice a month. I don't know if their wives just don't need that constant communication, if the Marines don't need that constant communication, or if my hubby and I just have a completely different relationship than most.

I admit, there were some days when we had already emailed each other, already discussed daily happenings, and were on the phone saying things like, "You talk about something. No, you say something." This was usually because we really didn't have much to talk about that day, but we were both aware of how comforting it was just to have the other on the line, just to hear the other person breathing, with occasional (or many) "I love yous" thrown in. On most days I could tell you exactly what my hubby ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the chow hall, what his day was like, what his plans were for the evening, and what his workout routine was like that afternoon.

I won't apologize for our good fortune, but I will be grateful. I know that although I was fortunate to have this priceless communication with my husband, there are many, many significant others that rarely hear from their loved ones. There are many who have restless nights wondering if their loved ones are safe. There are many who get nervous any time the phone rings. So please don't think that I don't realize how lucky I am.

I hate even admitting this or talking about it. It's almost the same as my friends who've gone through seven month deployments- they don't like to talk about it to me because they know I'm going through what they may perceive as far worse. (just as I would be scared to talk about my deployment to an Army wife because they are going through far worse) But I'm still sooo happy for them that they don't have to experience what I did. So I hope that people can be happy that I get to talk to Gorilla every day.

Now that the hubby's replacement has arrived, the emails are non-existent, and the phone calls are fewer. This only makes me smile though because I know this means that soon I'll be talking to him in person...