A Sailor's Wife Recounts His Holidays Out at Sea

As a Navy wife, I am used to the familiar sight of my husband, Allen, coming and going all different times of the year. Presently, he is on his second back-to-back sea duty tour serving on the USS Taylor. Sea duty is exactly what the name entails: most of the time, and sometimes without much warning, the crew is out to sea. During the holidays though, I consider it to be a roll of the dice: one year he may be home, while the next year he may be gone. Considering the fact that I am used to his frequent departures, we tend to celebrate the holidays whenever he is home: sometimes a little earlier than most families and other times a month or two later.

While it really does not bother me that he is not home for a particular holiday, I can honestly say this because of the excellent treatment I know he receives on his ship from his second family. Many times on a holiday, the ship's Captain will cave the turkey and sit down to eat with the crew. Also, there will be a "steel beach" picnic that is basically a large outdoor gathering of the crew and resembles a bar-b-q. Crew members in his shop are also very generous and I have been told many times about how they will share a box of Christmas cookies or other baked goods with each other.

In addition to food, I also try to send holiday care packages. These have to be shipped very early, as they must travel through many different post office depots, depending on where the ship is currently deployed. Many merchants offer free FPO/APO shipping such as Books a Million, and I try to send him a present of books to pass the time. Once though, I ordered him holiday cookies, and they did not arrive until two months later and were stale. Grateful he received a package, Allen ate them.

This holiday leave period Allen will be home and we plan of returning to Disney World. Next Christmas, we already know he will not be home, so I am already planning on collecting many boxes and packing materials in order to send him care packages. I am grateful to have him home whenever I can, however, I am even more grateful that there are people around him at all times; so no matter where on Earth he is, Allen never has to be alone.