A New Normal

My husband has been back for a few months now and we're getting into our "new" normal. People always talk about how they can't wait for the soldier to get home so things can go back to normal, but what they don't realize is that the old normal is gone. It left when your soldier left. Reintegration is tough. The person who was at home has a new schedule of how things get done. They've had the bed to themselves for a year and now they have to share again. Disciplining kids could be different. Your idea of how to spend money might be different. In a nutshell...life will be different. You might have a nice honeymoon period for a month or so when your soldier gets home and you'll think "This is great, why do people say reintegration is so hard?" The honeymoon period will wear off and real life will start again. A new normal will fall into place and that isn't a bad thing. It's actually a good thing because it means you're in a new groove and things are working for both of you, your kids, etc. You will not get back to the same "old" normal and that's ok. Life moves on and a "new" normal is born.