This isnt really a rant, more of an outpouring! My H2B leaves tomorrow until January next year so that he can travel the world!! I knew about his plans before i met him and trust him implicitly but i dont think i ever thought he would really go, but In a way im glad he is going as it gets it out of his system before settling down. He proposed on my birthday last year and i think it was his way of telling me everything would be ok and to show how much he loves me. He has been very enthusiastic about wedding plans but now i will be all alone until he returns, and i cant really do anything practical like booking and paying for the big stuff. What is slightly annoying is that he saved 9,000 pound for his trip!!! I am just going to miss him so much and although we can talk on skype and email etc it wont be the same... anyone else have to cope with long periods away from their H2B? I dont know what im going to do for the next 10 months!!

Does he really have to go for a whole year? Could he not go for a month or so then come back for a while then go somewhere else etc? I've always wanted to go and travel and had also thought about doing this before I met the h2b but we have settled down together so are going to do long holidays to the places we want to go to etc and will do it together. Maybe its just us but I couldn't even think of leaving the h2b for that amount of time now we have met no matter how much I would like to see the world. If I'm going to do it now it will be together so we can share the experience. Could you not go with him?

i would be going with him!! although my H2B wouldnt want to go without me anyway. We dont do well apart.

Travelling the world would be such an amazing experience though and if he had already been planning it before he met you I suppose its hard for him to detach himself from those dreams, especially if you have given him the go ahead to go, he'll just see it as the best of both worlds, he can travel and come home to you and marry you when you've saved again. I think your amazing for letting him go and so will he! Your going to need some great family and friends around you whilst he is away so make sure they are ready for you hun! Its such a shame you can't go with him but think about it like this "absence makes the heart grow fonder" either that or he'll be home after a month because he misses you so much and all that money saved can go on your wedding! Anytime you need a rant us girls are here xxxxxxxx

i know How u feel! My oh is off training for 3 months tomorrow and I'm really gonna miss him, but I'm gonna use this time as me time and I've got work during the week so it won't b 2 bad. Its not forever at the end of the day!

what about going out to join him for a couple of weeks maybe you could do this 2 or 3 time while he is away ? ......wish it was something i could do

my h2bs gonw down to his mums for afew hours and im missing him already,i wouldnt cope for the 10 months,keep your chin up chick,and just think at the end of it youve got him all to yourself and can start getting on with wedding plans and he will be back for good! xx

I cant go with him because i have a 4yr old who starts school this year, plus i have exams for my degree in June. Plus it isnt really my dream, its his and i hate flying! He doesnt want to leave me either but we both know that if he didnt go then he would end up resenting me so id rather he went, did it and then we can get on with things. Its just so difficult to contemplate him being away for so long!

hunni you will get into your own routine ........ i know how hard it is

i struggled with a week when we both went for a week holiday apart just after we got togther. yo must be so strong to let him go.

i would never let h2b go for a year but he wouldnt leave me for that long anyway! x

my h2b works away all the time this month he would have been home for a grand total of 4 ights.... you will get your own routine... yes you will miss him... but after a couple of weeks you will get used to it and you'll be alright... you will look forward to calls and txts and postcards etc...

if its his dream thats hes been planning he has to do it... like you said......

you sound like you have a busy year with exmas and stuff so the time will fly just keep busy... go out with friends .. enjoy your daughter... study like mad... have some wine and before you know it he will be back and will have alot of catching up to do xxx

Oh sorry becky-mrsfirth 2b, no she isnt his x

It'll be great for you both hun, imagine how amazing it'll be when he is back and you'll have all that making up to do!! And you say your not letting him go but your not stopping him babe and I think your an amazing person to let him fulfil his dreams and he'll think the same. You'll have so much to look forward to it'll make the time he's away just fly by and if it goes wrong for him out there he has you to come back too. You both can't go wrong. xxx

Oh no, if she was his i think that would be a very different set of circumstances!!lol Id like to think that he will come home early but he has payed out a lot of money for flights, hostels etc for the coming year so i dont think he will, but heres hoping!

If you have a strong trusting relationship you will get through it, but its going to be tough.
If you are unsure, might be wise to hold off booking the wedding until he gets back.
Having spent time in the forces, I know how it can take a long time to adjust being back together again. You expect to fall back in where you left off, but over a year you will both have changed, so will feel like strangers again.
My biggest concern is with the little one. At four years old they really need stability and reassurance.
I hope it all works out for you.
xx

I hope he brings you back lots of nice presents lol tell him he has to buy you something in each country!

Yeah Mrs firth 2b, he has paid for all his visas and booked a couple of connecting flights. He is travelling across quite a few countries and some of them need particular info for his visa application so he has had to plan some things. Haha i already have Mrs Walker 2b!!

lol think of all the prezzies he can buy you .....(hope he find better shops than mr lala has in sudan!!!!!!!)..and all the stories he can tell you ........

Mcdonnell .... i was a navel wife for 17 years and during that time my children coped with my (now) ex being away for months this was hard on them has he was in the gulf war ..and did several tours of duty in the gulf ....but they surrvied.
we did things like kept a diary to show him on hios return , tooks lots of pictures of the things we did etc

I'm in a slightly different situation as my now H2B is working abroad (Switzerland) and has been since Jan 2009, although we only got engaged recently. We see each other about twice a month for a couple of days though so in a way it's easier than the situation you're going to be in but it has been for a long time! In fact I'm hoping to move out there this summer as there is no hope of him coming back any time soon!

It is difficult but you just have to make the most of phonecalls, texts, letters, cards etc. We talk every day and to be honest I probably tell him more than I would if I saw him every day becuase we both cherish those phonecalls! You'll have to make sure you get the addresses of places he is going to be going in advance and send letters/cards to him and he can do the same, even if he can't phone regularly from where he is there is email and skype etc. I would recommend doing what someone else has already said and book a holiday to go out and vist him for a week or so during his travels, meeting up after a long time apart is definitely worth it, and it will give you something to look forward to before the end of his travels too!

Good luck with it, and like others have said, make sure your family and friends are there for you too, sometimes it is nice knowing you can arrange to meet up with the girls etc without having to think about H2B!

No not really Suzky as by the time i can get some time off he will be too far away to get a cheap flight and more than likely in a country that needs a visa and expensive malaria jabs!! Thank you all ladies, in a way its nice to know im not alone in my situation although i feel for those of you that are separated from your H2B's too!

wow. I am really not sure how i would cope with that.

I have been traveling myself and it is amazing - but i wouldn't leave my H2B to do it even if it was a once in a life time chance. He would be coming with me or i would be staying at home.

I understand its not so easy for you as you have a young child.

Do you mind me asking how long you two have been together?

Such a hard situation to be with and i feel for you. at least you have your wedding to plan which should keep you busy while he is away!!

can i just ask what he is doing with a friend and not you seeing as he is going today?! xx

Awwww I can't believe he's not spending every minute of the day before he goes with you!!

He has Kaya, but he also has his parents and close friends to say goodbye to aswell. He has been with me practically every day the last week and has been with me all day today. xx