Written by Angela Caban,

We all have those days during a long deployment where you just wish you could escape from reality. You wish to go somewhere no one knows you, a place you can just relax and not have to think about how much longer is left in the deployment, what to make for dinner, or even just an escape from the routine of your everyday life. In the fall of 2008, I did just that.

I was feeling the pressures of being a single mom two weeks into the deployment, but at the sixth month I was ready to escape. I could not take another day in the house, so we went to a special place that to this day is a secret from my husband. I called it my deployment “retreat”. A place I could go to think or not think about anything. About an hour from our home was a “man made” beach. Miles and miles of sand, beautiful clear water, grass and an area for my son to run wild. Thinking back to those moments are priceless. A place I felt was my very own and a place I would not run into anyone I knew. I was tired of explaining where my husband was, why and how I was coping – I needed this time just for me to be me, not an Army wife.

We would visit this place anytime the stress would build up to the point I could not breathe. It got this way many times, but because I knew this special place awaited us, I found peace within. A deployment escape doesn’t need to be far away, with the gas prices today best bet would be to stay within your area. An escape can be anywhere you can take time for yourself and sometimes can be found in your home as well. But as the summer approaches, take a walk or get in the car and drive to the park. Do something out of the ordinary that is not in your routine. You would be surprised just how much it helps.

Where’s your deployment escape?

For more on Angela Caban, visit her website at www.angelacaban.com.

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