“Goodnight Bitty, I love you,” Ashlyn says as she waves goodbye to her niece before ending the call.
Ashlyn has moved almost 300 miles away from her family in order to be with her husband as he finishes tech school for the Army reserves. After eleven weeks of being apart while he was in basic training, and just a few weeks into his time at tech school, Ashlyn realized she did not want to go months without her husband. She found an apartment and made the 4.5 hour trip to start a new chapter in her life and in their marriage.
“I missed him too much,” she explains. “I don’t think I could have handled being that far away for much longer.” Being close to her husband meant leaving her family behind, something she had never experienced before.
“The first couple of nights I cried like a big baby,” Ashlyn admits. She says her husband even told her to go back home because he hated to see her so upset, but Ashlyn refused. “I knew I would get passed it, and it would be worth it to see him more often.”
Of course, she still misses her family, but thanks to modern technology Ashlyn is able to see her niece and nephews though they are separated. The wonderful invention of FaceTime has allowed her to remain a part of their lives.
Though she misses the home she left behind, Ashlyn believes she did the right thing by relocating. “It’s hard, but it’s worth it. You learn to lean on and be there for each other more than ever,” she advises. “It builds your relationship. It’s a beautiful thing.”
The hurdles she had to overcome were tremendous for someone who had never lived away from home, but Ashlyn says she wouldn’t trade it for the world.
