Long Months Ahead
Three kids is a lot for anyone, but especially for anyone trying to balance life as a single parent. Chris and Natasha were the proud parents of a son and two daughters. Their eldest was old enough to understand that any differences he recognized in his mother were to be kept quiet. He understood no one wanted to upset his father while he was so far away. But his two sisters were not as old, and not as wise when it came to knowing what they should and shouldn’t share over their brief phone calls with their dad.
The middle of the trio of children was four years old when Chris deployed in 2016. This tiny of daughter was just old enough to recognize something was different this time while daddy was away. Natasha worried every time Chris called home that their four year old would spill some secret to raise her father’s suspicions while he was half way across the world. No one wanted Chris to think about anything besides his mission while he was too far away to do anything about the changes taking place in his own home.
Anchors Away
Behind every military members is a family stepping up on the home front. As difficult as life is as a member of America's armed forces those who stay behind have their own challenges. Natasha, Chris Daugherty's wife, was used to the sacrifices and struggles that come along with the life of a military spouse. Residents of Temecula, California, Chris and Natasha were already the parents of three young children when Chris was deployed in 2016. As hard as deployment was for Natasha, adding three children to the mix had never made the long absences any easier for the couple. Chris understood he would miss far more than holidays when he was at sea. There would be milestones his children would reach that he would never experience. Natasha lived every day knowing that, though Chris worked to protect the country, as well as support his family, the day-to-day struggles of parenting would be hers to bare.
When Daugherty, a Petty Officer, was set to deploy on the USS Vinson, his family joined him amid smiles and tears. Heading off to the Korean Peninsula, Chris would once again set about work as a Navy cryptologic technician. Chris would decipher codes and signals from around the globe but be none the wiser about the details of what was going on in the home he'd left behind. He was employed to work out the codes and communications from around the globe, but it wouldn't give him any more time to catch up with his wife and young children. The day-to-day details of their lives would remain a mystery to the Petty Officer at sea.
Overseas Tour
Loneliness hit Natasha almost immediately. Like any military spouse she had learned to expect the emotions, but they didn't seem to get any easier to live with. She knew how to organize the house and care for the children, but her emotions were their own separate struggle to shoulder. Little did Natasha expect that this deployment would come with its own particular struggle. She found herself needing to change her usual routine to get by, to make everything run as smoothly as it had in the past.
She made small changes at first, but as the weeks continued to pass it became harder and harder to pretend that everything was the same as it always had been. This deployment was different, much more complicated on the home front than it ever had been. And, with three small children around her at all times, Natasha had to be especially careful not to reveal every necessary change to her dependent and curious onlookers.
Talkative Toddler
Despite having her hands completely full with three small children, Natasha couldn't help but worry about whether it was wise to keep all the changes on the home front from her Navy husband. The changes in their household would last far longer than a single deployment and, despite his months away, Chris would be home sooner or later, and there would be no hiding the changes to the Daugherty family and household once he was back on dry land.
Just as her son understood, Natasha did not want to unload on her husband while he was thousands of miles away. Life as a military spouse had taught her self-reliance as well as the balance that has to be maintained between the family and the mission. Chris being distracted for months would neither help his crew nor his family. Yet, despite this understanding, Natasha found Chris's regular communications, over phone, video calls, and social media posts, especially painful as she worried he would discover her secret despite all her efforts to keep the full truth from him. Technology had certainly made it easier for the family of five to stay in touch, but as changes continued in the house, it also made it even more difficult to make sure Chris stayed focused.
Constant Contact
Despite having her hands completely full with three small children, Natasha couldn't help but worry about whether it was wise to keep all the changes on the home front from her Navy husband. The changes in their household would last far longer than a single deployment and, despite his months away, Chris would be home sooner or later, and there would be no hiding the changes to the Daugherty family and household once he was back on dry land.
Just as her son understood, Natasha did not want to unload on her husband while he was thousands of miles away. Life as a military spouse had taught her self-reliance as well as the balance that has to be maintained between the family and the mission. Chris being distracted for months would neither help his crew nor his family. Yet, despite this understanding, Natasha found Chris's regular communications, over phone, video calls, and social media posts, especially painful as she worried he would discover her secret despite all her efforts to keep the full truth from him. Technology had certainly made it easier for the family of five to stay in touch, but as changes continued in the house, it also made it even more difficult to make sure Chris stayed focused.