Editor’s note: This story appeared in Sound Publishing’s special section, Military Appreciation Day 2016, edited by Leslie Kelly. Kitsap County’s Military Appreciation Day celebration is planned for April 16 in the Kitsap Pavilion at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. The event is free and open to the public.

Samantha Gomez knew what she was getting into when she and her husband, Vincent, married nine years ago. Vincent had already decided on a career in the U.S. Navy.

But it was the day after he left on his first deployment that reality sank in.

“I was pregnant with my second (child) and we’d just moved into a new house,” she said. “I was going to go out and have some extra keys made to the house so I could give one to a neighbor. I ended up locking myself out of the house and locking my little one in the car.

“Here I was, thinking that I’d be on top of everything, and then it just all fell apart.”

A neighbor came to her rescue, climbing through a bathroom window so Samantha could get in her house and get her car keys so she could rescue her son.

“I just felt so bad,” she said. “I kept telling myself, ‘I can do this. I’ll be fine while he’s gone on deployment.’ And then everything falls apart.”

Now, at 29, with sons ages 7 and almost 4, she’s become a pro at managing as a Navy spouse.

The couple met in Arizona and were high school sweethearts. He entered boot camp in January 2007. Then, they went to Georgia where he was in school for his specialty in submarine work. From there, they had the option of staying in Georgia or moving west to Bangor.

“We chose to come here,” she said. “We didn’t like the weather in Georgia and we wanted to be closer to family in Arizona.”

They first lived in Navy housing in Jackson Park near Bremerton. When they could afford to, they bought a house in East Bremerton.

“We knew we liked it here and we wanted to put down roots,” she said.

In his years in the Navy, her husband has been through shore duty, sea duty, and has re-enlisted. He was first on the USS Pennsylvania and then the USS Nevada.

“We (re-enlisted) because we knew we could stay here and we didn’t want to move,” she said. “He really likes what he does.”

But at times like this, when she knows they will soon face another deployment, she admits it gets hard.

“All the responsibility falls on me when he’s gone,” she said. “My husband and I think differently. He’s the creative one and I’m the analytical one. When he’s gone, there isn’t that balance. To not have that is a weight on my shoulders.”

When he is away, she emails him every day, just to help him keep up with what their sons are doing and what’s going on. She’s hesitant to write much about problems because she knows his mind is on his work.

He only gets to email back about once a week, if that. So asking his opinion on things that need to be dealt with soon doesn’t work. That’s where her friends and neighbors come in, and the other Navy wives she has met.

“We don’t have family in the area,” she said. “So I have to find people who can be family to me.”

From the first days that they were in Kitsap County, Samantha found people here to be friendly and outgoing.

“I was invited to a new wives’ tea that the boat (her husband was assigned to) was hosting,” she said. “I really began to get to know people.”

In fact, she met a birthing doula who helped with the birth of her first son. She then joined play groups and met other moms. She’s now a lead for a local MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group. And she’s active now in her son’s school.

“When we moved off base, I got to know my neighbors,” she said. “And we volunteer at our church.”

Her advice to anyone wanting to help out a Navy spouse while their sailor is away, “Be flexible and be supportive.”

“Let them know you are here for them,” she said. “Ask ‘What can I do for you?’ It just means so much to know that if something comes up, they’ll be there for you.”