A. ,
First of all big hugs.
Second , every military spouse goes through this same exact thing.
How do you explain it to your 4 yr old?
Daddy will be gone for a little while but he will be back and while he's gone you can draw him pictures and mommy can send them to him.
how do you get through without him? you get used to it, you find new hobbies, friends, family, prayer , church, and write lots of letters and make the best of every phone call.
What if something happens to him? he's just going to basic nothing is going to happen to him. He's going to sweat a lot , climb a lot of ropes and get dirty. When he gets out he's gonna get an assignment, if it's state side y'all will move to whatever base they put him at and you'll live in base housing and be able to buy everything on post tax free. He'll have to go and live on a boat every now and then and you'll stay home and you'll write letters and get calls every now and then and even email, they do have email on boats.
We all have to face these questions every time they are away from home.
It's ok to cry, but you need to be strong for him and for your boy. You are his anchor back home.
While he's gone you can make a really long paper chain one for each day he will be gone counting down to the day he returns or you go to his graduation. and your son can take a piece off every day and he can see that it's getting closer to the day daddy gets back.
you should be proud of him for taking this step that many are not willing to take.
We are a going on 10 years military family , we are Army so a little different but the feelings are the same. We've been through the many deployments and training away from home and a lot of moves, but we are still together and our kids are great kids , very smart and have many friends from everywhere.
You will be fine.
one of my biggest places for support is an online game I play we've all become great friends and I know no matter what time it is I can log into game and talk if I need to. Someone will be there.
You may be surprised at how your friends and family will step up and help you through it.