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One expert writing at The Washington Post tells you how to get through it:

Q: My husband recently enlisted in the navy. He has seven more weeks in boot camp and then will have either three or 12 months of additional training before he is posted to his first assignment. I intend to stay in my current job until we are posted. Should I tell my boss about the navy now or later? Given our tanking economy and my need to keep this job and our

income, I'm leaning toward the latter.

I work for a small, family-owned company (me, the boss and his wife). I am close to the owners and don't want to be thought of as disloyal. I do most of the client work and am not easily replaceable, but I would prefer they not even think of finding a new "less expensive" employee in this economy. I am extremely loyal, get involved in industry trade organisations for the company's benefit and have been employed longer and produced better than any employee in the company's history (their words).

I certainly plan to give more than adequate notice and stay to train the replacement when the time comes. I would like to avoid a situation of: "Why didn't you tell us about this months ago?" But is that realistic? Do I risk my job to prevent burning a huge bridge in a small, well-connected industry? They know a lot of people in my industry, so I need to be careful. I'm really struggling to do the right thing for everyone. They have been really good to me over the years.

A: Being a loyal employee does not require you to share personal news instantly. So much could happen in the next year. Your husband could drop out of the navy or flame out in boot camp; you could get pregnant or decide to go to graduate school - really, the list goes on.

So your responsibility to your wonderful bosses is not total disclosure. It's to strike a balance between giving them sufficient notice to replace you and not alarming them unnecessarily or making yourself a short-timer prematurely.

So when's the right time to share your news? When it's close enough that the statistical probability of it becoming a reality is fairly high. In your case, it's about a month or two from your departure date. You will have a better sense of that after your husband finishes boot camp. Any sooner than that does not really help them, but it could hurt you - especially if your plans change.