Military Spouse Appreciation Day

We are the Heroes of the Homefront!

For those of you who are military spouses, I want you to know that I appreciate and celebrate you today. I know first hand the sacrifices you have to make...most of them being your sanity...but in the end, those are the sacrifices that matter most!!


Yes, we make a big difference in the lives of our husbands, wives and children but we also make a big difference in the lives of other military spouses! Our compassion, our listening ears, our understanding, our ability to potluck anywhere, and our friendships are the only things that have kept us from falling apart on most days. For all of you who have helped me get through the tough times (and I don't have your email address), thank you for all that you do and have done in my life.


A few military spouse favorites:

-The Misadventures of a Military Wife - Excellent book and I think we can all relate in more ways than you would ever think or admit on most days.

-Milspouse Magazine - I just starting getting this a few months back and have really enjoyed reading the ones that Maggie didn't eat! Lots of good information and tips and resources as well as articles related specifically to us as loyal spouses.



-I was going to find my favorite place to get military T-shirts because I have have bad experiences in the past but I think I have it saved at home. I don't recommend Cafe-Press though. They print the decal on an iron-transferrable sheet of paper and then attach it to the shirts. VERY STIFF and very cheap looking for $20 bucks plus shipping per shirt!

-Dr. Laura - She is a hillarious talk show host who helps people solve their personal (common sense) problems. She is also the "proud mother of an American Paratrooper!"

-Seaworld and Busch Gardens - Both theme parks are still allowing military members and their families into their facilities for free. We took advantage of Busch Gardens last year and it was So much fun. We need to hurry up and hit Sea World before they change their minds and want to start charging again.

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!

Military Monday - Kim in Beaumont, TX

Kim is a friend I met here in Beaumont a few months ago in a class at church. I don't even think that we would have even known each other if her husband hadn't shown up for class in his uniform one day when he was running late. We started talking after class and ... a short drive and a cup of coffee later, we were all friends. Kim and her family are about to transfer out back to Maryland next month and I will miss them very much. Here is what she has to say on Military Monday...

"The first word that popped into my brain as I pondered the term military was "militant". I keep a dictionary by my computer for times when I read something but can't quite determine what the writer really intended from the context. A quick look tells me that the term militant means 1. fighting, and 2. ready to fight, esp. for some cause.

It is no wonder that 'militant' immediately came to mind. I don't know that I love or hate military life. I don't know that I want or resent military life. I do know that it is here, right alongside the man Il ove and the man who is still my dream. And I know so very well, with uncanny certainty that the military life has been a true grit, to the bone fight. It has been a fight to discover, recreate and redefine myself with every transfer. It has been a fight to keep my heart softened and able to love new people as we've felt the gnaw of all of those we've met and loved and then driven away from not knowing if we would see them again this side of heaven. It has been a fight living so far from our families of origin and wondering what it might have been like to have lived closer, or at least have the power to choose. It has been a fight to see some of them die, knowing that the possibility of having them in our everyday lives is gone.

Why do we fight, after all? One reason we fight is that we want to live! And not just that, we want to thrive! As military wives we have just as much of a right to thrive as anyone else. The difference lies in our ever present and ever changing challenges. I feel that the rewards and benefits of the challenge and the fight are truly beyond measure and sometimes beyond comprehension. My will to fight and resilience was alot stronger during the first 5, 6 or 7 years of transitions. Maybe the reason for that is that I was naive, ignorant or just so simple that everything else didn't matter much. Or maybe I was better off not knowing what fights would lie ahead. I don't guess that I will ever know all of the reasons. I also don't guess that it matters that much. The glory of the fight lies in the fact that we can grow and mature and become someone we never thought we could through the fights we face.

Today we are one month away from my husband's twentieth year in the Coast Guard. We've been married for 15 years and have two healthy and unbelievable daughters. We've lived in 14 different homes, six cities and had countless, powerful friends. I don't know how many thousands of miles we've driven to visit our families in Kansas but I am certain it would be astonishing if we could add them up... possibily rivaling a trip to the moon and back? I've cried over friends who mended my heart and friends who broke my heart with the truth. I've leapt for joy in my soul at the amazingness of people I never would have had the chance to encounter just sitting still in Kansas. I've looked at my husband and hung my jaw at how this has all happened. Can I offer advice? Yes... I definitely can. For those who are willing there is great peace and joy on the other side of the fight, and even through it. Our military life has been a journey through a career path but it has more importantly been a journey along the path of my salvation. The greatest thing that could have ever happened to me, to my husband and to my daughters happened to us through the fights and challenges of military life. We found the end of ourselves and discovered salvation in Jesus Christ. THAT has been the one and only thing that has kept our hearts thriving and our marriage alive. It is the only thing that gives hope and strength to our children. Yes, I could have found Christ outside of military life but I didn't. If you want advice from a military wife who has been around for a while this is it: seek Christ with all of your heart. He is the only solution to the things we will fight all our lives both in the military and beyond. God will use every experience you have for good, but you have to let Him."

Military Mondays - Andrea in NV

Andrea recently got married and moved to Nevada from Texas. I have actually never met Andrea but her husband, John (USMC), is a good friend of mine and I feel like I know her since he talks about her alot! When I used to work in Key West, he would fly into town every now and spend alot of time using our equipment to run the missions. It's not everyday that you have controller that comes through that can hold an intelligent, witty conversation without talking about the wrestling match on tv last night or make a South Park reference. So we would always have a good time working together. And any wife of John's is a friend of mine. They got married in June and are on their way to Japan for the next few years. Here is what she has to say on Military Monday...

"Well, I am a new military wife. John and I got married in June of 2007, but in my few months of being married to a Marine, I have learned so much! I grew up near an Air Force base, and my mom has worked on the base for over 28 years, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Because I grew up around many military personnel, I thought I knew what to expect and I did, to a certain extent. Military life is completely different that civilian world. It’s almost too hard to explain to others who aren’t in it. Before we got married I never thought that I would have to think about trying to “schedule” when to have a baby around deployments. I didn’t know how often my husband would be gone, or the insane amount of hours he would work.

To most other wives, that is just a way of life, and I never thought I’d be one to get used to it, but it seems like I am starting to. I believe it takes an incredibly strong woman to be a military wife. Don’t take that the wrong way, I'm not tooting my own horn or anything, but it’s true. Not very many people consider “the wives”, or even the husbands left behind, for that matter, when they deploy overseas. When you think about it, it is the spouses who have to go on with their every day lives and take care of the household, the children, and whatever needs to be done in the absence of their husbands or wives who are gone for six months, a year, and even eighteen months at a time. That’s the part you don’t really think about when you say your vows. I have heard of so many divorces that happen for that reason.

I am quite fortunate to have not experience a deployment yet, but I can fully understand how difficult it must be.You kind of have to be an independent person to be married to the military. You are always away from your family, and your husband is gone quite a bit. There is no whining allowed! Now I am not trying to say you must be tough as nails all the time, but it seems as if a thicker skin is developed. Don’t get me wrong, I have shed my fair share of tears because I have missed my family, or for two whole weeks I was sleeping when my husband left for work, and sleeping when he got home; but it’s a part of the job. Being a military wife is a job in itself, but for the rest of my life, I am willing to accept it.

Speaking of being far away from family, we just found out we will be moving to Okinawa, Japan in July. After the initial shock of it, we are both thrilled that we are able to have this opportunity. I can’t wait to see if I take my own advice and develop tough skin being in a completely different country with different customs and an entire new language. This is a whole new ballgame! "

Military Monday - Ashley in Pascagoula, MS

Ashley just moved to Pascagoula, MS from Florida. Having been a South Florida girl all her life, she is still adjusting to "the South." Here is what she has to say on Military Monday...

"What do I think about being a military spouse?!! I guess that all depends on what mood I’m in that day! Overall I love being a military spouse. The people and the places make all the headaches and heartaches worth it. Not to mention not having to worry about where I’m going to live or if my next employer will offer health insurance! Now if this had been Military Thursdays (as in last Thursday) my attitude about being a military spouse would have been much different! Let’s just say that I do not always understand or agree with some of the decisions that are made and the amount of time my husband is away from home. My blood pressure goes through the roof for a day or so but eventually I cool down and remember that everything happens for a reason.

It will be three years this summer that my husband has been in the Coast Guard and he has been underway more than half of that time. I’ve definitely had my share of lonely days and nights but I am very proud of him and wouldn’t want our life to be any other way!"

Military Mondays

Why not right??? There are so many things that affect military wives that don't affect normal wives. And since I am a military wife...I think you get the picture. But several of my military spouse friends are going to guest blog for the next few weeks. It's mostly just a fun way for us all to keep in touch since we are all moving off so that we can still be able to commiserate with everyone else...

What do I think about being a military spouse??? Lots of people always ask me what it's like...I never know how to answer that question. I am just like everyone else just with more restrictions and more opportunities.

I don't get the opportunity to plant roots and network around using my contacts that I have obtained in town all of my life since we move every few years. I have never had a job that has lasted longer than 2 years. I stay in a constant state of conflict with myself on all of the next steps in life: education, kids, jobs, finances...because you never know when you will get a call that changes your plans.

But....on the flipside-I have never felt closer to so many complete strangers, I have never felt alone, and I have never felt like I was out of options. The military offers so many oportunities to the military spouses, because, well, we get are just affected just as much by the moves and deployments and changes that are involved with each different situation.

I have accepted my role in my marriage as the stable, constant, predictable one because I am a military wife. I actually think being a military spouse has helped me to grow personally in a very small amount of time. Being thrown into a town, 20 hours away from the nearest family member, with no friends, and a crappy job...then your husband kisses you and says "I so glad you are here with me...see you in a few months!!"... That will pull you out of your shell immediately!!! So I offered to be the ombudsman, I started going to the gym, I started volunteering, I started attending church, and the hardest thing of all, I started letting my guard down and making friends with people I would have normally ever spoken to...because they are just as lonely as I once was. And you know what...I don't regret any second of it because that is where you find some of your closest lifelong friends.














This is our group of wives going stag to the CG Ball since the boys were underway.

So living out of boxes, moving every 2-3 years, always changing jobs, constantly looking for new friends...I am up for it. Life is an adventure and I plan on enjoy as much of it as the Good Lord lets me.