Reasons Why I Love the Military

I love the military and I love being a military wife. 

Yes - I said it.

I honestly could not imagine my life any other way.  If you would have told me way back when that I would be military wife, raising my kids alone at times, living hundreds of miles away from my family, I would have ran crying to my room and not come out until.....well.....never.

But....here we are.  17 years of marriage, 2 kids, 2 year + long deployments, numerous TDYs and schools, and a lifestyle that I wouldn't change for the world.

Even as I sit here in one of the bluest times I've ever experienced, I can still find the positive about the military:

Extended Family:  Thanks to the military (Marines AND Army National Guard) we now have "family" from coast to coast.  Some of my friends here in Colorado ARE family.  Our very good friends, Mike and Cindy, are Nudgie's Godparents.  Within our circle, our kids call our friends "Auntie" and "Uncle".  We watch TV shows together via FB....just recently, two Marine Corps girlfriends and I watched a silly reality show together - me in Colorado, DeAnne in Texas, and Kara in North Carolina.  We cracked each other up with our running commentary via Facebook.  The only thing missing was our other friend Anna in California.  God help you if you ever get us all into a room together again!


Pride:  I can't even begin to express the pride I feel knowing my husband serves.  He knew, all along, that the military was going to be his life path.  While it wasn't the path that he expected, it turned out to be a better path for him.  He is good at his job and is respected in his field.  I am so in awe in of him.  It's a great feeling knowing that I'm married to someone who is willing to sacrifice so much to do something that he loves.  He is my hero.


The Uniform:  Seeing anyone wear the uniform makes me smile and just want to give them a hug!  But My Marine??  Do I really need to explain this?  Who does NOT love a man in uniform?   When he was in the Marines, seeing him in those dress blues would make me want to do some very unmentionable things!  Seeing him in his flight suit makes me heart go pitter-patter and puts butterflies in my stomach.  Sexiness and hotness.....the end!


Finding My Strength:  During our 17 years of marriage (all in the military), I have raised children alone, packed up and moved, done numerous household and car repairs and dealt with more little brush fires than I care to deal with.  But deal with them I did.  It took going through an 18-month deployment for me to discover that I really did have an inner strength and confidence that I didn’t know I had. I went from "I can't do this" to "I'm going to try and if I can't do it, then I'll call someone".  I learned (and am still learning) that while it's ok to "BE STRONG" and "DO IT ON MY OWN" it's still ok to ask for help.


Stronger Marriage:  I know....I know what you're thinking...."How can they have a strong marriage when they're apart so much?"  Trust me....it ain't easy.  We've had our low points....and even at one point came periously close to divorce.   Marriage is tough....period.  But when you add the stress of separation on top of it, it's amazing that military marriages survive.  But survive we do.  When we're apart, I remember the little things that drive me crazy when he's home (snoring, sweetener packets left all over the kitchen counter, dirty socks & flight suits)....and I wish I could have them back.  When we're together, we appreciate the little things more - even though after a few weeks they start to drive me crazy again.  I don't need flowers and candy and gifts for each birthday, anniversary, special occasion.  Is he home?  That's all I need.  While we still snip and argue, we've also learned to try to let it go a little more.  I never know when he'll come home and tell us he's leaving again for another school or TDY.  We cherish the moments that we have together.


Homecomings:  This just doesn't include homecomings from deployment either.  It could be a homecoming from a school, a TDY, or a 2-week AT.  The days building up to that anticipation, making sure everything is right, picking out an outfit, frantic cleaning all lead up to that wonderful day when he comes home.  Even now, my heart skips a beat thinking about the homecoming from THIS deployment.  There is nothing hotter than experiencing that "first kiss" over and over and over again!