Sunday, November 20, 2011

Military Wives

I found this on facebook of all places and I loved it!! I have found that military wives are very strong (and yet flexible) women. I'm proud to be a military wife and proud to be friends with the amazing military wives I know!

"What is a military wife...
Each one may look different and each is wonderfully unique,... but this they have in common:... Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.
Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!
They call her 'Military Dependent',
but she knows better:She is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move
........all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert,
The Arctic,
Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...
Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands;
his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart .
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, she will remain his military wife."

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Be still my beating heart...

My sweet boy laughed today.

Oh the sweet melody that is R's giggles.

And just when I think my heart might explode with joy from the sound of his laughter, he squealed! Did I mention that he also picked up his baby keys and shook them?

...OH BE STILL MY BEATING HEART!

R has been smiling the sweetest smiles since about 6 weeks old, but this is the first time I remember him really laughing and holding onto a hard toy without us putting it in his hand. (He's been picking up and holding onto soft stuff toys by himself for a few weeks.)

And what caused his sweet laughter?

The raspberries...on his sweet "piggies." Gets 'em every time.

It's really neat to see each new stage with our baby. And to see him come into his own sweet personality.

I'm forever excited for the next thing he'll do!


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Behind the scenes...

I think that sometimes Hollywood may have given us a romanticized view of having your other half in the military.

Sure there's the beautiful reunions after months apart where a handsome man in uniform hugs you so tight it takes your breath away and there's the military balls where you gets to play Cinderella for the evening. Not to mention, of course, the steadfast pride you feel in your heart knowing that your husband is serving his country.

However, it goes without saying that having a husband is the Navy isn't always easy.

Take today for example...

My husband is already gone from 5:00AM-7:30PM every day of the week. Now he's been told he must stay at least another 2 hours each day until further notice.

The hubs usually misses seeing R by 30 minutes or so when coming home at 7:30 (except for the occasional night when R would still be up), but now he will miss him every night.

I know the hubs will do everything he can to spend as much time as possible with the baby on the weekends. I know that R will grow up confident that this daddy loves him and will always be there for him.

Still I feel sad knowing that the hubs misses out on R's snuggles, cuddles, and smiles during the week. It's the best kind after all.

Now I know what you might be thinking..."oh not another whiny military wife!"

I KNOW this is part of what we signed up for and I accept that, but that doesn't always make it easy. I am, after all, still entitled to feeling bummed now and again.

Now, with all of that said, I am still ever grateful for the many benefits of being in the service and I plan to view this as preparation for deployments. We're a strong couple and a strong family and I feel confident we'll make it through this with flying colors and will soon be moving onto the next chapter in our Navy life.

Thank you for your service dear and thank you, as always, for being such a fabulous provider for R and me. We love you always and forever.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

No matter how hard the day before is...

...I always look forward to the huge smile R gives me when he wakes up in the next morning.

Some nights I go to bed feeling like I could sleep for days after R's had a I-will-not-nap-yet-I'm-super-cranky day; still, the next morning is always a new day and I'm always greeted with my baby boy's sweet smile.

Parenting is the toughest job I've ever had and yet still is, and always will be, the greatest job in the entire world.

Love that baby boy's sweet smile.

Do I really have to let him get married someday?!?!?!? ;-)

Monday, November 7, 2011

Tomorrow...

...is election day. An very important day in our country. We are so blessed to have a say in how our government works and who works for us. I know it's not a perfect system, but I'm proud to live in a country with the freedom to say what I want, worship the way I want, and vote for the people/things I want.

...is R's 3 month birthday! I can NOT believe 3 months has already gone by! I fall more and more in love with that sweet baby face each and every passing second. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to give him away to a woman someday. Now I know how my mother-in-law must feel about my husband and I actually feel somewhat bad for taking her baby away.

...marks 9 years with the hubs! Not 9 years of marriage, mind you, but 9 years as a "couple." We have been through so much together in our 9 years: prom, high school graduation, college--at 2 separate universities, college graduation, our beautiful wedding day, my first "big girl" job, saying goodbye to some beloved family members at funerals, joining the Navy, moving 10+ hours from our family and friends, and the birth of our precious son--just to name a few. Not to mention the more mundane things like sicknesses, bills and other financial planning items, etc. etc. etc.

The thing about dealing with the good, the bad, and ugly (you haven't seen me when I just wake up...ha!) is that I love him more now than I did a year ago, and I loved him more then than I did the year before.

I know that love at first sight is a romantic idea, but I feel that my husband and I (along with other happily married couples like my parents and his parents) are prime examples that love only multiplies over time.

I know my life has been bettered by his presence and I'm thankful for the 9 years we've had together and I look forward to 90 more.

I love you dear.

Friday, November 4, 2011

No "sick" days

Today started out like any normal Friday. R and I got up and headed to "Stroller Rollers." A workout class for mom and baby offered on base and taught by one of my dearest friends.

What wasn't normal about today was what happened after we returned home. R went down for a nap and I started to tidy up around the house.

Then it hit me...

Waves of horrible nausea. The kind that makes you feel gross all over and make you want to crawl into bed and never come back out.

I decided to use the time I had while R was napping to sneak in a nap too.

It lasted 20 minutes.

R and I then spent the next 2.5 hours before his next nap laying in my bed. I did my best to read to him and play with him while not jostling my tummy too much.

Finally R was back down for a nap and I slept for 1.5 hours he did. It helped. I was not, however, cured yet.

The second half of the day went about the same as the first half. I'd sleep anytime R did, even for 10 minutes, and we'd play and read any time he was awake.
FYI: My stomach does seem to be recovering now. I think it may have been a 24 hour bug.

Thinking back on my day, I realized something. When I was a teacher and I was sick, I'd spend the whole day sleeping and vegging in front of the tv.

Today I did a small amount of sleeping and no vegging.

Mind you, I'm not complaining, because I still think stay-at-home mom is the best job in the entire world.

I am, however, politely pointing this out to anyone who thinks that being a stay-at-home mom is an "easy" or "lazy" job.

There are no "sick" days in motherhood; you still have to be available 24-7 for the boss.

The cutest and greatest boss ever.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

These are the people...

In April, we will be moving.

Where? We don't know yet.

That's the military for you. We expect it and we're okay with it.

Moving will be such a bittersweet experience though.

In some ways I'm excited to see a new part of the country (or world) and in other ways, a lot of other ways, I'm so sad to leave the amazing people we've met here.

We truly have made a "family" here with the people we've met.

These are the people I told I was pregnant, right after telling our immediate families. I knew they'd be with me every step of the way, day in and day out, through all the joys and pains of pregnancy and birth.

These are the people who cooked us dinner for a week after R's birth and after all our family went home.

These are the people I call to hang out with when I'm having a bad day and just need company.

These are the people I will be celebrating the Holidays with this year because my husband's schedule will not allow us to get home to our actual families.

These are the people that can honestly relate to each and every step of our military experience so far...the struggles, the trials, the triumphs, the late nights, the long hours, the early mornings, the impending deployments, the joy in the precious family time we do get with our respective spouses and kids.

These are the people we will never forget.

My only hope is that we have made the same lasting impression on them too.

So I raise my figurative glass to enjoying the next 6 months with our Navy "family" and looking ahead to new places and new faces while always remembering and keeping in touch with the irreplaceable friends we've made here.

Thank you all for changing our lives for the better. We love you.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

My mother always said...

"There will be days when you literally get nothing done."

I remember her telling me about having days while raising us that she'd find the breakfast dishes still in the sink at 9PM.

"Not me," I'd think. "I'll be on top of things." This is of course insane considering the amount of things my mom juggles and accomplishes daily with an incredible amount of poise and finesse.

Today was one of those days. I did not accomplish anything around the house whatsoever.

The reason? R is growing out of the infant stage and into the baby stage.

Translation? He's not needing to breastfeed as often as he once did.

Does he know this yet? I'm not sure.

He seems to still wants to nurse as often as he used to, but is finding that when he tries there isn't room in his belly yet. This does not please him at all.

And so today went...

Lots of fussiness and frustration from R. It of course frustrating me to see my normally-happy baby so upset. I continued to nurse on demand, but am finding that he's demanding a bit too early now and then upsetting himself further.

And so this evening, what do I find? The dishes in the sink and not a thing scratched off my to-do list.

My mother was right again.