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."

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.