On the Inside

Despite having grown up as a military "brat" myself, I didn't know when I married this wonderful man, me & my family would be a part of his sacrifice, as well.  I didn't know this military life would be so painful, so joyful, so difficult --- and yet so meaningful.

As I recently got news from some dear friends about upcoming deployments their spouses will be on and also a PCS to a new base, I have thought about what it has been like for the last 8 years as a military spouse, being on the inside.  My heart is with those friends and their families that will have to endure many, many months of separation from their loved ones and those who will also be starting over & starting fresh at a new duty station.  It is the camaraderie of military spouses, like these ladies, that has been one of my saving graces as me & my family have endured these same experiences in these last few years.

   - Me & Laura visiting, 2010 (stationed together at Lajes Field, Azores 2004-06)

 

  - Me & Nicky, 2010 (co-workers & military friends) Hurlburt Field, FL

 - April 2010, Welcome Home!

 

So many things come to mind that are unique to being a military spouse and/or living the military lifestyle - "first kisses" over and over after TDYs and deployments, losing weight while your spouse is deployed & debuting your new self upon return, the sense of accomplishment that comes with "holding down the fort," being able to "read" another military family's house immediately when you walk in for the first time, watching your children glow with excitement during a Skye call on the computer with Daddy, watching your spouse so carefully roll their uniform pants leg around those blousing straps, attending the Annual Air Force Ball, knowing your spouse's "last four" without hesitation, always stocking up on flat-rate shipping boxes to send overseas, and flying Space-A on military aircraft. 

 - Air Force Ball, 2005

There are just so many memories, experiences, and daily happenings that have shaped how our family is, what are values & priorities are, and how we live each and every day wanting to make the most of it while we are together. 

You know you are a military spouse when…

·         You’ve been in a house for one or two years and start to think it’s time to move.

·         All in a week’s time, you can pack up a household of furniture; pile 3 kids, 12 suitcases into truck; drive all the way across the country continent; and still greet your spouse lovingly.

·         People say, “I don’t know how you handle the military lifestyle,” and you say, “I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.”

·         Your husband just left for TDY and the radiator blows up on the car and the washing machine dies.

·         You start to tell the movers the correct way to pack your moving boxes.

·         Your heart races when you hear the doorbell ring unexpectedly during a deployment.

·         You just spent your second wedding anniversary in a row alone.

·         You have five different address changes in eight years, and you are not running from the law.

·         If you have a power of attorney, you USE IT, and freak out when it expires.

·         You know all of your spouse’s co-workers by their last name and rarely know their first name.

·         You write only in pencil because EVERYTHING is subject to change.

·         Military homecomings on TV bring tears to your eyes because you can relate so well.

·         You don’t bat an eyelash at 2245 and 0300 duty times.

·         You check your email multiple times an hour in hopes that your spouse has e-mailed you, and you know how horrible email being “down” is.

·         You wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without your cell phone.

·         You can hold down the fort while your spouse is deployed or TDY.

·         You know better than to shop the Commissary on the first or fifteenth day of the month.

·         You’ve slept with a laptop.

·         You refer to everyone not in the military, married to the military, or dating someone in the military as a “civilian.”

·         You have a large collection of different size and color window treatments (from all of your PCS moves).

·         You remember milestones by duty stations.

 - July 2005, our military dog, Booker T.