My Military Adventure

We're probably not the typical military family.  In the eight years that we've been married, we've only moved twice...once for military orders, and once for an improvement in housing.  We also haven't had to spend as much time apart as many other military families.  I'd estimate that my husband has been gone around 2-2.5yrs of our marriage.  This includes two deployments and many other missions.  The separations always come with unique challenges...which generally include a long list of things that break as soon as he leaves.

I think the biggest challenge of military life, though, is that the only certainty we have is that we will be met with great deals of uncertainty.  At any point in time, our soldiers can find out that they are leaving in two days and will be gone for a month.  Weekends are not our own...they can be obliterated by missions, exercises, inspections, etc. with the blink of an eye.  How common it is to make plans, then have to rearrange plans, only to find out that they have once again changed...all within a matter of an hour. And just when you think your husband is deployed to Turkey, you get a message that he just landed in Kuwait, where he'll be for the next two months.

My job as a military spouse and mom?  To try to maintain as much continuity and stability as possible for our family...and to be prepared to try to fix whatever is going to break as soon as my husband leaves.  It's always an adventure...and one that I wouldn't change for the world.  Love  and blessings to all my fellow military spouses!

Recipe for a Military Spouse

1 1/2 cups Patience
1 cup Courage
3/4 cup Tolerance
dash of Adventure
1 pound of Ability
To the above ingredients: Add 2 tablespoons elbow grease and let stand alone for one year. Marinate frequently with salty tears. Pour off excess fat and sprinkle ever so lightly with money then Knead dough until payday. Season with international spices. Bake 20 years or until done. Makes unlimited servings
SERVE WITH PRIDE

The Silent Ranks
I wear no uniforms, no blues or greens.
But, I am in the military, in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders. Salutes I do not give.
But in the military world is where I live and am rarely seen.
I am not in the chain of command, orders I do not give or get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I am not the one who fires a weapon, Who puts his life on the line.
But my job is just as tough, I’m the one who is always left behind.
My husband is a patriot, a brave and pride filled man.
And the call to serve his country not all can understand.
Behind the lines, I see things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do my kids and me.
I love the man I married. The military is his life.
So I pledge to support my hero and stand among the silent ranks known as
THE MILITARY WIFE.