Friday May 9 was Military Spouse Appreciation Day...
I read this article online a while back and thought SO much of it rang true for me-
21 Things We Don’t Thank
Military Wives Enough For
1. They don’t just talk about supporting the
troops, they actually do it, even when it’s difficult and painfull.
2. Probably more than once, they have had to pick
up their whole life and move it to a different part of the country — or even
another country altogether.
3. They make the best care packages in the entire
world, and know how to put a feeling of “being at home” into a cardboard box.
(And they always know to include a little something for their husband’s
friends.)
4. When their husband is gone, they have to play
the role of both parents, and explain something as big and scary as war to a
little person who just wants to know where their daddy is.
5. They know what it means to sacrifice for the
person they love — their time, their hometowns, sometimes even their careers.
6. They have to deal with the questions and
pressure of other military girls which, even though I love you ladies, can be
pretty intense.
7. Whether it’s with their families back home, or
their man who is currently deployed, they are masters of the Skype date and
making it feel like you’re right next to each other even when you’re thousands
of miles away.
8. They have spent a lot of time in the boy’s club
of the military, having to hold their own as a woman and take care of the men
who take care of their country.
9. Even though they might not agree with our
country’s leaders, they have to accept the decisions that they make and put
their personal life aside to carry out what needs to be done. (Yes, some
military wives are even Democrats! Shocking, I know!)
10. They have to live with a lot of stereotypes
about what it means to love someone who serves, and about those who serve
themselves.
11. They often form huge communities while their
husbands are away with other military wives, to help each other get through the
long deployments and raise their families. They know what it means to form a
village anywhere you go.
12. When they vote, they have to think long and
hard about the person they are voting for, because it will have a direct effect
on the people they love.
13. They manage to keep it all together during the
month before their husband returns home, aka the month where everything goes
wrong and there are a million things to plan all at once.
14. They are a single mom and a married mom all at
the same time.
15. Even though many of them have degrees of their
own, the thing they have to be most prepared to do is “do what’s asked of you,
and take care of your family.” Some of them have never even had the chance to
use their degrees.
16. They make the best food. Sorry, but it’s true.
The dinner she cooks for her husband the night he comes home is like no meal
you’ve ever seen.
17. They look damn good in their husband’s cover.
18. They still know how to write real letters, and
wait for them to come back in the mail (the longest wait you will ever
experience in your life).
19. They know the true meanings of the words
“goodbye” and “welcome home.”
20. They live the ultimate long-distance
relationship, and most of the time don’t even roll their eyes when a civilian
wife talks about being away from her husband for a few long weeks or a month.
21. When it feels like they can’t go on anymore, like
they miss their husbands too much and their personal sacrifice is too high,
they have to keep going. We have all had those moments, and we’ve all cried
into a pillow or a teddy bear or our babies, but we keep going. Because even
though most people might never say “thank you,” this country needs us, and so
do our families.
And because of all that, this is totally me-
We wanted to show our appreciation to the deployed spouses in our squadron this year, so the day after Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and the day before Mothers Day, (perfect timing, right?) we invited them all over for brunch-
This was only about half of the crowd- we cooked for 31 total and there were definitely more kids than adults! I was thrilled to be able to give these women a day off, and some time to enjoy each others company and fellowship together. We noticed that they lingered and didn't seem to want to leave... go figure, there wasn't a husband or father at home!
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