With the advent of new technology, many things have changed over time. The equipment our service members use is much more advanced. Our children learn in very different ways than we did. And our means of communication have drastically changed, no longer requiring handwritten letters of love.
As December comes to a close, I can hardly believe how quickly this year has done by. A lot of changes have happened in my life, and though there is much to look forward to in the new year, I have also gone through many ups and downs this past year.
In February, shortly after my husband reenlisted for the third time, we learned he would be going on his first overseas assignment to South Korea. It took me a long time to decide whether I wanted to stay in the U.S. while he did an unaccompanied tour or whether I should go with him and spend two years living overseas. I had a difficult time making the decision, weighing the pros and cons, but eventually we decided that it was better to stay behind so we could get the year out of the way.
My husband and I enjoyed almost four comfortable years of dwell time immediately following our marriage. Because he changed his MOS and had to do quite a bit of subsequent training, we PCS’d a lot, but we were always together. However, like most military relationships, our honeymoon eventually ended, and the dreaded “D word” popped up in our lives: a deployment was pending.
On this week’s empowering episode of Army Wife Talk Radio, we’re chatting with guest, Hope Griffin about her book Finding Joy: The Year Apart that Made Me a Better Wife.
As military spouses, I’d say we have two distinct moments of the spouse experience: one we loathe and one we anticipate.
The one we dread is obviously the numerous “see-ya-later” moments with our beloved service members. Some days, as I kiss him and he walks to the door/bus/plane, I feel like we just did this same routine like 20 minutes ago. Gross.
But with the see-ya-later moments comes homecoming anticipation. And really, it doesn’t matter if they’re gone for a week to the field, a month to training, or a year to a desert somewhere, homecomings are always one of the “marked” military spouse adventures.
There are many challenges that come with a life in the military, but there are also many sweet moments, and I feel it is important to relish in those good moments, when they come to us. My family recently got to experience one of these beautiful moments in our military journey—a Christmas homecoming.
Just because the holiday season is about to come to a close, that should not dictate that we pack away all generosity and philanthropy until next year. Post-holiday season giving can be can be a great help.
Yesterday marks three years. I remember it as I do every other unforgettable annual event. Except, days before this anniversary, I begin to reflect and remember. I re-feel the events as I remember them. I feel the fear, then the relief, then the sorrow and loss.
On this week’s empowering episode of Army Wife Talk Radio, we’re chatting with guest Steven Sayers about his book Coming Back Together: A Guide to Successful Reintegration After Your Partner Returns from a Military Deployment.
Mission: Milspouse is a
501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
EIN Number: 88-1604492
hello@missionmilspouse.org
P.O. Box 641341
El Paso, TX 79904