What is a Military Wife?

What is a MILITARY Wife?

A Military wife can be tough to describe.

She is a southern belle,
a Northeastern Mets fan,
a California 3rd generation recycler,
a Pacific Islander.

She is short or tall
A tomboy
A fashion diva
A physician's assistant
A Republican
A Democrat

A Military Wife is a career gal
A home-schooler
A scrap-booker
An accomplished cellist
An auto mechanic

What IS a Military Wife?
WHAT is a Military Wife?
What is a MILITARY Wife?

They may look different and each is wonderfully unique
But this they have in common.

They have THIS 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 20 new friends
Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories

Often waiting-Waiting, waiting,
waiting for housing;
waiting for orders;
waiting for deployment;
waiting for reunion;
waiting for phones calls;
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 can balance a checkbook
Handle the yard work
Fix a noisy toilet.
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.
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.
She is fiercely IN-dependent.

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
and accept offers of friendship and favors
and 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"
he can't just Decide to quit
he's on-call for his country 24/7
but for you,he's The most Unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
ACC
BDU
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.

Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck,
dye his uniform pink,
and 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,
and 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.

I post this for all of the Military wives out there. We are a special breed of women that need to stick together because we are the only ones who understand what we all go through. To all of the special ladies in my life....my mom, who I learned so much from, Courtney, Kat, Becky, Olga, and Estee.

We have had a great life so far here in Florida because Steve has not had to deploy. We are close to the end of our time here and we will be going back to the real world of the Air Force full of deployments and TDY's. Although I am very excited about leaving here and taking the next step in our adventure I do not look forward to all of the time without Steve. I feel bad for all of the Dad's out there that are doing their job but having to miss out on their kiddos life. So for those of you out there ask those wives out there that are trying to do everything while their husband is away if you could help them with something. Most of the time we won't ask for help but we certainly need it.