These pictures were all taken last Memorial day in Santa Rosa, CA at one of the cemeteries there. I was visiting my in-laws and we went to the ceremony. Ben was in Iraq and I started getting really emotional about seeing so much of the community out for the ceremony.
Last Updated on March 30, 2016 by Writer
A Military Wife
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 new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.
Often waiting…
Waiting…
Waiting…
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
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 is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet…
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.
She 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.
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,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
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’ that he can’t just decide to quit…
He’s on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he’s the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
ABU
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.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
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,
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.
And would have it no other way.
–Author Unknown
Last Updated on March 31, 2016 by Writer
When he is away, I have fewer clothes to clean. I have less food to make. Less food to buy. I can do whatever I choose to do and don’t have to run it by another adult.
When he is away I can watch what I want to watch on the tv. I can eat all the ice cream myself and don’t have to fill up the gas tank as often.
When he is away, I miss my best friend. I miss sharing a meal. I miss seeing him drink his nasty beer. I miss asking another adult his opinion.
When he is away I miss his commentary while watching silly shows. I miss driving around with him and going to fun places as a family.
When he is away I am the solo parent. I wake the children up, make sure they are fed and taken care of. I am the one that puts them to bed, alone. I take them where they need to go and check their homework. I am mom and dad and have a lot of roles to fill that were made for more than one person. When he is away I cry more and smile less. That’s the reality.
When he is away I can come up with things that make me feel better about it all but I miss him all the same. Such is life as a military wife. As I look at the years ahead and know they will be filled with separations I try to remember those times when he is with us and life does seem a little more normal. I will cherish those times and keep those memories with me always as I know how hard time away can be.
I know that life will not always be this way. Someday he will always be home with us and I hope that when that day comes I will remember the days when he was away and never take him for granted.
Last Updated on March 31, 2016 by Writer
I have posted about my Space-A trip that I took last summer. Space-A part 1 and Space-A part 2. But I haven’t posted about the return trip. Since it is almost summer again I figured I better post it before I forget too much 🙂
After spending a wonderful summer in California it was time to head back to Germany. Instead of trying to get a flight out of Travis AFB which is about 8 hours from where I was, I took a commercial flight to Charleston, SC to meet up with my friend who was heading back to Germany too. I had a hotel booked in the city so when we got to the airport we just had to get the van to the hotel. I was so tired once we got in that I was glad my plan was to meet my friend the next day.
The next morning I woke up and called a van to take us to the Air Force base. He picked us up and dropped us off right in front of the Pax Terminal where you catch your flights. Inside the terminal they do have a kids room with toys, cribs and tvs. That was nice. We chilled there for a few hours and then decided to get something to eat.
I decided to walk the boys to Burger King. Well it was about a 10 minute walk and we get there and it was closed. Keep in mind it was the end of August in Charleston so it was very hot and humid but also suppose to rain. Also keep in mind that you must have all your bags with you at all times. Not fun to walk anywhere!
We went back to the Pax terminal and just decided we would get stuff from the vending machines until my friend got there. Well the problem with that is that it only took $1.00 bills and I had a bunch of $5s and no one would give me change. It was so frustrating. I asked the guy at the counter if there was any place to get change and he told me the bowling ally.
So we got all our stuff and headed there. Another 10-15 minute walk. We get to the bowling ally just in time for it to start pouring down rain. They had a little food place in there so I decided to feed us and just relax. After we ate we bowled a little bit. I think we spent about 3 hours there just killing time.
We made it back to the terminal at about 6ish and I was hoping my friend would be there soon. Well by 9 she still hadn’t showed. I was getting worried. I couldn’t get ahold of her at all. I didn’t know if I should go for a hotel or wait there. The boys were getting crazy and I had a major “why did I decide to do this crazy thing?”meltdown.
At about 10pm my friend finally made it. She had been in a minor car accident and that was why she was later than she had planned. It was so stressful for both of us that we decided to skip the first flight out they had the next day. That was probably our mistake but it was what we decided to do at the time.
We ended up having to stay the night in the terminal which was ok for the boys but I hardly slept at all. The next day we were able to get a hotel on post which was really a house. It was very nice. We all got to shower and rest a little bit.
Well what ended up happening was the flight we were trying to get out on kept getting cancelled and changed to the next day. It was suppose to leave on a Thursday and we finally left on the next Tuesday. This was so hard and why I would never do Space-A again with small kids. Just the waiting and wondering, having to find a hotel, not knowing if we were really going to fly each day. We would call each morning only to find out that the flight had been moved again. Thank goodness we were together. I don’t know what I would have done if I was without another adult.
We finally flew into Spangdahlem, Germany 6 days after I had arrived in Charleston. That was when it got even more frustrating for us. I will talk about that in the next post.
Last Updated on April 2, 2016 by Writer
I was contacted by The United States Department of Veterans Affairs to post the steps to take to receive the Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits.
When a military member uses their GI Bill benefits they can go back to school and it will allow them to find a job post-military life or will allow them to do more with their military career. There are a lot of benefits to going back to school and it is great that the GI bill is there to help those that have served their country get ahead. Some do not take advantage of these benefits but it is important to look into if you have them. They can be a way to get to where you want to go in your career. You can use them to get your AA or BA or even just go to technical school or complete a month long program in order to gain a skill that can help you find a new type of job.
1. Check your eligibility online at www.gibill.va.gov
2. Submit your application VA Form 22-1990 or 22-1990E.
3. After you have enrolled in school, check with your School Certifying Official (SCO) to confirm that your VA enrollment certification has been sent to the VA on your behalf. This form certifies your actual enrollment period and triggers your payment. *Here’s a little hint: the school’s designated SCO will be found in the Financial Aid Department, Admissions and Records Department, or Registrar’s Office.)
4. And last but not least, enjoy the education benefits you earned!
And here is the main website:
You can also send the text GIBill to 99702.
Make sure to double check on the website what you need to do. Sometimes things change or will be a little different and you always want to be aware of your military benefits so you can use them.
Last Updated on April 4, 2016 by Writer