A Letter To A New Military Spouse, Starting Their Military Life Journey…
I know things feel a bit scary right now. Your loving spouse has just joined the Military. You might not even know how to feel right now. You are probably filled with a range of emotions. Both happy and sad ones.
You are not sure what is going to happen or what the next few years will be like. You agreed that you would take it one enlistment at a time. Only three years and then if you both want to walk away you can, only, you wonder if you really will.
You wonder if the Military will be your life from now on.
That your spouse will like the military life too much, that you will like it too much or that you will absolutely hate military life and that they will want to stay.
The truth is, it is nearly impossible to know what your experience is going to be like. The Military is different for everyone. Based on where you are stationed, the unit they are in, if they deploy or not, how many times they deploy and how often, the friends you meet and everything that happens between now and when it is time to make that reenlistment decision.
My advice would be to take it one year at a time.
Don’t let a bad situation cause you to change your life. Don’t let a good one lead you into thinking that everything will always be easy. Know that when the time comes to decide, you two will know in your hearts what the next step will be.
You worry about those deployments everyone is talking about. And if you would be able to get through them when it doesn’t even seem like you can get used to them being away during basic training.
Your deployments will be some of the hardest months of your life.
You will miss your spouse like crazy and you will wonder why you decided that joining the Military was a good idea in the first place. You will cry yourself to sleep some nights and pat yourself on the back during others.
You will have good days and bad ones. You just have to keep on keeping on. You will find your own battle buddies that will help you on the days you just don’t think you can do Military life anymore. In return, you can be there for them during their difficult days.
You will make friends but they or you will have to eventually move and you will have to say goodbye to each other. Always having to make new friends will be difficult but it also makes life a little more interesting.
You never know who you will meet next, where they will be from or what kind of story they will have.
With Facebook, it is a lot easier to keep in touch with others after you no longer live in the same place. This part of Military life is hard but it is something you can get more used to, even if you still don’t want to have to say goodbye to people all of the time.
Military spouse, you are a part of something amazing. A family of other spouses whose heart belongs to someone who serves in the Military. You are a part of history. You will be remembered for what you are about to do, for the sacrifices you will give to your country, and for the strong faith you will show in the midst of difficult situations.
The best part of being a Military spouse is that you are not alone.
There are a lot of us out there to help guide you through everything you might experience. There really is nothing new under the Military sun. As you move forward down your Military life path, remember why you and your spouse made the decision for him to join. Remember to take it one day at a time if you need to.
You will be okay. You will grow stronger through it all and you will make the best friends you could ever meet through your time as a Military Spouse.
[…] Read More… […]