Friday, September 25, 2009

One Year down...

One year down in the Army! We moved to Alabama on Sept 19, 2008. This entire year has been an incredible experience! I have had open ears and eyes to take in the life of a military wife. We are surrounded by a completely different lifestyle that many of you probably do not know about!

Everywhere we drive, it's 20 mph (you don't want a ticket from the Military Police!). The grocery store is the 'commissary', the city we live in is a 'post', the gas station is the 'shoppette', the shopping center is the 'PX', the town hall is the 'soldier's center', etc... Helicopters fly overhead every waking hour, men and women in uniform walk up and down the street, people are always exercising (mom's are always out with strollers-post partum is apparently 'in'!), and people randomly walk up to Arthur in Wal-Mart to tell him "Thank you for serving our country".

Honestly, if you are reading this, please start doing that when you see someone that is in uniform. It's a small way to acknowledge them for all the sacrifices they make for this great country and it puts a smile on their face! Or for that matter, thank the wives! I have met so many wives that have given up their career to move around with their husband, are willing to act as a single mom while their husbands are gone during training or deployment, and have moved away from family and friends into the unknown.

Getting involved in church and Aden's soccer is one of the greatest ways we have met other couples. Arthur and I have made friends that are hopefully lifelong and will keep in touch with all of our Army careers. There are a good handful of couples that we care very intimately for, and are looking forward to seeing where God is taking them next. The interesting thing about it is...I live on a street full of stay-at-home moms, and we barely know each other! You'd think we would all be sippin' sweet tea and talking about our husbands outside under the car port every night:)
When I meet a wife, my first questions are: How many kids do you have? Do you live on post? Do you stay home with the kids? Where did you just move from?


When Arthur meets another man, his first questions are: What kind of helicopter do you fly? How long have you been here? Where are you moving to next?

After our questions, we can usually put their story together! Kinda funny, huh? Usually Arthur will find out the other persons rank and tries to explain that to me. They are all serving our country, and I am just appreciative for that.

Do I miss my family? YES
Do I miss my friends? YES
Do I miss working? YES

Do I love my kids and would give up work to raise them? Double YES
Do I support my husband and would do this all over again, including the sacrifices? Yes Yes Yes

I am proud to be an Army wife, living on a post, shopping at a commissary, and will be ready to move again in 1 year and start again from scratch. This journey has just started!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great post! You guys are awesome and I'm so proud of you. =) I'm still hoping that you'll spend some time in our neck of the woods (meaning Japan or Korea. =) That would be so fun to visit you on post!

Seriously, thanks so much for serving!