i am a military wife

By about 3:30 in the afternoon on any given workday, I am a bundle of anxiety and excitement because my husband, the love of my life, will be home in - count them - thirty minutes. Seriously? After just one day at work!  Let's not talk about the 436 days we'll have to wait.  Yes.  I counted. Four hundred thirty six!

That's right.  My other half will be gone for over a year.  And Little Man and I will be here. Patiently waiting.  We'll experience holidays, milestones, laughs, cries, good days, and bad days. But we'll have each other.  At the same time, my other half will be alone halfway around the world, experiencing nothing but bad days while he serves his country, completes his mission, and marks the countless days off his calendar so he can come home to his wife and son. A wife whose life began that March evening in the Cheesecake Factory lobby. A son who will still be a baby when he leaves but will be a little boy when he returns.

This will be the hardest year of our lives. I honestly can't even comprehend the amount of time we will be apart. But we are strong. We are brave.  And we are IN LOVE.  (I lie slightly about the "strong" part. Tears are welling up in my eyes as I type this.)  Part of me knows that I should keep these thoughts deep within the confines of my mind and heart, but the other part relishes the power of words as therapy.

Speaking of "words as therapy", I decided to compile a few phrases and ideas that give me encouragement for the year to come.  We will get through this, we will prevail, we will look back on this experience with pride, we will.

Wow! We really need an updated picture of us all decked out!!!

Now, here are some of my favorite thoughts regarding our upcoming adventure and my role in it as a Military Wife...


1. 
Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough.

2.
Recipe for a Military Spouse

1 1/2 cups Patience
1 cup Courage
3/4 cup Tolerance
Dash of Adventure
1 pound of Ability
To the above ingredients: Add 2 tablespoons elbow grease and let stand alone for one year. Marinate frequently with salty tears. Pour off excess fat and sprinkle ever so lightly with money then Knead dough until payday. Season with international spices. Bake 20 years or until done. Makes unlimited servings.
SERVE WITH PRIDE.

3.
Live every day like he deploys tomorrow.

4.
My husband serves so yours won't get drafted.

5.
She packs. She moves. She follows. Why? You may think she has lost her mind. But actually, she's lost her heart. It was stolen from her by a man. A man who puts duty first, who follows orders 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!

6.
Half of my heart is deployed.

7.
Why play with Ken when you can have G.I. Joe?

A note on #7... I figured I'd end this cry-fest with a bit of humor.  Jason, my G.I. Joe, I love you with all of my heart.  You are, in fact, my heart! You are my G.I. Jason... Muah!!