The Mom Crowd

I have been friends with Sara and her family for several years. Living in a military town, I meet a lot of people who are serving our country, and unfortunately have to say goodbye to a lot of friends as the military moves them to other parts of the country. Sara’s husband, Josh is active duty Army and currently deployed in Iraq. They have three young boys. Sara has the most positive attitude and such a gentle spirit. She’s a tiny little thing, but she has her boys in order! Sara, thank you so much for writing this post for us and giving us an insider’s view on being a military spouse!

It’s been just over 3 months since Josh left. The Army says we have approx 12 more months to go. At times it doesn’t even feel like he has been gone for 3 months. Then you have those days where it seems like time is standing still. But you can’t get caught up in the number of days, weeks, or months. Once you start focusing on how many days you have left or how many days you have been apart you can quickly fall into despair. You just have to take it one day at a time and remember it’s only time.

Everyone who is not military always ask “How do you do it?” I have thought about this question time and time again and the only answer I can say is “By the grace of God.” There is nothing you can do to prepare yourself for a 15 month deployment without your husband, best friend and spiritual partner. You have to have total trust in God to get you through the time. Being a military wife has its set of challenges. But the way I look at it is who truly does not have their own problems? Even though we are separated and I have now become both mom and dad, I know there are those people who have it worse than us. For the most part we have been truly blessed.

Trust me I have those days when I feel like I am getting pulled in 20 different directions (okay I have actually quite a few of those days). Like when we have been sick in this house for what is going on 3 months. With three small children someone is ALWAYS sick. I myself have been ill with strep throat twice! Literally one week after Josh left, everything hit us. This is where your “family care plan” comes into action as the military would say. When you are 1800 miles away from home you soon realize your friends and neighbors are now your family. These are the people you learn to count on when your son’s bike breaks, you hear a noise in the front end of your car, or you are trying to hang your Christmas lights. While you learn to help each other out you also have to be independent. You will not last a month if you can not manage a household on your own. Another important quality you must have is multitasking. This is where it pays to be a mom. We are the best at multitasking. We can cook dinner, hold a baby, and cut coupons all at the same time.

Being a military wife definitely has its good side. I am very proud to say I am a military wife. Not everyone is cut out to be one. When the 15 months is over and you see your husband again for the first time it’s like falling in love all over again. You get the butterflies in your stomach and your heart drops to the floor. You definitely learn to appreciate one another during each deployment. If you can get through 15 months of deployment you know your marriage can pretty much survive anything.