Why Am I an Army Wife?

Even though no one has asked me this directly...I'm talking civilians here...I can see the question hanging over their head when they meet me for the first time, especially in today's war-weary Army. Yes, these constant deployments and separations DO have a tendency to get me down..sometimes...and yes, we get tired of all the dumb questions like these, but here are some things to think about to keep you going, to believe you are doing the right thing for you and your children and your husband and to realize you are part of something much bigger.

Why am I proud and happy to be an Army wife? I am a better and stronger person for the whole experience and our kids will be stronger, flexible and well adjusted beings which I think would be much harder to come by in civilian life.

My kids (and me) appreciate their daddy even more after each deployment. You don't know what you have til you temporarily lose it. I get to have a honeymoon at least once a year (it's just not the same when you ALWAYS see your husband). I also am more prone to try new things and am more daring than I would otherwise be while he is gone. Being the head of household has a way of doing that to you.

I've come to realize that life is more than the here and now. I too look at it as a long term beneficial experience, plus I get the pride of my DH doing something for his country. His kids and grandkids can say they come from a line of ancestors who did the right thing and served their country because it was something they believed in, and that they had a hand in making this great country what it is. That is heady stuff, and I want my family to be a part of that instead of some average Joe American who will go down in history as not even a blip on the radar screen of life. We are so much more than average and being in the military proves that and leaves a legacy for our family's future generations. There is nothing in this world like being a part of the big military family AND to know you AND your husband and kids are part of something so much greater.

Being in the Army, for your husband, and for you as the spouse, will make you a more flexible and more mature person. Plus you'll have tons of friends all over the world, be flexible as all get out and will probably be able to speak a few words in a few different languages. I've done things and was exposed to new things that I never would've done had I stayed in the same Podunk town my whole life!

There's more to life than just you and your husband and your kids in your small neck of the woods....be a part of something bigger. I've also got the added benefit of my kids being more mature and resilient too and giving them a leg up for when they are on their own.

Are you a military wife? What are your feelings on being a military wife? If you are new here and are thinking of becoming part of our family, what are your major concerns about it?