I know there are a lot of jokes out there, but there is also the reality of the good military wives who stand by their men through an entire career.
This is for them!
Lots of moving…
Moving…
Moving…
Moving far from home…
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog…all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won’t go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won’t fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.
Often waiting…
Waiting…
Waiting…
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home, For dinner…AGAIN!
They call her ‘Military Dependent’, but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.
She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet…
She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move… …..all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don’t welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep South.
And learns to call them all ‘home’.
She MAKES them all home.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty…
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships. They don’t have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil…
Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn’t have a ‘JOB’
He has a ‘MISSION’ that he can’t just decide to quit…
He’s on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he’s the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.
A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs 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.
And would have it no other way.
Stealing this one! FC1 Brandt USN(ret)
Hey Old NFO,
There is truth in what you say,there are a lot of sterling Military Wives, but I also have seen the otherside of “dependent Wives” when I was a kid in housing in Germany in the 1970’s,I had my belief that we sent the worst of us overseas to Germany because of the crap I saw how the “dependa’s” acted to us kids, the Locals and the GI’s.
Great tribute to “our better halves” . They get quite adept at PCS moves after a couple of them. As luck would have it I was not at sea when both my kids were born , one in Bremerton , one in Hawaii , that was good that I was at home , despite being assigned to ships . Other than that my wife handled everything learning the ins and outs “on the fly” , with the help of other wives at times . Some wives were not so adept , I remember those red cross letters to some sailors that had left their wives without allotments or powers of attorney , made me pissed they would be such dicks .
My wife once changed an alternator on my most reliable car ever , 76 AMC Hornet , straight 6 , one belt . She told me she got to looking at it , saw it was straightforward easy , got a ride to the parts store , kids in tow and just did it . She told me when I got home . I was very impressed . But yes military wives , at least mine and several I knew , are great. Great peace of mind when deployed or at messing around at sea doing work ups .
Amen. There are a lot of people in htis country who don’t know any of this.
I recall getting called on the carpet for my wife’s problem. Had to see the post CG because there were complaints about my wife at the officers club pool. With 3 kids in tow, she wore a small bikini. She could do this because she hit the gym every day without fail. The senior, grey buffalo wives that were beyond the change couldn’t stand an 0-3s wife showing them up. Had to make her wear a one piece which was a white one piece speedo. The buffalo’s went nuts. Wonder if this still happens.
This is obviously old or intentionally politically incorrect as there are a hell of a lot of military husbands now enmeshed in the hardest job in the military. Yes, I am still stealing it
Rey- Feel free!
Bob- It always goes both ways…sigh
Boats- Yep!
BP- True, nor do they care.
George- Go ahead.
Forwarding to my daughter-in-law.
Grandmother….
But she was known to despise those army wives who “had nothing better to do than gather together and criticise their husbands”…
WSF- Please do!
Peter- Yep… sigh
Married one of those 50 years ago this June. Saints do exist, ask me how I know.
Flugel- Congratulations!!!
Yeah, all that. In 29 years, 4 months, and 16 days my personal records show 23 addresses. She was a great part of most of those moves, local, cross-country, and overseas.
Most notable: PCS orders Minot to March; would sew on Chief in 2 weeks. Dad hospitalized, terminal, died in Louisiana; I’m in Thibodaux, Louisiana for the end days. Time-critical PCS, no delay allowed.
My chief clerk assisted my wife to *completely* process me out of Minot, signing my out at the many agencies, turning stuff in (LOTS of cold weather gear!), etc. My wife worked with the movers alone to pack us out; she alone took care of base housing cleaning and stood the inspection. She and the boys moved in with neighbors across the street.
When I got back to Minot I did not exist at Minot, thanks to my wife and a damned fine chief clerk, but mostly my wife. We hooked up the utility trailer, gave thanks to the neighbors, and left for March with almost no leave time and only travel time remaining.
Somehow I’ve go to believe she set some kind of record. I know she did in our family. Always did. And she NEVER parked in my various reserved parking spots over the years. 🙂
Let’s not forget all those military housing neighbors over the years, too.
I met my wife at UCLA in the late 70s and she was from a Navy Family. We married after. Her Dad was a officer but had retired and now was running a plant for a company. Each one of the 6 kids had been born on a different Naval Base around the country. My soon to be wife seemed to be the most normal of her sisters and she was the next to youngest.
I learned quickly she was a great cook and baker, could do anything for keeping all aspects of the house and our life working. I was often working long hours and gone on business trips. She kept our life in sync. We had two sons in the 80s and in 96 my business moved me from California to the east coast. Once there we learned that education was corrupt and we would not change it and both of us had to tutor our sons through each class. Once they graduated HS they went to different Trade Schools as we figured colleges had also gone bad. It was a very good decision as the costs were low and they make 6 figures a year.