Military Wife Life

     I did not grow up in a military family, never had anyone in my family that was in the military, nor did I have neighbors who were in the military.  So my only real experience came from watching those who were in JROTC in high school or ROTC in college as well as listening to the stories of a friend who was married to a Sailor.  Outside of that, I never thought much of it.  I knew that the service men and women as well as their families made sacrifices, but I did not realize how much.  I remember seeing those stories on the news about the Sailor in uniform marching away from his family for months at a time as the family stayed behind trying to live as "normal" of a life as anyone else.  I can honestly say that although I had some sympathy, I did not have much because in my mind I reasoned that this was the life that they chose in the first place.

     Never did I imagine that I would fall in love with a man in uniform and become a part of a community that I once took for granted.  I must say that my perspective on a lot of things has changed since joining the military community.  Although my comfort zone is with that of the "Civilian world", I have a much greater appreciation of the things that we often take for granted in this society of ours.  Recently, an opportunity has fallen into my lap that allows me to have a closer walk with Mr. Awesome's command and hep serve the other Military families.  Just the short time in this role has opened my eyes even more to the great sacrifices of the service members and their families.  Although we have not experienced deployment as a married couple yet, I have experienced it when we were courting and I can say that it was quite a sacrifice then.  Therefore I can only imagine the sacrifices of the families who do it on a regular basis.  Yes, I love my career in Healthcare , but can't help but to think that we may not have the freedom to even practice medicine without the sacrifices of these men and women. To these men, women, their families, and those that support those in uniform, I salute you.