Thankful For The Blessings Of This Crazy Military Life

Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you to my readers who are keeping us safe to celebrate.

I was grousing this morning about people being entitled and unappreciative, and my daughter suggested that I write a post about thankfulness.  Well, yeah, that is a good idea.  I spend a lot of time thinking, reading, and writing about the military and its benefits.  Sometimes, my readers or I think that something is unfair or wrong.

It would be easy to focus on the benefits that my husband has never received or our family has never used:  bonuses, assignment incentive pay, subsidized child care, sub pay, student loan repayment, special pay for dental officers, and a whole list of other benefits that just don't apply to his job and our situation.  However, that would be ridiculous.  The military has provided my family with a world of blessings, and I am thankful.  Specific things for which I am appreciative include:

• Little to no worries about the cost of medical care.


• A place to live, or an allowance to pay for a place to live.


• A paycheck that has arrived twice a month for the last twenty-some years, and doesn't look like it is going disappear anytime soon.


• The opportunity to travel and live in different countries.


• Family support programs of all varieties.


• Regular increases in pay.


• Financial support for my education through MyCAA.


• Access to the commissary.


• Pretty sweet gyms.


• Lower cost entertainment activities such as golf, bowling and movies.


• Safe, fun family events.


• Free music downloads from the library.


• Access to the best thrift shops.


• Movers, because as much as I hate having someone else move me, I hate moving myself more.


• Youth centers with truly impressive activities.


• The opportunity for my husband to earn a lifetime pension.


• The many discounts and promotions that companies generously offer to military families.

Enjoy your day!