Hi there and welcome to SpouseBUZZ! I'm RedLegMeg and completely new to the blogosphere. I guess you could say this is just another adventure for me as a milspouse, but it's more than that, actually. This is an opportunity to connect with other milspouses that I may not otherwise have the chance to ever *meet*. An opportunity to share my stories, experiences, and general knowledge of military life and, hopefully (okay, I'm counting on it) hear from you and learn from your experiences as well. I am thrilled that Military.com recognizes the significance of milspouses in the military community and is giving us this chance to share, explore, even celebrate, our unique way of life.
My husband, from here on out referred to as JD, has been in the Army for just over 15 years now. We were dating when he called me and told me had just joined the Army. You see, we met in college and when everyone else returned after Christmas Break, JD did not. He couldn't pay for school anymore and decided he would join the workforce. Not so easy as a 22 year old with little experience, other than playing football and baseball and partying in between. Next best option? The military. This was in January 1991. You remember Desert Storm, don't you?! Suffice it to say that I thought he was crazy! He left for Basic Training the day the ground war broke out and fully expected to head overseas after graduation. Instead, he headed to Alaska. He came home in September, we got married on the 28th and drove off in our 1984 Chevy Blazer less than 24 hours later. Our honeymoon was spent driving for six days and stopping at roadside hotels to rest.
That's how it all started, this life of mine.
My family and friends thought I was crazy then and, to this day, wonder how I do it. Deal with the moving, the separation, the deployment (soon to be deployments), that is. I tell them it's all that I know and I just do what I have to do. In fifteen years, we've been blessed, really. We have four beautiful (if not well-behaved) children, all of whom JD saw come into this world. That's a feat in itself these days! We have wonderfully supportive families and have met people that we will call friends for life. That's how I do it. I'm not sure it gets better than that. Oh, I have my moments, trust me. The whining, the complaining, the crying... then I make myself take a step back and look at the big picture. I pull myself up by the boot straps and march on, counting my lucky stars all the way.
