This has been one of those summers I will not be sorry to see the tail end of. I might even throw a party. A big one. A giant party with a huge banner that says, "Don't Let Winter Hit you on the Butt on the Way Out!" I can nearly guarantee that I will be standing outside giggling maniacally and cavorting in pajamas during the first cold storm of the season. If you happen to witness it, don't bother to call the SP's and try to commit me. Hubby knows the correct dosage of chocolate and cafe mocha vanilla for temporary insanity.
But, one good thing that has come out of this summer is that I have had a most important military spouse lesson reinforced several times over.
In this lifestyle, you only get by with a little help from your friends.
So far (and it's not even September yet!), I have had to call in reinforcements on major issues from no fewer than FOUR other military spouses; two of whom were fellow SpouseBUZZ authors. In our military family, there is no arguing that when you need someone, someone will be there. And each time, for me, someone was.
Making friends in the military community is not always an easy task. The hardest hurdle to overcome is when you are geographically separated from other spouses. I've been there - during one East Bay of California stationing, not only were we an hour from the nearest base, but we didn't have much reason to go there and interact on a regular basis (have you SEEN the gas prices in that area? Whoa Nelly!). It was actually at that time in my life that I began my own personal blog because I needed so much to find interaction with others in my situation.
Oh, I do wish SpouseBUZZ had been around for me then!
But even without SpouseBUZZ, I very quickly "met" on-line many other military families and military supporters who helped me through the tough times. To this day, I still correspond with most of them, and have met many of them. I couldn't have done it without them.
Even if you are stationed in proximity with other military families, there could be issues keeping you from jumping right into the culture and camaraderie. Obviously, I can't account for every situation that jumps up, seeing as how the possibilities are endless, but I can say that at every base there is SOMEONE you are meant to have in your life. Usually several someones. And until you meet them, you have SpouseBUZZ to tide you over!
On the River of Life, our journey will encounter more than the usual amount of rapids. You're only going to get through them with the extra oars you store in your boat. And you never know just which oar you are going to need, either. Better grab as many as you can.
