MILSO | Life as a Army Wife

My husband and I met five years ago, started dating and the rest is history. A very short time after dating we decided to get married and I was thrown into the whirlwind of being a military spouse. 

I grew up with a step father who was in the Army. So while I was familiar with the lifestyle, I never had experienced it from the end of being the one IN the relationship. What a world of difference.  Growing up, when my step dad was away that meant my siblings and I took it as "how far can we push our limits" haha. But I never knew how stressful it really can be until I became a wife and mother. 

My husbands career doesn't define my marriage though. At the end of it all, I married the man BEHIND the uniform. I mean, he is great to look at IN uniform, don't get me wrong- but it's just a perk. 

When I got married I didn't think of deployment, field problems, training away from home, all the things that would eventually leave me home without him. 

Two years after we got married I gave birth to our first daughter. Without him. He was deployed and watched his first child be born via Skype. That was rough. 

BUT in the short months that followed I began having Crohn's symptoms and without him I'd never be able to see the specialist I needed to be diagnosed or manage my disease. So it's kind of a bittersweet relationship we have with the Army. It became a little harder to live this life when we had babies. Now we were uprooting little ones who didn't really understand why we had to move, or why daddy was leaving for periods of time. Luckily our girls bounce back quickly, we are very blessed that they are so resilient. 

Together we have endured two deployments both a baby was born during, so cliche Army. Haha. We lived in El Paso, Texas for four years.. then came back to Fort Bragg last year. My husband is a fueler so he spends a lot of time around fuel and smells when he comes home. #stanky 

My husband and I are probably as patriotic as they come. Even if we wanted to I don't think we could any other life. The Army provides us a great life. It does get hard at times but it's also super rewarding. 

If you are a military spouse leave me a comment with your story or best advice for fellow milso! 

Thanks for reading!