I saw this on CincHouse today and thought it was appropriate for most of us. Enjoy your day!

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Today is military spouse appreciation day. How do you like to be appreciated? Does it make you uncomfortable for someone to show their appreciation? I get uncomfortable with it at times. If someone shows you that they care about you, thank you, or offers you a service today accept it with a grateful heart. Some people aren't designed to serve the way our spouses do. They serve in other ways. By showing you how grateful they are you are allowing them to say thank you. Thank you for serving with your husband.

I want to say thank you to each and every one of you today. Some of you have your husbands here and some don't. Some of you are looking forward to reunions and some of you just started your journey. Without you, the hardheaded woman on the home front, your husbands journey would seem less like a journey and more like a job. Thank you for serving with your husband. Thank you for keeping the home fires burning. Thank you for getting the kids to every event under the sun and realizing at the end of the day you have to do it all again tomorrow. But you get up and do it again. Because that is what we do. We do it for the love of our family, for the love of our husbands, for the love of our country.

Over the past year or so I felt like God has slapped me on the head and shown me that we are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. Everyone that stands up in support or opposition of something can do so because our husbands(&wives) stand up and make sure that we can. They stand up in the face of evil and say not on my watch you don't. Not on my watch will you harm our great country or any person in it. Whether they agree with what they are taking about or not. You will not harm them. It takes a great warrior to do that. It takes an even greater one to send their warrior off to war knowing what the outcome may not be what you hoped for. But we don't think about that often. We remember the good things. The things that make us smile and bring us comfort. I think that is God's way of easing the pain of separation.

Thank you for being a warrior. Thank you for being a strong military spouse.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

May 8th is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Does your business offer a promotion to military spouses on this day? Have you(military spouse) received a cool gift on military spouse appreciation day?
Let us know! If you are a business offering a special promotion we will put it up on our website. Spouses share your experience with us.

UGGH!! Can you take out TDY?

As in kill it? Can you take it out back and shoot it? I used to think spouses who's husbands came and went all the time had it easier than spouses who's husband is gone for an extended period. BOY WAS I WRONG! My dear husband came home from work today, inhaled food as I gave him the run down on the day. He then had to help the cub scouts build their tool boxes. After they all left he said "Okay can I tell you about my day?" Without hesitation I said when do you leave? His response "Saturday or Sunday for about a week. I'll come home for a few days and then leave again for 10 days."
I immediately said "I HATE YOUR JOB. I AM TIRED OF TDY. I WOULD RATHER YOU WERE GONE FOR 12 MONTHS AT A TIME SO I KNEW WHEN YOU'D BE HERE AND WHEN YOU WEREN'T." I then had to apologize. I knew he didn't want to tell me he was leaving. I knew that he couldn't get out of it. But come on. This is ridiculous already. I have had him home for 2 weeks before he leaves again. It's no wonder the trash men take pity on me. I can't remember when my dear husband will be here or gone, how the heck am I going to remember how to put out the trash?

Two weeks with him is better than without. But I feel like I can never let my guard down. I can't be vulnerable with him because he might leave me tomorrow and then it will hurt so much more when he does leave. But if I don't let my guard down it isn't good for either of us.

I haven't even told the kids yet. I'm not sure I can handle one more discussion about dad going on a trip. I'm tired of adventure in this life. I just want plain old dull and boring. Can I have a little plain old dull and boring? Lord could you please send some my way?

Can't I get a break?

I hate the phrase God never gives you more than you can handle. I hate it when people use it as a way to try to support you. I would rather they said nothing. It's not that I want pity. I just want to vent about it or cry about it and get it over with.

Over the weekend I found out that my husband will be gone part of each month from now until the time he deploys. He deploys before the end of the year. GREAT! Was my initial thought. My next was, I just won't allow it. Right, like the Army will allow me to say "um sorry you can't have my husband until he deploys." I would probably get laughed at and then asked to seek counseling services.
Because he comes and goes SO much I have a hard time remembering when he'll be here and when he won't. The part that kicks me in the pants the most is the yard and the trash. He comes home long enough for me to get out of the habit of thinking about the trash. Then he leaves again and I have to start worrying about it again. I have been known to run to the curb in my robe with trash can in tow. I think the trash guys now feel sorry for me. If they see me coming they wait for me.

The thing is, it's not just the trash. I don't think I'll ever sleep normal again. I get used to him here then he's gone. I get that we signed up for this. We came to this unit voluntarily. We can leave if we choose to. When we first decided to go to this unit I thought THIS WILL BE A BREEZE! He'll only be gone for a few weeks/months at a time. But my happy brain didn't calculate that if he is only gone for a few weeks then he is only home for a few weeks. Silly me.

On the plus side, he will be home soon from the latest TDY trip. Which means I will get to have him here for a few days. I get to smell the coffee in the morning which always tells me he's home.

My Army Life Too and Army One Source Merge

My Army Life Too and Army One Source have merged into one site. All of the features and more are now available on one site. The new site is www.myarmyonesource.com

Overwhelmed

Yep that's me right now. Ted just left for another TDY trip. This makes three in just as many months. For the record he has actually been gone more than home the last three months with no end in site. I am normally okay with these transitions. I'm becoming an old pro at it. But today when I had to leave to take Tanner to practice I almost had a break down. Not because I can't do it, not because he'll be gone forever(this TDY is 3 weeks), but I think I am just tired.

I'm tired of having to fix and step into the arguments with the kids. The boys are forever at each other now that they are both home schooled. I'm tired of coming home from errands knowing that Ted won't be here. We never did anything significant but he won't be here to just sit with at night.

Last night we went to dinner for his birthday, which is next week. Just him and I. Normally I feel like he is the one disconnecting and pulling away before a trip but this time I know it's me. I even said to him don't you feel disconnected from me? He said no. But yet I feel disconnected some how.

I just sit here with all of this junk and I don't know what to do with it. How do I just get passed it and move on and be normal again? I really want a HUGE bar of chocolate and to lay in the bed and watch sappy movies. I feel ridiculous for feeling like this. It is only a three week trip. I feel like someone needs to slap me across the face so I snap out of it already. But since my really good friends who would do that and not think twice are far away, I guess I keep praying for grace and strength to help it pass.

Smell of Coffee

One day last week I woke up to the smell of coffee and it immediately brought a smile to my face. That smell means that my husband is home. I don't drink coffee. Never have. I haven't found a flavor that I like. But the smell of it is a completely different story. Waking to that smell in the morning brings a bit of joy to my soul. I know for that day my husband is home.