Monday, September 28, 2009
What i'd give for a nap!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wish you were here...
Friday, September 25, 2009
Silent ranks playing hardball...
But today I read something that just honestly pi**ed me off! I'm still outraged. But I'm going to share it with you because I know you've dealt with it before. This isn't the first time I have jumped to the defense of a soldier...even before my husband I just didn't understand how ignorant people can be.
As I said, I love Army Wives and just happened to miss this last weekends episode. So I jumped on the site to see if they had the episode posted yet. I stumbled upon a blog and was hooked on the entries almost instantly (as you are to other military families/wives, it's our comfort zone) A few entries in I stumbled upon this entry...
"I think a show about military life is extremely annoying.First of all, have you ever noticed when someone dies in a war, he or she is labeled a "hero"? How do we define a simple stranger as a "hero"? Most of them are drunkards, womanizers, and poor excuses for human beings. Many of you claim they joined for "the love of their country." Get real: most of them do not even know what the Constitution IS."
I don't know their name, I don't know why they took it upon themselves to wake up today and post to the Army Wives blog with anger? But what I do know is...
These "drunkards", "womanizers", and "poor excuses for human beings" are fighting for their right to even say that. It's unfortunate that our soldiers are stereotyped, because I know that my husband is not any of the above and I'm pretty sure yours isn't either!
I'm just going to pass this one off as venting...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Operation Enduring Silence...
2 months later I find our conversations going something like this...
Me: Nervous laugh
Hubby: What do you have to say (oh so sarcastically, but still loving)
Me: Well, I saw something on the news...
Hubby: I told you not to watch the news...
Me: Yeah, yeah I know ::as I roll my eyes:: (Hey, he can't see me...I can get away with it)
FACT- NO ONE CAN IGNORE ANDERSON COOPER, or his appeal ;)
Regardless...I could ask, but he can't tell. It still leaves me quite frustrated, even today.
Especially when you get so excited to see "unknown caller" pop up on your caller ID. You're in the middle of shopping and everyone around you is becoming annoyed because you're oblivious to the world around you. Hanging onto every word your soldier has to say no matter how many times you've heard about camel spiders or the heat.
Also, know this:
This is our first deployment, but we learned real quick that the price of a sims cards for the Afghan phones (don't know if this is the same for Iraq) is quite expensive. If anything, budget calling cards into each pay period. They're running us 50 for 2500 units for his phone, and to call the states it takes double. so we fly through these cards. So far my soldier has only been able to buy these cards at the PX on post, and when they get a shipment in they go fast!
Please if you have any information/stories pertaining to these sims cards or how it works in Iraq (or any other deployable country) share with us :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Things are looking up!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sending God to the frontline..
It took me some time but I realized I was being selfish, I wasn't sharing my God, our God...with him. Maybe he never gave him a chance because he was never properly introduced to him. Sometimes that's just how it works.
So I set out on my mission, I bought a Bible (nothing fancy 12.95 @ Walmart) a pack of highlighters, and tabs. I then set out to figure out all of my favorite Bible verses and then some. I found verses for strength, courage, trust, love, and sadness. I even wrote side notes just in case he had questions. A few weeks before the deployment I presented the Bible to him, and he thanked me...but we didn't talk too much about it. Here and there he would ask questions, but nothing too serious. Then I had had it. I sat him down to explain how much God was apart of my life and how much I wanted him to be involved in everything that I do. He told me he understood and we had an in-depth conversation that night, I still felt like I got nowhere...but was relieved to express myself.
1 week before the deployment he had taken my set of dog tags that he had give me when we had first met...didn't say a word, just took them. He handed them to me with a smile, I looked at looked at them and where it once said "no religious preference" now read "christian".
Now even 7000 miles away he tells me about Bible verses he suggest I read :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sending my love, 7000 miles away...
At 7:30pm my time, he's waking up for work. Convenient. But he doesn't get a chance to talk until about 2am my time, and if he doesn't get a chance then anywhere between 2-6 he could call. I almost feel guilty when I fall asleep, thinking I could sleep through the phone ringing.
I wrote every day for about 2 weeks when he was first deployed, but then found myself at a loss for words. My days were too predictable and the pages were filled with enough love to last him a few years.
Our phone calls are great and I love to hear from him, but hate when I have to bring up financial issues or anything negative. I almost dread the phone call...I hate making him think that anything could possibly be his fault.
Despite it all, all of our phone calls and letters end with love and we put anything else behind us.
A book I received pre-deployment helped me get through a lot of similair issues. I have provided the link if you're interested!
http://www.separatedbyduty.com/
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Trading my sanity...
When he asked me to marry him I thought it would be easy. When we said "I do" I thought to myself, "This is it!". But when he left me for Afghanistan, my mind went blank. I drove back to the hotel in the dark, tears streaming down my face...alone. I paced as anxiety set in. But I could do this "You're Army wife strong" he would tell me, and I would laugh and roll my eyes. I was weak, who was I kidding?
That was 2 months ago, and I have learned that if you do not allow yourself to take on the duties of a military wife and be "strong" you will fail miserably at a chance of sanity.
That is why I made this blog, not for myself but for you. If you're anything like me, Google has become your best friend. Ways to get through deployment, pre-deployment, what is an LES, how to read an LES, military ranks, AHRN, living on post vs. off post, etc. Im sure many of you could provide more (encouraged!).
So please, join my blog, follow me, make your own blog, and lets get through this together. Wether it's a deployment or your husbands/wives 20 year chosen career. Any branch, any MOS, lets do this together!