January 23, 2005 was the most exciting, scared, relieved moment of our lives. After 9 LONG months and 16hours and 13 minutes of labor our son finally graced us with his presence. And boy were we so unprepared for what would lie ahead of us as new parents and at the same time prepared to take on anything. I know to people who have yet to start a family that may sound REALLY confusing but to us parents it makes perfect sense. You seriously have no clue on what to do or what to expect and yet when it comes down to it your parenting instincts kick in and you just know what to do. He has kept us on our toes for the last year and 22 months and I know he will continue to test us and teach us how to be the best parents possible. Time flies and they grow up so fast. They learn so much so quickly and it just keeps on and on. He is the light of our lives and the song in our hearts. Just when I think I could just quit and stop trying I look at him and those big blue eyes and that big boy smile and just know that everything is gonna be fine. We are truly blessed. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with him and still do what I enjoy. When I came across the opportunity to do what I love and make a little extra money and stay at home with my son I had to jump at it. I opened Heavenblue Designs the end of Jan 2007 and have been very successful thus far. Josh is very supportive and helps me stay motivated all the time.
Josh has given me 3 things Im soo incredibly thankful for. He gave me his heart and made me his wife, he gave me my son, and gave me the honor of becoming a military wife. Being a military wife has its ups and downs. When the bad starts to over come the good I like to reflect and remember the good things about being a military wife. It has definetly taught me MANY things. Most important it has taught me to be independent when needed and dependent when I get the chance. I would have NEVER dreamt of doing the things I have had to do on my own. When the sink pipes burst and you are standing in a river in the middle of the kitchen floor , when the toliet overflows because your 1 year old has tossed a paper towel in the commode or when your dryer no longer works and you have no means of drying your laundry, your instincts just magically kick in and everything that you have ever seen your dad do growing up comes back to you like it happened yesterday and once again you have saved the day. But when your husband is home you need to learn to turn that independent, I can do all things, attitude off and allow him to step in and take care of business. It lets him feel like a man and that he is still needed around the house .
It has taught me that MOST of the people you meet in your husbands unit or squadron will soon become your family. In the military you often move away from your actual blood family so you need people you can count on and lean on in hard times. These people have been through everything you have been through and will be there for you to offer advice on how they dealt with it. And if they havent gone through it just yet then mark my word they will very soon and then you will be there for them to walk them through it step by step. I learned to look up to other wives and study how they deal with things that are thrown their way. And in turn, I realized that some of the wives will be looking up to me as well. So you have to always be on your toes. Always, even when you feel like the world has turned its back on you, appear to be strong bc you never know who is watching you and taking notes.
I learned that bc you move around often and come in contact with new people all the time, you find out quickly who you can count on and trust. You pick up on certain things right off that just tell you that this person is gonna be trouble. You learn that some people handle different circumstances in different ways and sometimes those ways may jeopardize your beliefs. You quickly learn that some of these people who you should consider family just arent family material and you cut your loses and move on. No matter what other's say you don't HAVE to associate with them. And that's ok. You're human and you don't HAVE to like everyone.
I have learned how to be a single parent. You have to learn how to be the nurturing, soft spoken Mother and at the same time be the stern, disciplinary Father. You learn to be the one to kiss away the boo boos and wipe away the tears and then have to turn around and spank his butt when he doesn't listen and put him in timeout for the next 5 minutes. And I have also realized that even when your husband returns and is around again you still have to continue to be the disciplinary in the family. He is the bad guy bc he is always gone so when he is home he doesn't want to be the bad guy by punishing too. I know Tristan is still young and doesn't realize just yet why Josh is gone but in a few years I will have a new job to do. I will have to explain to him what daddy does, why he is always gone, and that just bc he isn't here doesn't mean he doesn't love you.
Since you move around often and in many unusual locations with the military, you have to learn to adapt. You have to learn all the routes from your house to the Base, the PX, the emergency room, the Dr's office, the closest Wal-Mart, the park, the TMO office to complain to them of all the lost or damaged items that occurred during your move and most important the mall . You have to adjust to the climate changes. Let me tell you, I definetly was not expecting it to still be this freaking HOT and here we are approaching DECEMBER!!!
Life has such a weird way of turning out COMPLETELY different than what you ever imagined it to as you were growing up. I swore I would never marry a military man. It was drilled into me by my grandmother who was a military wife for 30 years. "If you ever want a stable life you stay away from those GIs!!" Not that she wasn't proud of my grandfather and what he was doing but because she realized how extremely difficult and demanding it could be. She had 4 children all in 4 different states and practically raised them all on her own. She watched her husband go off to 2 major wars WWII and Vietnam. She lived in 10 different locations 3 being overseas. She was away from her family about 96% of his military career. She was just trying to show me that the military lifestyle, even though it worked for her, doesnt work for everyone. If you would have asked me a second before we got married I would have PROUDLY said it wasn't for me. But as soon as we said our vows, the ring was slipped on my finger, and he left for his 1st of many deployments I PROUDLY said I wouldn't have it any other way. Im a proud US Airforce Wife and proud Mother of one and this is my story.
