I am a Mother.  To three beautifully energetic, independent, happy children.

I am a Wife.  To an amazing husband and father.  I devote myself to him and to his Corps.

I am a Friend.  To wonderful people all over the country that I have had the pirvelage of knowing.

I am a Daughter and Sister.  To my best of friends.

These are the words that Describe me but they do not Define me.  Many women hold these titles, but the difference is what we choose to do with them.  Our actions and effort towards these titles that describe us are what define our true selves.

The biggest roles that I play in this world are Wife and Mother.  This is what makes up the core of my being.  I am a perfecitonist, often to a fault, but in many cases I believe it drives me to be the best of who I am for everyone.  Do I fail?  of course.  Nobody is perfect.  But, what makes the diffenece is the time that you have tried and whether or not you will continue to try after failure.  I love what Thomas Edison said; “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that will not work“.  So much of that applies to motherhood and marriage.  Both of which are life long journeys with people growing and changing.  The effort we put in and how we manage ourselves after failure it what determines the outcome.

As a military wife I am faced with a whole new version of the word ‘Wife‘.   They weren’t joking when someone said “If the Marine Corps wanted you to have a wife they would’ve issued you one“.  As wives, our needs are often set aside and we have to be able to deal with that.  Just as the military is not just a job but a way of life, I am not just married to my husband I am married to the Corps.  He follows orders and I follow him, supporting the whole way.  I am a lover and a friend to my husband.  Together we go through life and together we raise our children.  It means long days and nights without him, sudden changes in our ’plan’ and when he leaves I am left here to wait.   I am here to take over and continue our lives with him in the distance.  Keeping him in my heart the whole time and waiting for him to come home so that we can pick up right where we left off.  It is not a life of sacrifice, although sometimes hard, it is a life of pride.  No matter where life leads us I will be here to be the person he laughs with and shares his frustrations with.  The person he can be himself with.  I am his wife and his home.

As a Mother I am a caregiver, a friend, a teacher, a confidant, a disciplinarian.  I am a shoulder to cry on, and a hand to hold.  I don’t like to put limitations on myself with the label of ”mom“.  I devote myself to raising them.  To teaching them and encouraging them to Do and Be better.  I want to show them the world and give them experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.  I want them to grow up to not just be adults but to be responsible, respectful, happy and successful.  I want them to contribute to society and not just take from it.  It is my job and my duty to give them the tools to be able to do this.  So I try, and I try again.  And when I fail I will certainly do my best to make up for it. Their futures lie in my hands and as much as I’d like to I cannot hold them forever.  I can just take the time to be with them now, teach them all that I know, and show them all the love that is in my heart.

These are the words that Define ME…that make me who I am.  Nothing else.  I am not just a mom or just a wife.  Those are simply words that give me the inspiration to do all that I do.

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