Posts Tagged ‘military blog’
As you are are planning your weekend getaway, you BBQ with friends, your extra day off of work… remember the reason for celebrating Memorial Day. That Service Members have fought and died around the world so that you may be free. Some may not believe in the politics of War, they may not agree on what or why we are fighting but please, as a citizen of the United States, support our Military, be thankful for them, and Honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice; no matter what your opinions are.
Below is the poem ‘Freedom is not Free’ written by Kelly Strong.
Freedom Is Not Free
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.
“… today there are more than 1.2 million military children, and since 2001 approximately 2 million children have experienced deployment of a parent…” ~The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
There is one important thing to be noted of a Military child; they did not choose this lifestyle, they were born into it. An Active Duty servicemember makes a choice to enlist and those of us who are Military Spouses made the choice to marry our servicemembers. But our children had that choice made for them, they were born into military families and because of it are some of the most proud and resilient children I know! They go through all the trials of learning and growing with added stressors of moving, saying goodbye to friends, and spending months apart from their servicemember parent.
They are truly special children and we Celebrate them, our littlest Heroes!
“Established by Caspar Weinberger, the Month of the Military Child recognizes the important role military children play in our communities.” ~DoDlive.mil
***765,000 of our military children have Active duty parents, and approximately 225,000 have a parent who is currently deployed***
We, as a nation, take this month to recognize our military children and thank them for their unknown service to their country. Here are some great resources for those military families:
Please join me in thanking a Military Child today!
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.
A few months ago my good friend Megan and I started a non-profit organization called The Yellow Ribbon Project. We are so excited to be sending out our first shipment of goodies to the USO at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.
Our family has a first day of school tradtion that involves donuts but this year my daughter started Kindergarten and she is in the afternoon class. That means she doesn’t go to school until 1150am. With a lunch time start, getting up a little early and going to a donut shoppe didn’t make much sense so I asked her what special breakfast she would like me to make. Pancakes!
Pancakes are by far her favorite but they are such a dull food. I asked if she’d like me to put chocolate chips in them…she said “no, just plain”. Seriously? who doesn’t like chocolate chips in their pancakes? So to make them a little more fun for the first day of Kindergarten I decided to do “school shapes”. We did numbers 1-2-3 and letters A-B-C and then she decided she’d like to see some shapes so we made a circle, square, and triangle. To make the shapes I poured the batter into the pan (already hot and on medium heat) using a large spoon to draw them. Then traced back over them where needed.
She loved them and ate the whole plate… 1-2 & 3!
As you all know by now, 2 weeks ago my husband returned home from Afghanistan. While preparing for his homecoming I wanted the house to be perfect. Everything in it’s place and all his favorite goodies on hand. I stocked the panrty and the fridge and decided to put together a Welcome Home Basket with all the little things that he would need immediately.
I included all the essentials like a toothbrush, deoderant, body wash, new underwear and socks. I also added a new outfit and some mesh shorts since he had been wearing the same sets of cammi’s and green PT gear for the past 7 months. A new pair of sandals and new green Tshirts (I told him to burn the ones he wore there, ha ha). And last I added some little goodies like his favorite hair product and a Superman travel mug.
This would be a great idea, not just for a military homecoming, but any type of “Welcome”. You cold put together a basket for a college student returning home for the Summer or a relative coming to visit.
Christine over at Everyday Mama started a blog hop and I’ve jumped on the band wagon. It took me forever to come up with this list but here it is. My first post all about ME, not my kids!
25 Things You Don’t Know About Me (Although some of you probably do)…
- Turquoise (really more of a Tiffany Blue) is my happy color. It’s all over my house.
- I save wine corks. Just the real ones, not the synthetic kind.
- I have a really hard time making decisions. I think that’s why my children’s names all start with the letter “P” and end with “TON”
- I LOVE coffee! But I can’t brush my teeth before I drink my morning cup(s). I think it tastes better.
- I’m a perfectionist. Especially when it comes to planning things like special occasions.
- I go over board with Christmas decorations. No really, we have two full sized trees and various small ones and last year I bought a third and had to return it because I didn’t have anywhere to put it.
- I love getting a good deal and won’t buy anything unless it’s at least 25% off.
- I am a black Friday shopper and pulled an all nighter with a friend a couple years ago.
- Last week my husband and I went to the movies together, without kids, for the first time in 6 years!
- I have traveled to Kuwait and Iraq but have never been in the military.
- In high school I lived off of Cool Ranch Doritos, Peanut Butter M&Ms, and Pepsi.
- I LOVE sweets! and literally crave chocolate.
- I could eat Pizza almost every day.
- I Cheered in the NFL
- My first car was a ’99 Chevy Z71. I still have a thing for big trucks.
- I hate to run, it is an unacceptable form of excercise
- My favorite TV shows all involve crime solving. I’m a little obsessed with forensics.
- I like to make things that most people would buy…then I can have it exactly as I want it.
- I appeared on Lets’ Make a Deal, pregnant, and dressed as a Pea Pod
- I like to be busy. And I focus better when I am.
- Someday I want to learn how to fly a helocopter
- I love Christmas music and can sing just about every version of every song ever written.
- I hate socks. They feel icky. When I was little I even cut the corners of the seams so they wouldn’t bug my toes.
- I bite my nails and I’ll never stop (sorry mom)
- I have long hair “just in case” but I wear it up 90% of the time.
Last week my husband returned home after 7 months in Afghanistan. This is the moment that took my breath away…our oldest would not let go. She missed him so much!
My alarm went off. It was 4am Saturday, August 6th. Even though I had gone to bed at 10pm the night before I couldn’t have slept more than a couple of hours. Today was the day. The one we had been counting towards since that morning we said goodbye in the parking lot of the armory, watching the bus drive off and wiping away tears. It had finally arrived. We had crossed off all of the days on the calendar, taken down all the ‘links’ on the paper chain, and eaten all of the ‘daddy’ kisses. 7 months I had gone without my husband. 7 months they had gone without their daddy. 200 days.
200 days we had operated as a family of four instead of five. 200 days I had been both woman and man of the house, acted as both mother and father, comforter and protector, friend and enforcer. 200 days we spent co-parenting via email, telephone calls, and the occasional skype. 200 days of good and bad, milestones and celebrations.
At 4am I was literally shaking. From excitement, nerves, and anticipation. I had everything ready. The house had been cleaned, the signs were hung, and the children were dressed head to toe in their patriotic red, white, and blue. I had found the perfect dress and my hair was done just right. We were ready!
I drove our decorated car the 20 miles down to base, although I don’t remeber actually driving, as if in a dream. The children were antsy. They knew today was the day their family would be whole again. We arrived at the PAX terminal to find ourselves amongst 100 other families all full of the same excitement and anticipation. We waited, we chatted, we moved outside and then…there is was.
As we watched the plane decend from the sky and onto the runway, the band began to play, and the crowd was cheering. Moms, Dads, Wives and Children holding their signs proudly. This is what we had been waiting for. This is what had gotten us through those 200 days and nights. The plane touched down right in front of us and every emotion that I had experienced in the past 7 months washed over me. I felt my eyes well up with tears, with joy and relief. They were HOME! The door opened and one by one more than 100 Marines filed out of the plane and down the stairs…
On June 14, 1777 the beautiful Stars and Stripes that we know and love, was officially adopted as our Nations Flag by the Continental Congress. I am so proud that the P’s have a great love of their Flag and Country! Here’s P1 saying the pledge at 3 and her lovely rendition of “You’re a grand ol Flag!”
I Pledge Allegiance:
You’re a Grand Old Flag:
