Have we lost our way? Have we lost focus on the best of all of us?
You know I am all about being kind this year. I feel so out of control with events and intolerance happening in our country, so the only thing I can control is my immediate world. By immediate, I mean the community in which I live, and the online community I love so much. And in my world, I want to be the kindest person I can be.
In my intense efforts through this column and through my everyday interactions to be kind and hopefully also to inspire kindness in others, I have forgotten to use this platform to just remind people how great military spouses can be.
This thought has been mulling around in my head for a while, but I couldn’t quite pin down the exact message I hoped to convey. Then I had a wonderful phone call with one of our 2016 Armed Forces Insurance Branch Military Spouses of the Year and this vague idea was confirmed and cemented in my mind.
Military spouses are wonderful. Military spouses do great things each and every day. More importantly, military spouses are good people who have been given a great gift. That gift is the lifestyle of military families. We get to be part of a generous, giving community and a culture that cares for each other in big and small ways. Once you join this military lifestyle, you are forever changed and you will always be welcome.
This idea may sound simple, but as we celebrate military spouses this month — and so many of them do great and wonderful things — I wanted to remind all of you that this whole community is full of great and giving people.
This month is about ALL OF YOU and all of the wonderful things you do each and every day!
This magazine was founded by a military spouse to highlight, celebrate and give voice to military spouses … ALL MILITARY SPOUSES. This magazine also allows others to get a glimpse of the great lives and the great spouses who serve right beside their service member.
Each spouse and family has their own story and the greatness is within what we can share with each other. It can be as simple as having coffee with your peer to throwing great events and helping families in need. Each spouse is important, valuable and doing amazing things in this great life we all live.
Now the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year award gives us a larger and more public forum to highlight great military spouses. We highlight military spouses who have formed nonprofits. We celebrate military spouses who work hard for the military in their local community. We tell the story of hard-working military spouses who start their own businesses while maintaining a busy, chaotic and mobile life.
But we also shine a bright spotlight on the great lifestyle that is the military life. We shine a light on all of you and want the world to know that military spouses are great! You are great because you have chosen to serve, without actually enlisting. You live a life that is different from many others. You are strong, you are resilient and you make a difference in each and every community in which you live.
So, as we celebrate military spouses this month, I want to thank all of you for choosing this exciting, and sometimes challenging, lifestyle. Thank you all for your service.
**A special thank you to Jennifer Mullen, 2016 Armed Forces Insurance Coast Guard Spouse of the Year, for her contributions and input to this column.**
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