21) EFMP Super Spouse: Yes, they know IEP’s and 504 plans, and they are their children’s best advocate. They move from place to place and are ready for anything. They are armed with knowledge and will fight for their children’s rights no matter how many school systems they have to conquer!
20) Emergency Contact Spouse: The one spouse you meet after you PCS to your new station. The one spouse you feel comfortable asking to use as your emergency contact for your kids. The one that makes moving to a new location bearable.
19) Wine (or Beer) Spouse: The spouse you meet at your new duty station that shares a love for wine or beer. He or she invites you over for a glass wine after knowing you had a terrible day. Everyone must have a wine spouse.
18) Male Spouse: The one in the room who isn’t sure about being there, but who is just as in need of support as everyone else. This spouse may not want to go to “spa night,” but does like being invited. The male spouse might just love that the spouses club organizes a day trip to see a local sports team play.
17) Organizer Spouse: When something happens, from emergency intel to a baby being born, he or she takes over to get it done in a hurry. This spouse is efficient and reliable.
16) Professional Spouse: The spouse who has an equally good job or better and still manages the household when the active duty spouse is deployed and ignores the look of surprise they get when they tell someone they have a career.
15) Battle Buddy Spouse: This spouse is THE one when there is a deployment. Your rock, your best friend, your closest defense against falling apart.
14) Child-free Spouse: The one with no kids, no intention of having kids and yet he or she is super cool to yours.
13) New Spouse: The one who is green and needs guidance and understanding from every other spouse. This spouse may not know all the answers, but we can all learn from them as well. A new outlook on military life is always welcome.
12) The Same-Sex Spouse: The one who is no different and yet is very new. They love their service member just like the rest of us and could really use some support from others who can understand.
11) The Funny Spouse: The one who knows how to make you smile or laugh out loud even under the most difficult of times, because if we lose our sense of humor we are sure to lose our sanity.
10) Stiff Drink Spouse: The one you turn to when you are at your wits end and need permission to not so much cut lose, but to leave all your military frustrations on the table… because they are just too difficult to carry anymore.
9) Dual Military Spouse: Not only is this superstar a military spouse, but is active duty themselves. We just can’t say enough about him or her. Thank you for being amazing on both fronts!
8) Veteran Spouse: This spouse may not be serving today, but at one point wore the uniform, and for that, we are so grateful! He or she has experienced what it is like on both sides of military life fence and can offer a lot of knowledge and wisdom as a result.
7) Financially Savvy Spouse: They coupon, but are not crazy about it. They make sure all the bills are paid on time, shop frugally and are setting up the family for retirement or EAS now. Deployment pay means paying off more debt, paying college for the children and saving for the future!
6) Forever-Friend Spouse: This spouse was the one you met six duty stations ago, only get a chance to talk to occasionally…but when you do, it’s like they are still living next door.
5) Won’t-Be-Defeated Spouse: This is the spouse who seems to have more run-ins with Murphy than anyone you know. At every turn it seems like, by no fault of their own, unfortunate things keep happening to them. This spouse refuses to let it keep them down for very long and is an inspiration to the rest of us to keep picking ourselves up when we thing we no longer can.
4) Unique Spouse: This person does not remind you of any one you have ever met. They may have quirks that seem odd at first, but when you get to know them you realize you learn something from them every time you see them, because they look at the world through such an interesting lens.
3) Foreign Spouse: This spouse was not born in the United States, does not even have citizenship… but fell in love with an American service member and made the hard decision to leave their family, customs and culture to support their spouse… sometimes thousands of miles away. They try hard to adapt to the language, culture, and to military life.
2) Tell-The-Truth-Spouse: You can always count on this spouse to tell you the truth, not what you want to hear. And even though they can be brutally honest about military life… they are also the first one to dig in their heels and say “Okay… now how do we fix this?”
1) Normal Military Spouse: May not be a super-star volunteer, might not be out to conquer the world… this spouse considers themselves to just be “normal.” They get up every day, do the best they can… and try to enjoy life as much as possible. We think “normal” is pretty amazing… not just a setting on a washing machine.
Contributors: Rebekah Sanderlin, Babette Maxwell, Rebecca Alwine, Clarice Williams, Erin Whitehead, Kristi Luchi, Shelley Kimball, Ingrid Herrara-Yee, Alisha Youch, Lucha Reyna, Jennifer McDonald, Stacy Huisman.
