5) Furniture!
Speaking of furniture, you won’t ever get bored of that either. Sure, you may LOVE your leather couch, but you may not enjoy it as much when TMO accidentally loses one of the cushions and tears a hole in the back.
And no matter how much you adore your Beanie Baby collection, after you have moved all 435 of them six times, you will be selling them at a garage sale for a quarter… along with everything else you have decided it’s not worth keeping since your hubby decided it would be fun to try a cross country DITY move.
Besides, when you get to that new house, you may find that your dining room table will be spending the next three years broken down under your queen-size bed.
The good news is that you get to go buy all new TV trays for the whole family!
4) Pride in America
You are reminded of what is great about America, every single day.
When my Marine is home, I remember that there are great people serving our country when he walks in the door in his cammies.
When I take my daughter to the movies on base, we stand before the film for the National Anthem and kids as young as two stand with their hands upon their hearts.
When I am on base around sunset, I stop in reverence for a few minutes while Taps is played, remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
When my husband is gone, I am reminded of the kindness of people who thank ME for my service, or offer a helping hand with yard work or carpooling.
When he comes home and talks about how different things are in other countries, I am reminded that we are the luckiest humans on the planet.
3) Personal Growth
You will learn things about yourself that may simply amaze you.
All of the trials of being a Marine spouse seem daunting to me, even after 10 years with my husband.
But I realize that I am a much stronger person than I EVER imagined.
I am independent when I need to be and am smart enough to know when to ask for help.
I still can’t fill the windshield wiper fluid in my car, or start the lawn mower… but I budget wisely and pay someone else to do those things.
There are still times when I sit sobbing in my bathrobe at 3 a.m., because he is on duty and I am convinced there is a monster under the bed after watching a Halloween episode of a sitcom on Nick at Nite. But then there are the times when he is deployed, my daughter has the stomach flu, the dog just rolled in a pile of mud, the washing machine is making that weird noise again and the garage door mysteriously keeps opening on its own and won’t stay shut.
Somehow I keep it all together, take care of my daughter, bathe the dog, ignore the washing machine sound until Monday and miraculously figure out how to disconnect the automatic garage door opener while the door is down.
And I feel like Superwoman. Until Monday, when the washing machine repair man is here and all of a sudden… I get the stomach flu.
2) Friendships
You will meet some of the best friends of your lifetime while you are a Marine spouse. You may only get the pleasure of living close to them for a few months or years, but you are blessed to have them in your life forever.
They are the ones who answer the phone at 3 a.m. when you are sobbing in your bathrobe… and they don’t think you’re nuts.
When you just have to have a meal that is not offered in your little town, they hop in the car with you and all the kids and drive 90 miles to the closest Olive Garden.
They are the ones that will help you get in the shower after you had surgery, because your husband is deployed. They sit there and talk to you until it’s time to help you drag your naked body back out.
And years later when you have been apart for too long, you can still show up at their house on vacation and it’s like nothing has changed.
The absolute HARDEST thing about being a Marine spouse, hands down, is saying goodbye to friends.
But it is a price I am willing to pay in order to have all these incredible women in my life… from sea to shining sea and beyond.
1) Dress Blues
I love and respect all members of the military and the people who support them and serve with them every day. It doesn’t matter to me what branch you or your spouse serve. But I do have to say that there is one DISTINCT advantage to being the spouse of a United States Marine and no other branch can come close to beating the Corps in this regard.
Those incredible Dress Blue uniforms.
There is just NOTHING sexier than my husband in those dress blues… awww, let’s face it… anyone in blues.
Quasi Moto would be a stud in those things. My favorite night every year is the Marine Corps Ball. Getting to dress up in a fancy gown and being escorted into the room by my very own Marine. And let me tell you, he has some serious bling on that uniform, you can hear it jingling like Santa from a mile away. My very own hero… oohrah!
No night helps us to remember the great tradition of the Marine Corps like the night of the ball. When the band plays the hymn and we all stand while watching that huge cake being brought into the room, my heart swells with pride. When the colors are presented, I have to wipe a tear from my eye. And later on after all the ceremony is over and the drinks are flowing, there is just nothing better than watching a sea of Marines and their dates dancing and singing the words to “Baby Got Back” on the dance floor.
Those Marines know how to fight… and they know how to party.
Next year my husband won’t be here for the ball for the first time in 10 years. I will miss it, but luckily they don’t take those dress blues with them where they deploy.
Anytime I want, I can go into the closet, unzip that clothing bag and think of the next time I will see my husband in that uniform. I can straighten all the Eagle Globe and Anchors and remember what the Corps stands for. I can run my hand over his many medals and smile with pride at what he has accomplished. I can look at his chevrons and think back on those early years when there were no rockers, and a lot less paycheck. And I can look down at the blood stripe that runs down the leg of the trousers and say a prayer for those who have sacrificed all… then pray with all I have that my Marine makes it home safely.
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