If the Army wanted you to have a wife they would have issued you one!
That statement doesn’t ring true for Mothers because God already issues you one before the Army gets to have you! However, the wife part is different, and is a much more on hands and active role in the military than being a military parent.
Of course if the Army had indeed issued me to Mr. Hooah! I am sure that I would have come pre-programed to understand all of the inter-complexities of Army life and dealing with deployment — not to mention that I would have come equipped with the latest Army language software so that I wouldn’t need to constantly look up acronyms.
On my journey through figuring all of this stuff out I often research and read on family dynamics and military life. I know this is partially due to my back ground and chosen profession, but it is also a huge personal interest of mine right now. I feel that being proactive and educated about the stressors associated with deployments and time away from one another will help me keep myself and the children healthy and well adjusted. So far I think we are on track, and the preemptive strike by going to the YMCA everyday, and finding healthy ways to keep ourselves busy during Bryan’s absence was a definite plus for our family. Every family is different, but I have certainly learned that preparing for the changes is a very wise and prudent thing to do… never assume that life will just be the same minus one person. That is an oversimplification to say the least. That “other person” is a dynamic part of the family and when he is gone it is more than just an empty chair at dinner that you face and have to deal with. There is a little emptiness in many areas of life when your husband is gone.
While doing some more reading and learning I came across the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center. They offer some pretty wonderful resources online for maintaining a healthy marriage. Below is a handout on military service and marriage. I thought I would share their findings here. I am going to have to go back and really check their site out. I don’t know anything about them outside of this presentation, but so far I like what I see:
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