What being a Marine wife is like for me;
It's a blessing in many ways, but can be very stressful. I wish I could sum it all up in one word, but I really can't. Although we have only been married for 7 months, I have felt like we've been married a million years. Throughout the entire time of his enlistment, I've grown, we've grown. This all means we have grown closer and our marriage can survive. With lots of couples they don't make that "long distance relationship" status. We don't have that problem, we know it will work. It's nice to know my husband is such a great guy and has so much courage. He is one of the few good men. Ha. I love that saying!
Though it can be a struggle when he's gone, it's an amazing feeling to see him again. It's like meeting him for the first time and sharing more memories in different places around the world. Traveling is awesome and I love to see different places and being able to spend that time with my husband in a new location is the best ever! When he is gone, I find myself checking my phone a million times a day, I keep it on loud wherever I go, just in case I do get a phone call.
It's a since of pride being the wife to a Marine. Seeing him in that uniform melts my heart. When I'm on his side and we're in public I beam with a smile and glow with pride. I would shout to the world that my husband is in the Marine Corps if I could. He's a true American Hero and he's one of a kind. Whenever I hear any kind of patriotic song, whether it's the Star Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful, I swell up with emotions. I even get teary eyed. Whenever I look at an American Flag I beam with pride. I have an extreme amount of pride for our amazing country. I even get chills when I see a Marine Corps billboard or see a commercial. That sexy voice that says "The Few, The Proud, The Marines" is the best sound ever.
I may travel all over the place throughout an enlistment term, but I get to meet new people. These people become my very best friends. They are a one-of-a-kind group. It's nice to have people that understand, and have been there, and walked in my shoes. However, military spouses know not to get too close, be able to leave those and continue to stay in contact with the amazing friends that you have met.
Being a military/Marine wife means that I won't see my family or friends from "home" as much as I like. It means I have to adapt, but it's good to get away from the friends that "pretend" to be your friend. You weed out the true friends to the fake ones.
It also means I have to be careful about when to plan for a family. We do not have kids right now. Although many great women have had children with their military husband, I'm not sure if it's the right thing for us just yet. I want children badly, but when he's set to deploy and we don't know what's next in his career, we aren't sure if we should have children just yet. It's a tough decision and we're unsettled on it right now.
On the financial end...oh man. It's nice to get those discounts and get nice tax returns. Or just go to the commissary and get tax free groceries, especially when you live in a bankrupt state with high sales tax. Oh, and the gas, on base, is always 10 cents cheaper then off. It's nice to be able to have the health care that we have, and all of those great benefits.
Although we will and have spent a lot of our relationship apart, it always tends to make our relationship stronger. Being a Marine wife means being tough and standing by his side no matter what. It's holding on to the memories for an amount of time and it means always having a countdown. I stand amongst the silent ranks, and I am a very proud Marine Wife.
