I grew up shopping at the Commissary, at the BX, and begging mom to let us go to the base Burger King on special occasions (Betty, thankfully, is a health nut.) I never saw my dad leave the house in a suit - instead he left in what my friends famously called his “green onesie.” A strange get up for those who don’t get it - but a pretty cool get up for those who know it meant he was a pilot. An A-10, T-36, and F-16 pilot, at that.
I still remember the first time I went to a hospital in college, without my military healthcare insurance, and couldn’t understand why I had to go somewhere else to pick up my prescription AND pay for it. Military hospitals always had the pharmacy in-house, and you never once needed your credit card.
Growing up, we didn’t go to State Fairs, and mom didn’t trust carnivals much, but we did go watch the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds at Air Shows, every time they were in town. I remember the first time I saw the Stealth Bomber up close and personal, while the pilot closely guarded the door, letting no one in to see how it flew. Maybe spending all that time on flight lines is why I love airports so much.
I watched my dad speak at the Pentagon, at American cemeteries in France, on TV and quietly to my mom before he left for months or years at a time. I remember when he was stationed in Korea for a year, one morning about six months in, I woke up and found him in our kitchen, home to surprise us for his one allotted visit.
My childhood prepared me for so many things - new cities, new friends, loneliness, awkward goodbyes, the knowledge that time and distance don’t have to impact relationships. It showed me the value of having only a few constants that you depend on - your family, yourself - and not clinging to the rest too hard.
But right now, I’m just praying it prepared me to be a military spouse. Everyone keeps saying “Oh, you know the drill, you’ll be great!” - but my mom was superwoman, and she got me through the thick of most things as a military brat - hopefully she’ll let me borrow her cape.
Liam is two weeks in at OCS in Virginia. No we don’t have a five year plan, let alone a one year plan. It’s 2019, and we don’t have kids, and I have a career and we’re figuring this out as we go. But man, do I love the idea of more Air Shows, and never having to go to a CVS pharmacy again.
We hosted, and I MC’d, a Veterans in Tech Summit last week in Dallas - we had as many females in the room as males. And every speaker and organizer spoke of how they are supporting spouses as well as active duty and veterans. There are more ways than ever for spouses now to have careers AND families AND actively support their service member - and I’m motivated to be a case study for it.
Stay tuned, I’ll let you know how it goes.