Hello! I'm
Melina you can call me Mel. My husband
is stationed at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.
Some people call us Army Wife; a “tag” that I personally don’t like to
be called it's a part of who I am.. For starters I’m married to a
soldier I am not a soldier. He belongs
to the United States Army. I belong to
my family (my husband). But I sure am
proud to be his wife. This is his second
duty station and I’ve been accompanying him in this journey for almost 2 ½ years.
I was
introduced to my husband when he was deployed by a friend we have in
common. We were cyber friends for some
time until I decided not to talk to him anymore because our conversations were
getting too good to be true and I was not up for another disappointment. When he got back from deployment he made a
trip to Puerto Rico and once he arrived he contacted me and there it was LOVE
AT FIRST SITE. So yes, I do believe in
love at first site. We dated for 8
months and decided to get married in September 2012. I moved to Ft. Bragg, NC on December 2012.
I have to
admit that I 'm not too fond with this lifestyle. I
don’t like the fact that I can’t see my family everyday (yes I’m a family
person). And it has been very difficult for
me to make friends. The majority of the
girls I've met are way younger, so therefore we have totally different
personalities. I believe that I have
made a good bond with one of the girls which in fact is the one motivating me
at this moment with exercise and health issues.
And I have two other girls that I keep in touch at least by text. But there are times when the hub’s has to go
to the field for a week and I have no one to at least go out to a restaurant
with. Work wise I am truly blessed by
the fact that I have found a job in
what I do (Administrative Assistant).
If I could
tell people one thing about being a military spouse or the lifestyle, I would say
it’s not the greatest yet it’s not the worst either. I have to thank Tricare because thanks to our
health insurance (Tricare) I have one of the best doctors treating us for our
infertility issues. Throughout these 2 ½
years I can say that it has been a good experience. It’s not something I would recommend to every
woman because not every woman can handle the whole package (I thought I wasn't going to be able too, thank God for patience, love and tolerance). At this moment we don’t
have kids but I've seen so many girls with kids and having their husbands
deployed. I have to give it to them
because it is not easy.
Think about
those soldiers that can’t see their newborn because their wives gave birth
during deployment.
And then the pros of
this lifestyle are getting to know different cultures,
different states, and
just traveling.
I've seen
some shows where they put the military wives as dependent, cheaters or full of
drama. Well not all are like that. There are some of us that are independent, hard
workers, intelligent, humble human beings that simply love our spouses.
I hope you can find yourself a great friend! They're part of what makes the military life easier and worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt is REALLY hard to make friends in this lifestyle. At our first base in CA, the only real friends i had were the ones I made at church. I think I had...two? friends that were outside my church. They were all military, of course, but I wouldn't have made the friendships without church. It's hard to get yourself out there to meet people, especially when there IS such an age gap, either physically or simply just mentally. I with you though on TriCare, it's a God-send for our family too! Praying for you and your husband as you go through the fertility process! <3 <3
ReplyDeleteTanika Rice--Air Force Wife :)
Thank you for linking up with us! And I've had a hard time with friends at this base too... Mostly because a lot of them are younger and I hate to say more immature but from the ones I've met, it's true. I have read so many other posts and it makes me feel like I should be more appreciative of the things I have and the opportunities I've been given.. So here's to trying!! Glad to meet you!! Xo
ReplyDeleteFt. Bragg can be a tough assignment for spouses. There are older spouses out there though! I was one of them. We were there in 2009. Wish you all the luck in conceiving! It will happen :)
ReplyDeleteMy best friend is a military wife too, they live off base right now since he is recruiting. She is having a tough time making friends too, it sounds like it can be a hard lifestyle, but there are lots of pros as well. Hope you can find yourself more friends!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog! I love your story and your blog! Being an Army wife is totally not easy sometimes, but totally worth it for your man! I hope you have fun and enjoy yourself in Italy! We could totally chat over some wine sometime:-)
ReplyDeleteAmen to that last line. Great post! Stopping by from the link-up!
ReplyDelete