There seems to be a natural curiosity of what it is like to be an Army spouse while raising children. I have been doing this gig now for almost a decade, so to me, it seems natural. I sometimes find myself asking in return “what is it like to have your spouse home all the time?”
I have in the past answered that question thinking to myself that it must be a luxury to have a two-team family consistently. I quickly snap out of thinking that way because the truth is, we all wear a title: Army wife, working wife, working mother, single mother, stay at home mother, CEO mother, traveling mother, or better, yet Army mother. Frankly, the list goes on.
Being a mother y’all, this gig is tough!
There isn’t a title or badge of honor that makes any other spouse higher on this invisible list of superhuman thinking. The fact of the matter is, regardless if you have a partner coming home from work and you’re a team working together, you still have to get the kids fed and cleaned up, make sure all the homework is completed, clean the dishes, and pick up around the house. Don’t get me started on laundry.
Laundry is my nemesis.
This Army wife over here ironically has enough laundry to clothe the Army. I will literally sit there and give it dirty looks. If my husband came home every night that laundry would still be staring at me just the same. Don’t get me wrong. I am such a proud Army wife. I love supporting my husband in his uniform and the importance of what that means for America. I do my little “Jackie O” wave and share the pictures of him and the milestones in his Army career. He’s such a great soldier. I’m proud of him beyond words.
Does it hurt to have to be apart from him so much?
Yes! I miss him like crazy all the time. I know, though, that other families have their own versions of this dynamic. We are all proud of our spouse’s hard work, providing for their family. That hard work usually means being away from home, too. Being a family means making it work for your everyday life despite the titles you may carry. Waking up and making that day count as much as you can muster in that day. Some days are tougher, that is natural. These days fly by regardless of these lifestyles we live and the titles we may carry.
So, when I encounter those that are curious about what it is like to be an Army spouse and raising a few kids, my answer is simple: “I have so much laundry to wash.”
