Officer vs enlisted, just married vs married 20+ years, so on and so forth, military spouses come in all shapes and sizes. Within the military spouse community, there is also a subsection that is emerging. The military spouses who are “different”, the ones who make no apologies and pay no mind to that “dependa” word.
Military spouses, what are YOU “sorry-not-sorry” for?
- You celebrated your spouse’s accomplishment. Did they just get promoted? Or perhaps get an award? Good. Blast that ish on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, do it all! You’re proud of your spouse and there’s nothing wrong with wanting the world to know.
- Messy hair, don’t care. So what if you go out looking disheveled once in a while? Naysayers don’t know what’s going on in your life. Rock those yoga pants! Still sweaty for the gym? Tell people it’s a natural glow.
- You politely asked if a company offers a military discount. By no means, do you think you’re entitled to one. If they don’t offer it, it’s no sweat off your back. Real talk: a “military discount” is a glorified marketing ploy to a targeted customer base. Because capitalism. Go America.
- You let your kid play around military housing unsupervised. Newsflash, what did YOU do when you were young? When kids get to a certain age, that’s what they do. They go outside, they play, they invite the block to back to your house for snacks. You wouldn’t want them sitting inside on their phones all day.
- You’ve drop everything because your spouse called during deployment. As soon as you see that unidentified number on your phone, you take a run and a flying leap to get to it as soon as possible. I’ve left dinner on the stove, my kid half-dressed, mascara on one eye all just to hear his voice again.
- You disappear when they come back from deployment. Your friends and colleagues say you’ve went into hiding once your spouse came back. Well for obvious reasons, you kind of did. No need for apologies here. You’ll emerge after hibernation soon.
- You’ve expunged more than the average person. After multiple pcs moves, you know what’s worth keeping and what to get rid of. It doesn’t make sense to keep every shred of everything because it can get lost in the shuffle. Keep the kid’s 1st macaroni frame, Yes. his 2nd, 3rd, or 4th? Nah.
- You’ve had a meltdown during deployment. Something breaks. Something gets lost. Something didn’t go right. And you did not handle it well. Things can seem to pile on during deployment and we all have our breaking point. If it’s over the wi-fi going out, so be it.
- You’ve vented about how military life can be difficult. Military life is not all sunshine and rainbows. At times, you need to vent without someone saying “you knew what you were getting into” or “you signed up for this”. Tell them to suck it next time they say that.
- You went out during your spouse’s deployment. Did someone think you were going to stay home and pine for them the whole time? Have a wine night, go for a girls weekend. We shouldn’t feel bad for enjoying ourselves while our spouses are gone. There’s no use in sitting there and waiting for your phone to ring. Don’t count down the moments. Make the moments count.
