Guest Takeover: Mama Warrior

This is my beautiful family. 6 years ago, my then fiancé and I decided together he would join the military. I grew up in a military family so it couldn’t be much different. Wrong. It’s on another level. 

Being a military wife is not for the faint of heart. Some things you need to be able to handle: being by yourself for some holidays, your spouse can leave for duty at any moment, you won’t get a call everyday while they’re deployed or even know where they are, there are always schools they will attend far away, he will miss ultrasounds and possibly some of your child’s milestones, there is fear, making new friends can be really difficult when you move to a new town; the list can go on, but in a nut shell the life of a military wife/mom is very unpredictable. 

We were on our third deployment when I got THE call. THE call that rocked our world. Just a normal day, feeding our daughter breakfast on a Sunday morning. My husband, whom I always believed was invincible, lost his right leg due to an IED. When I tell you that in order to live this lifestyle you have to be strong, there’s just no other way. While I’m listening to this man on the other line (I still couldn’t tell you his name) give me details, I am just steadily feeding our child and my mind is racing. What’s the quickest possible way to get myself and our daughter to him? Not only that, but who’s going to take care of the house? I need to set up auto drafts for some bills. Who’s going to take care of our dogs? I need winter clothes (because weather in November for Georgia is still hot). I need to clean in case anyone comes over. I couldn’t fall apart. I had a 9 month old who needed me, so there’s no crying in a corner. 

We packed up and headed to Walter Reed hospital in Maryland. This was Rae’s first flight. I held it together this whole time until we got stuck on the tarmac and Rae started screaming. One lady told me “It’s ok momma, we have all been there”. I started crying and all I wanted to say was “no, no you haven’t. You don’t know what the last few days have been like for me”. Instead I said thank you and just tried my best to sooth my child. The next 4 months are for a whole other time. However, if I had to give a few describing words I’d say : blurry, grateful, frustration, defeated, brave, humorous, but the biggest of all is adaptable.

Being a military wife and mom you need to be adaptable. Thank goodness our daughter is as young as she is and is resilient. She won’t remember her daddy before he got his prosthetic leg. This will be our new normal. We joke because it helps us all get through. The first thing I told Joey was he just cut my laundry in half, and I wouldn’t have to match his socks anymore. 

We are still trying to figure out our new normal. Our journey is not over. I am so grateful he was able to come home. I can’t fathom what COULD have happened. And after all that and all he gave, he still wants to stay in and fight for his country. Call me crazy, but I will continue to support my husband. Would I love if he got a desk job and was home by 5:30pm everyday? Of course. But that’s not the man I fell in love with. That’s not the father he wants to be. 

My wish for Raegan as a military child is that she appreciates the sacrifices, and

she is proud of her dad and I both, because we would go to the ends of the earth for her. 

She as well deserves credit.