MY Deployment Story
Forewarning: I know I have some MOPS friends that read the blog. THANK YOU! But if you haven’t been to your MOPS meeting yet I kind of spell out my ‘talk’. You might not want to read this if you don’t want to see it all spelled out before hand 🙂 (Our church is fortunate to have three chapters of MOPS … I spoke for the first chapter and have two more to go.)
I DID IT! I was nervous … I worked over the course of the weekend (with some help from my mom, a retired Air Force wife) to get the words right … I got up a little earlier than usual Monday morning … I wore more makeup than I usually do … (like more than just mascara and blush) … I left the house 5-minutes earlier than planned(!) … I walked into the room of fellow-Moms with confidence in my step and a smile on my face.
I think you, the spouse of a deployed service-member, would be proud! I had a wonderful time telling the room full of MOPS-moms ‘my story’. I decided to take them back to where I had been while hubs was in Iraq. I read a number of my deployment-posts, like a story. I admit I took some pieces out of most posts, just as a matter of brevity. If you would read to my own journey through deployment and what I shared with the ladies yesterday-morning:
Bumps, Bruises & Hugs (April ’08)
I’m Back (May ’08)
Deployment Troubles of a 5 year-old (June ’08)
We Have Established Communication (July ’08)
Feeling Thin (August ’08)
He’s Coming Home! (January ’09)
Happy (February ’09)
A Breath of Fresh, Unhurried Air (March ’09)
The Fears of Reintegration (April ’09)
Disney World (August ’09)
These women don’t *know* the military-lifestyle and I never have the intention of making my story sound like I am ‘typical’ – but then again I don’t know that there is a ‘typical’ military-wife?! While I read and shared my story I saw tears, I heard laughter, I even got choked up myself (while reading Deployment Troubles of a 5-year-old)… it’s amazing that reading your own ‘journal’ can take you back in time *just like that*.
(BTW There are TONS of posts I couldn’t read about my deployment experience… because of time… but if you would like to read more: http://militaryblog.militaryavenue.com/search/label/deployment)
I left them with three thoughts. Three things that I hoped they could apply to their own lives:
- Say It. Don’t Assume it. I couldn’t just give my husband the cold shoulder when he was in Iraq. I had to actually type out my problems of the day. Apply that to your day to day life: Don’t assume that he knows how you are feeling or what is running through your mind. Say it.
- The power of a journal. As I was reading through my deployment blogs I was taken back with each word. I was amazed at what I had learned over the course of a year. Howe much I had grown as a person. I encourage anyone to either journal (very personal) or blog (share it with friends & let them in your world).
- God is the center of Hub’s and my marriage. Even with thousands of miles between us for a year our marriage still grew and our love for each other remained strong (if not stronger)! Keep God and your faith as the center.
I will end this post with ‘the beginning’. I started my little Monday morning MOPS chat off with a video to show the pure joy a servicemember, military-spouse and their children feel when they return home. I hope you enjoy it too! (If you would like to place it on your own blog or website you can find embed information at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1FJ1ahyTZs)
Thank you to all of our troops and their families for their service and sacrifice from MilitaryAvenue.com
– Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.combyLeanneonTuesday, January 26, 2010
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