Faces Behind the Hero: Jamie, Marine Corp Wife and Mom

April is month of the Military-Child and behind every strong-child is a strong-mom, just like behind every good-Marine is a Strong Family!  Words couldn’t be more true of Jamie, a US Marine Corp wife, and mother of two young ‘military-brats’.  What a great opportunity to see a small glimpse of a young Marine Family and where they find their strength.

What branch is your husband in? Marines How long has he been in? 9 years (He also completed his OCS training while he was in college but that doesn’t count toward career time.)

How long have you been married? We have been married just a little over 6 years. What is your favorite wedding-day memory?  Well we actually have an elopement and a renewal of vows…..My favorite wedding memory from the elopement was driving around to meaningful places around Pensacola to get pictures then watching fireworks on the beach afterwards. My favorite memory from our renewal of vows was definitely the reception. We had so much fun and so did our guests.

Do you have children? Yes we do. Our daughter Kendall is 3.5 years old and our son Isaac is 18 months old. How do you help them cope with military-life? So far it has been pretty easy. My husband has been only on detachments since Isaac was born. We have bought them “daddy dolls” which really helped our daughter during the last DET. Fortunately on the detachments, we have been able to email and use the phone so I include them in that. We will see when another deployment comes around how that changes.

How many deployments have you been through? We have been through 3 seven month long deployments. Kendall was born during #2. How many PCSs? We have moved twice across the country and once within the city.

When someone asks… “What can I do for you?” A lot of times, I feel so overwhelmed with everything that I don’t even know where to begin to ask for help. Not to mention that as a military wife you kind of feel like you have to be able to do all of your own stuff while your spouse is away. What is your response? There has been a few occassions that I have accepted help. Most of the time, it has been other military spouses or friends of my husband. What would you really like to say? Ha,ha “Bring my husband home so he can be here to help me with this!”

Where has your favorite base been? I would say Pensacola, Florida. Jacksonville, North Carolina, has been pretty decent as well. I didn’t like California to live in.

Why? There was a ton of stuff to do in Pensacola. It had some of the most beautiful beaches that I have seen in the US. It was a military town without the feel of a military town. There was more to offer for the job market for me. (Registered Nurse)

Where do you find the support you need when you need it? The three constants that have provided me support have been family, wives within the squadron, and our church family. Family has loved me no matter what situation I am in and stressed about. Squadron wives innately know what you are going through and jump into help alot of times before you know that you need it. Our church family has been there to pray, help out with lawn mowing and other things. It has all been a tremendous blessing to our family.

What do you miss most about “civilian life”? What’s civilian life?? Seriously, I think that the only thing that I can say that I miss is the ability to choose where we want to go. The Marine Corps has been very good about providing us with a lot of what we need. It is very nice especially in the current economical climate to have the stability that the military provides for us.

What do you love most about “military life”? Do I have to choose just one? The people that we have met that otherwise never would have crossed our paths. I am so grateful for some of the life long friendships that we have made along the way. The places that we have got to explore both on vacation and in our moves across the country. Our healthcare. The need to take care of your “own.”

What in “military life” could you really do without? No one likes to be away from their spouse whether it is in military or civilian life. This is the part that I mainly dislike but I know that without the deployments and detachments that my safety would be at stake. I am incredibly proud that we have men and women that are willing to give up their time at home with family and their comfort to stand in our defense.

What are you passionate about? God, family, life in general.

What is your favorite color and why? Pink for most intents and purposes. It has always been a semi-favorite of mine but it was cemented as my favorite after my work with breast cancer patients as an oncology nurse and losing someone to breast cancer in college that was very dear to me.

Do you have a favorite quote?  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

When you move to a new base what is one of the first things you do? Check out the area by driving around, try to locate the major places around town, find a church, find a house, the normal moving items.

Has anyone in the community (business, church, neighbor off base, etc etc) ever gone out of their way to help you, as the spouse of a military-member? Who? What did they do? We’ve had people go out of their way to help both on and off base. I think what is standing out in my mind right now is our Wednesday night fellowship dinner at church before service. It was during my husband’s last detachment.

Do you use on base facilities? Commissary? MCSS? MWR? Child Care? Services of that nature. Why would you recommend one of these services in specific?  I use the commissary mainly for produce and meat purchases. I used the child development center for drop-in care when I worked 1-2 days per week. I also use some of the gyms on base.

Thanks so much Jamie for your words of wisdom and points of strength!  If you want to travel some more with Jamie and her beautiful family visit her blog at www.2003beachbunch.blogspot.com/

– Leanne from MilitaryAvenue.combyLeanneonMonday, April 05, 2010Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to PinterestMilitary Life:Faces Behind the Hero,Leanne