Not So Much Alone

Being a wife of an Army Reservist, a girl can feel alone on the adventure called The Army.  I know that the grass is always greener on the other side, but I see those living on post, or at least near post, as having the advantage of community.  Hubby has been in the Army for 26 years now.  He joined when he was 17, his junior year of high school.  He describes coming back to playing soccer after a summer in Basic at Fort Benning, as a breeze.  I remember a quote that went something like, "Running in sneakers and shorts easier than with boots and a ruck sack".  Ya think?  So when people ask me, "When is he getting out?" and I reply with, "Probably not soon," they look at me like I have three eyes.  Most do not understand the Army and the life that goes with it.  He is highly trained, ready and willing to do the job if needed.  It's not a job like most think of a job, a pay check, it's much more than that.  It's life.


I said that we were in Fort Belvoir on the last post, right?

Well, two days before we left Belvoir, we headed to one of the many playgrounds on post.  We had been there for a little while and a mom and two daughters came to play.  The kids all started playing together and the mom came and chatted with me.  Turns out her hubby is a Chaplin (a good, Bible believing one too!), she home schools and enjoys being an Army wife!  *Contented sigh*  Hubby and I were chatting about how good God is to us, little meetings like that are not coincidence, but carefully ordained by God Himself.  It was amazing to be able to chat with a kindred spirit about all things Army, the good and the frustrating, knowing that not only do we have this in common, but a faith, a trust in the Creator which knits hearts together in a way nothing else can.

The other thing about this meeting that was equally as amazing was that Ariel was able to chat with a girl her own age whose daddy wears that same uniform.  That evening she mentioned that it was nice to meet another kid with a soldier daddy and that she was more excited to head to the War College.  I think she decided that it was okay for her to move and see new things since this little girl did, she could do it to!  That was so wonderful for Hubby and I to hear. 

We did many amazing things when we were down there, including Ariel getting her first Military ID, going to Mount Vernon and the Smithsonians, but making new friends was such a treasured gift making me feel not so much alone.