Why I married into the army, why you may not want to, and my thoughts on this subject! It’s on my mind today (which is not to say that it’s not on my mind most other days as well) because Hubby just left for a two-week field training exercise. I miss him, but such is the life of an Army wife!

Why?

If you wonder why I married into the army, well, you’re not the only one. Maybe I haven’t been asked flat-out many times, but I can see the unseen question in each woman’s eyes as she says that she could never do it, and she doesn’t know how I do. The answer is simple. I love him! My husband, my best friend. No one else could take his place. And as we prayed about it, we felt God had been bringing us together and had been preparing us through our long friendship for this marriage.

His being in the army was one of the factors in deciding to marry, but it was never really a deterrent to me. I just couldn’t let it stand in my way. If it put his life in danger, it’s not the only job that can do so! God can protect him as easily overseas as he can right here in the states, and will keep him alive and well as long as he sees fit. If it puts him away from me for extended periods of time, at least it’s for the cause of defending the country. At least he’s serving. At least I know he’ll be back, and I get first dibs when he returns.

I remember before we were even engaged, I was visiting him on base and dealing with the frustration of the Army: (how do I sum this up?) They are so disorganized. The Army is forever changing dates and plans for soldiers without prior notice, keeping the soldiers longer than they said the would, getting things mixed up… I remember sitting in the car, waiting for him to get back from a briefing that was supposed to be finished hours prior, thinking, “I could deal with this better if we were married.”

In some ways, I was right. Becoming an Army wife rather than just a friend to a soldier has given me access to inside information and understanding that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. When he comes home late, it’s me he’s coming home to, and I get to spend time with him right away.

On the other hand, being as close as a wife is to her husband makes the worry over his safety that much more severe, and it makes his stress, my stress, in a more real way than ever before. Thankfully, God is helping me through.

Are You Cut Out?

I don’t think you have to be made from a special mold to handle being an Army wife. I’ve seen others, and they’re of all different backgrounds. What draws us together is the fact that we love a man enough to deal with it. Our similar experiences give us something in common, like an instant conversation-starter.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that wondering whether you’re cut out for the life of an Army wife is enough to say that you’re not. But I would say that before you decide, you pray about it, and consider the factors that come with it that you won’t be able to escape.

There’s much more to it than dealing with deployments! Army wives have to handle the life, not just the deployment. It is an every-day thing.

The Good Side

In closing, I just want to point out that there are positive aspects to it all! The most obvious of these are financial stability and job security. My husband gets paid the same amount every month. Period. It’s enough to live on, though not extravagantly. If we’re wise with our money, we won’t ever go hungry, and that’s a very good thing not to have to worry about! As far as his job goes, he would have to do some really, really bad things to lose his job, things that I know my husband wouldn’t do. Until the end of his contract, we don’t have to worry about unemployment.

In addition: We both have access to all of the medical care we need; His physical training keeps him in very good shape; We have access to on-post facilities such as free-to-use gyms, child care, commissary, post-exchange, etc; His education will be paid for, thanks to the G.I. bill.

I have great respect for the soldiers serving our country and for the wives who back them up and deal with this life every day. To those who have been doing it much longer than I, I commend you! You’re so strong and brave! To those who are new, as I am, we can do it! We are strong and brave, too!

Do you have any Army-wifey experiences you’d like to share? What helps you handle it?

I am beyond excited about this website. I’m thrilled because for me, my day job is now my passion as well. It wasn’t always the case. I’ve spent many years working at things about which I’m not passionate. It’s not a fun place to be, and I hated that time in my life with, dare I say, a passion.

I hate how it seems that we’re forced to work without passion. Yes, we’re told we should find a job we love, but if all else fails, find something that pays well. In the end, that’s what we’re pushed to go for. By society. And we have to, because we have to have that well paying job to live, really.

Not everyone can give up their day job for their passion. I was lucky, in a way. But then again, most things that seem like luck are just God working in my life. He has guided me and opened up the doors, putting me where I now stand: at the threshold of my passion.

One thing I know… Even if I’m doing what I’m passionate about every day, it’s still going to be work. My day job is no less of a job now than when I went to Dr. Chiang’s office five days a week to sit at a desk. Despite people thinking that homemaker and self-employed are the same as has it easy, I’m finding that my passion requires real work. I have to set goals, make lists, put in effort. It’s definitely more enjoyable than my old day job. It’s definitely fruitful. It’s definitely worth the effort. Why? Because I love writing, I love sharing what’s on my mind, and I love meeting similar-minded people and making friends!

I wanted to share some of my goals, or, in other words, my passions. I’m in a new phase of life: a new army wife, new to “homemaking,” newly self-employed, new problogger. How I got here is amazing; where I plan to go is exciting!

I want Ocipura.com to reflect me in more ways than it does now, in ways beyond just being decorated in my favorite colors. I want my thoughts and opinions to be easily understandable when my current and future friends read them. I want the site to mean something. I want to reach other military families who “get” me, other homemakers (be they wives or husbands), other animal- and art-lovers. I want to help people understand why I love my God! I want to share my thoughts on marriage and military and the work I do. I want to see more traffic coming to this site and also to my Avon store as I give my honest opinions about products. I even want to welcome those who disagree with me and want to argue their points.

When you come back, you can expect to find a place where you and your friends can hear about opinions and experiences of some one who may be going through the same things you are going through. I plan to include posts about what I’ve learned about home business, homemaking, art (I enjoy casual scrapbooking, drawing, crochet), being an army wife, marriage, and cooking (including recipes)!

I’m excited about the future of Ocipura.com! What do you do as a day job? Are you passionate about it? What would your dream job be??