Monday, July 12, 2010

Anchors Away: What It Means To be a Navy Wife

Nicole over at "Flip Flops and Combat Boots" is hosting an awesome giveaway especially for navy wives! The lucky winner of this giveaway will win a cosmetic bag from "Anchors Away" etsy shop. 

This bag is so adorable and I really, really want to win! I never win anything, (except my awesome custom header, thanks Mrs. G!!) so I'm crossing my fingers for this one, especially because its a nautical theme cosmetic bag and its adorable!!! 

So the rules state that you must explain what being a navy wife means to you and you have to include the best picture of you and your Sailor. I'm giving this my best shot, so here goes!

Being a Navy Wife means many things to me and I strongly believe this is not a job every woman can handle. It takes a special kind of woman to love a Sailor and be an amazing Navy Wife! One must possess many qualities to ensure you are up to the task at hand, and believe me...its no easy task!! Being a navy wife means learning to let go, having: endurance, strength, resilience, an unfaltering love for your sailor, a sense of adventure, as well as being your husbands rock and biggest supporter!

When I first became a Navy Wife I had literally NO CLUE what I was in for. Don't get me wrong, I knew it wasn't gonna be all sunshine and roses, but I didn't think it would be anywhere near as hard as it has been. My husband and I were both in for a rude awakening because the Navy was in control of our lives now, and we both had to get used to being told what to do. For someone who is a control freak like myself, I had to learn to let go. Being a navy wife means letting go of many of the normal things in life, such as choosing where you want to live,choosing when you can see your husband, and leaving all your family and friends behind. Most people would never choose to willingly go through all these things, but Navy Wives do and we adjust to our surroundings and cope with the demands of our husbands careers. 

As a cross country runner in high school, I thought I knew the meaning of endurance. However, once I became a Navy Wife, I learned the true meaning of endurance. As a Navy Wife we endure deployments, training separations, underways, loneliness, sadness, and a lack of understanding from our families and non-milspouse friends. During the last year of my life I have endured more mental and emotional hardships than I have in my entire life. Spending the last 9 months of my life (and our first year of marriage) away from my husband has been the most painful & difficult thing I have ever endured, but I couldn't be more thankful that I have gone through these struggles. The experiences I've had as a Navy wife have increased my confidence in myself and my ability to survive and get things done efficiently!! I have learned to handle all the bills by myself, applied for and found us a house to live in at our new duty station, applied for our first hhg move, lived through the packers and driver coming and taking away all our stuff, and endured 9 months of being away from my husband!!! To me that shows a tremendous amount of strength on my part, and in order to be a Navy Wife you HAVE TO BE STRONG!! If you aren't the Navy will eat you up and spit you out! If you let it, it will ruin you're happiness and your marriage, believe me! But if you are strong and keep your head up, you will be a survivor!
 
As a Navy Wife you must also be resilient. Most of the time things in the Navy don't go your way (or at least in our experiences so far) and you just have to learn to accept it and pick yourself up again.
 
Being a Navy Wive also means you share a deep and unfaltering love for your Sailor. A love that can withstand deployments and the ups and downs of Navy life, and a love that can not be separated by the oceans between you. To me being a Navy Wife means many things, but it also means you are ready for adventure! The Navy can take you places you'll never believe and give you opportunities you never thought you'd have!! 
 
And last but not least Navy Wives are selfless. You become your husbands rock and number 1 supporter, and always try to encourage them when times are hard. Although I have been through some pretty horrible situations with the navy so far, I am proud to be a Navy Wife. I am proud to say that my husband is serving our country and that I am also serving by standing by his side and supporting him! I am so thankful and humbled by the amazing Navy Wives I have met in the bloggy world and real life, and I continue to be amazed at the strength and grace these women possess while enduring so much. For all these reasons, and I'm sure for many more, it is an honor to be called a Navy Wife.♥




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9 comments:

  1. I hope you win it!! I'm rooting for ya :) It's super cute and suits you well...

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  2. There is something waiting for you at my blog!

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  3. I'm hoping you win too! You are so right. It takes so much to be a Navy Wife and you definitely took on the part with grace and poise. You also add a bit of fun to it!

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  4. Great post and I LOVE that picture!

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  5. i love your post! and you look so beautiful *and happy* in your picture!

    i still have no idea how i'm going to pick the winner lol. I might just give all the entries to the girl at Etsy and be like "hey you pick!"

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  6. aww! great post!!

    I hope you can participate in the contest I'm hosting!
    http://confessionsofasailorswife.blogspot.com/2010/07/50-followers-giveaway.html

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  7. This was great. I'm impressed by how you turn hardships into learning experiences.

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  8. This was a really great post...I think u explained life in the Navy really well! Good luck!

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