For 19 years, I was a military wife and here is what I learned.

1. It can be a scary thing–Moving to places where you don’t know anybody, being so far away from family, and having to “start over” in a new and unfamiliar place is a scary thing to have to do.
2. You become STRONG–It takes a lot of strength to love someone in the military. When their spouse is overseas for long periods of time, or even in dangerous parts of the world for any amount of time, military wives spend a lot of time worrying. But despite the worry, they still have to pull up their big girl pants and get on with the day. 
3. It’s an Adventure–– I was lucky enough to live in a ton of cool places…and some not so cool places… during my time as a military wife. I lived in Hawaii, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, and Tennessee. I took something with me from each place. In Texas, I learned to make tortillas; in Hawaii, I picked up slang words I still use today; In Colorado, I met my best friend, and in Tennessee I started college. 
4. It can be lonely— Military wives spend a lot of time alone. I spent 14 months by myself when my husband was living in Korea. I spent multiple 6-8 month time periods alone when he was in Afghanistan or Iraq. Not to mention the late nights at work depending on the job he was in, or practice exercises that kept him in a tent for 30 days at a time. 
5. You become good at meeting new people— If you are moving so often and spending so much time by yourself, you better start making friends. I’m THE definition of introvert, but I knew my sanity depended on a strong friend group. I learned to get out of my shell and talk to anybody that would listen! 
6. It becomes “WHO” you are–– Even though it was my husband that was in the military, my whole family lived a lifestyle that came with his career choice. He couldn’t leave work at home, and our daily lives depended so much on what happened at my husband’s work, everyone in the house sort of wears the title. I was a military wife; My kids are military “brats”; My husband is a soldier.  
7. It doesn’t always make you more patriotic–Even though I was tremendously proud of what my husband did, I often found myself exasperated with the government and the decision making skills of higher up military officials. I also didn’t have American flags all around my house, and July 4th wasn’t my jam like some of my other military friends.  
8. My kids have more worldly experience— One of the positives that came from military life was that my girls are worldly. They are comfortable with lots of different types of people from lots of different places. They soaked up the culture in Hawaii, Texas, and Georgia, and as a result, have very little trouble living around people that don’t look like them. 
9. My best friends live all over the world–– This one makes me sad. Some of the people I love the most don’t live close to me anymore. Every time I moved, I always missed my girlfriends the most. My best friend, Steph, lives in Colorado…I wish I could still stop by her house while coming home from the mall. 
10. No place is ever as awesome as HOME— I have lived in beautiful places and made memories that I will never forget, but there is no place like home! 

Below is a picture from my patio in the backyard of the house I lived at in Hawaii.