Unspoken Conversations are the topics that are often swept under the carpet, whispered amongst the closest of friends and bitched about by many. I want to create awareness about difficult things that people face in life; grief, mental health, money, illnesses, family troubles, relationship difficulties and putting yourself first. I want to tell the truth about things that really matter.

Monday 24 September 2012

The Life of an American Soldiers Wife

Hellooo from America!
{I love getting to say that, by the way}
I'm Janna, and I blog over at Perception Is Everything!
Kirsty was so sweet to ask me over, and particularly, she asked me to talk about being the wife of an American soldier. I was very excited to oblige for so many reasons, and am grateful to be here!

For those of you that are reading from Australia, I'm sure you haven't heard many of the stereotypes of  military wives in America (money grubbin', lazy, overweight, miserable, etc.), but the Americans that come over to read, you are probably nodding your head yes. I do not fit into any of those categories, and those that read my blog know this, so I will skip these negative stereotypes and speak for myself and for the wonderful Military Spouses that I know.

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I know that every country has soldiers that leave their spouses and home for love of country and duty, so then I wondered what would set my situation apart. 

+ A war happy country.
+ Many looooong deployments.
+ Wanting to support our country and the people in it, while being perplexed at our government and it's decisions.

But to be honest, I think that no matter what country you are from, ALL Military Spouses can relate. So I guess, what I should really be sharing is what it's like to be the wife of a soldier.

Negatives:
+ Sometimes you have to live in the middle of nowhere.
+ You are typically far away from family and friends.
+ Moving every few years sucks.
+ Much time apart for long days at work, training, and deployments.

BUT

+ We are also filled with great pride.
+ There are some great opportunities: school, family support, community, travel, etc.
+ I would endure a million deployments over not having this amazing man in my life.

This is the main reason why my blog is titled Perception Is Everything. It was a way to share our life with our friends and family back home, and a great way to keep things in perspective. There are a lot of negatives to the Military lifestyle, but I choose to focus on the positive. Life is what you make it, and we are making ours pretty awesome. I won't settle for less, and neither should you.


Photobucket

As a matter of fact, I posted a facebook status the other day, saying,
"If I can be ridiculously positive through this deployment, you should be able to not complain for a day. No judgement. Just giving you a little perspective".
The point is we all live different lives, but we each have our own struggles and no one is exempt.
The sooner that we all realize this, the better. Instead of being all "woe is me", we need to learn to roll with the punches. I embrace my life as "A Wife Of An American Soldier", and I hope that you embrace your life as well. No one can do that for you, so get on it!

Thanks for having me Kirsty! I had fun writing this post for you all and loved visiting Australia, even if it was just virtually. One day I will make it there for real :D




9 comments:

Janna Renee said...

I have been checking for this all week! I'm glad it's finally up, and I will shout it out this week! Hope you had fun on your trip ;)

Tiffany L said...

Jana - great to read as always. Kristy, thanks for having her!

Holly said...

I just love Janna and her positive view on her life. She's truly an inspiration!

Scribble-N-Dash said...

Love this post Janna!!! It's very easy for people to just succumb to the "woe is me" attitude, it's those that take their struggles and turn them into something positive that are truly happy in life!

Very glad to have found another great blog to follow :)

<3 Melissa

Simplyheather said...

Aw Janna, what a great post! You know how much I love you and your solider as a couple ((: you're such a strong girl too! I admire you for that.

xo, Heather

Kate @ Daffodils said...

Great post Janna! I especially love the cartoon about 'what I actually do' because it is SO true. Thanks for sharing. I love the positivity!

Lindsay said...

Great post Janna. Spouses make sacrifices too - I have some dear friends that are married to men in the military. I give you all a lot of credit, but I like the way you think - my grandma would always say, 'you might have it bad, but someone else has it worse!" its true.

Hi Kristy! Can't wait to check out more of your blog! :)

Kelly { MessyDirtyHair } said...

Love the pic of you two! I can't imagine what it would be like. How scary to be honest. But you & will are such a strong couple no matter what happens you two will make it through everything. Also please have Cali be ur next home!!

Rach said...

Aww, I love Janna and her blog! She is such an inspiration for keeping a great perspective on things! :)