When you think of a military spouse, you think of a service member’s biggest fan, largest rock. An overall support system.

And while we are all of these things, they are definitely not always easy, nor are they done in a care-free fashion.

To be quite honest, there are things about us that you probably DO NOT want to know, but that you MUST know.

1. We are always at our limit.

One of my close military wife friends said this to me and I have never forgotten it.

“Just because we appear to have it together during tough duty stations (see #7)…laughing things off and trying to make the best of everything, we are always at our limit. We have to look like we have it together. There are times we are raising our kids alone, and we cannot, even if we wanted to, get a hold of our spouses…for weeks. So we have to have an answer for everything, or at least know where to find one, and that amount of stress is deafening.”

2. Leave us alone.

Don’t read too much into this one. We are happy to help out a friend, do someone a favor, and generally be a good person, of course. But, especially during deployment and particularly difficult duty stations for our spouses, we cannot do too much outside of continuing to do what we’re already doing.

And, (see #1) even though it looks like we’re doing great (and sometimes we are…see #4), sometimes we’re just barely holding on. Don’t ask us to make elaborate plans, take elaborate trips, or do something that you know is going to create stress.

Every spouse has a few things that causes them stress. Don’t add to the issues by asking us to do what you already know we don’t want to or can’t do.

Just leave us alone. If we can attend events, go on vacation with you, etc., we will let you know.

It’s not about you. It’s not.

3. We are TIRED.

So tired. We are always getting up in the middle of the night.

Always taking the dog out.

Always getting up with the kids.

…changing every diaper

…washing every dish

…taking out every trash bag

…making every meal- tired.

It’s exhausting. Single parents…man, you are amazing. Amazing.

4. To deal with 1, 2 and 3 — we have a system.

This goes back to #1. In order to feel in control, we make a system.

This system is based on preventative maintenance.

It keeps us sane, it holds things together and it makes us happy and keeps our kids on the right track. So, we don’t often change our system around.

It’s a matter of keeping things status quo, so we can handle anything unpredictable (and there’s always a lot of that).

Because when we do deviate from the system, there’s always a huge fallout. And who has to pick up those pieces? Right.

Obviously, we have fun and enjoy our children. In fact, they are often the best distraction from tough duty stations. Children are amazing, funny, silly and so resilient.

Love the kids. Need the system.

5. We have to handle the kids’ sadness.

Here’s another curveball. Everything’s going great, system is working well and then, one of your children remembers he hasn’t seen his dad in two weeks. Or a month. Or three.

And he cries. Or he acts out.

And we have no idea what to say…because we have no idea when he is returning.

We try various cute tricks: every day a Hershey’s Kiss from Daddy, a calendar or a countdown necklace. But it’s all just a sad reminder that someone is missing.

6. We need friends.

Not just “Hey, how are you?” friends who ask in passing and never care for the answer, but true, sweet friends who will look us in the eye and say, “Really, how are you?” and care about the answer.

We don’t necessarily need anything more than for someone to acknowledge how hard this life can be and that sometimes, we just need to talk.

Yes, we knew what we signed up for when we got married. But it’s still hard.

7. Our spouses miss a lot.

Even when they are “home.” That’s another joke.

“Home” can mean “not on deployment, but constantly traveling.”

Funny, isn’t it?

Home can mean “not traveling, but working 14-hour days.”

So we take kids to school concerts, sports games and put them to bed at night. Just because our spouses aren’t deployed, doesn’t mean they are available….which brings me back to number four.

8. The military “controls” more than you think.

Although we have some say over where we live, we don’t have too much. We move every two or three years and we don’t always get our first choice. We plan to have our children around the time our spouses will actually be home AND available. (And sometimes that doesn’t work either!)

We plan family vacations and weddings around these schedules, as well, and often they get canceled or postponed.

I know more than one military couple that eloped after their elaborate wedding was canceled due to a last minute trip. Oh the joy.

9. Our marriages struggle.

The distance, the stress, the overworked and exhausted spouses, the PTSD, or worse, the missed opportunities for husband/wife time all take a toll.

Eight years ago, before I moved across the country to be with my then boyfriend/now husband, a co-worker warned me. She said she was married to a man in the military and they got divorced, because ultimately, the stress and distance was too much for her and her husband to handle.

There’s not a lot of time to work on or even enjoy the marriage. Fortunately, the military encourages a few incredibly romantic evenings such as balls and homecomings where you can touch that magic…but they are not representative of our actual life.

10. Yes, it’s way harder than we thought…but most of us wouldn’t give it up.

There are some things that are really freaking cool. Ever watched a ship pull in from deployment? Ever watched a change of command ceremony? A military wedding?

Never a dry eye.

And our kids? Resilient. Resourceful. Smart. Kind. Helpful. Persistent.

Wonder where they learned that.

Originally published at merelymothers.com.

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