As if women aren’t already strong in every sense of the word, they go and marry a military member and wham—they can lift 1000 pounds!
Ok, maybe not that much, but they do become even stronger than they were before, and in more ways than one.
The life of a milspouse isn’t an easy one, but it’s a rewarding one. After many devoted years of a servicemember’s life to his country, it can sometimes be overlooked that their spouse, too, was experiencing their journey every step of the way. Milspouses are troopers and here’s why:
1. When your servicemember gets a new assignment, so do you
It varies depending on the military career, but most active duty members will get new assignments to new locations a few times throughout their career. Milspouses don’t get to choose where they want to live, they get to enjoy the ride of following along to wherever their spouse’s job leads them. This can be especially trying for milspouses when it comes to finding a new job, making a different house a home, making new friends, adjusting to a new lifestyle in a different town and the list goes on. But, milspouses get through it with a smile on their face because they will do anything to be with their significant other.
2. When your servicemember is deployed, you learn to embrace being alone physically
The life of experiencing multiple deployments is not for everyone. Milspouses dread them in the weeks before they happen and don’t enjoy them while they’re happening, but they also know how best to survive them. They miss curling up on the couch with their loved one while watching a movie or holding hands while driving to dinner. Milspouses have all the same emotions and needs as non-milspouses, but they are pros at learning to embrace the feeling of void and turn it into something positive. Visiting family and friends whenever possible is a great way to fulfill that hug that your spouse can’t give you at the moment.
3. When your spouse is busy with work, you take over their responsibilities
Do milspouses watch a yard grow three feet tall while their spouse can’t find the time to mow it? Nope. Milspouses will get the lawnmower and weed whacker out of the shed and manicure that lawn like a champ. If the pool guy isn’t keeping up with the pool maintenance and now your relaxing water retreat is so green you can’t see the bottom, a milspouse will figure out how to clean the pool herself. Milspouses are ready and willing to take on more than they signed up for when it comes to helping their spouse out.
4. When your spouse is stressed out, you know just the right words to say and not say
Spouses everywhere deal with this one. However, it can be especially challenging for a milspouse when their spouse’s career is one that they can’t even begin to relate to. Milspouses are fluent in the art of calm. They know the right words to use even when they can’t relate to what their spouse is currently grappling with. Milspouses also know when to give their significant others space and let them come to them when they’re ready to talk about the not-so-great day they had. Milspouses are great listeners and when it comes to their spouse’s stressors, they know how to help them through the rough patches.
5. Being a milspouse literally makes you stronger
There comes a point when a milspouse stops asking their spouse to help him or her with certain things around the house like moving the just-delivered foyer table into the house and unpacking/assembling it or trimming the small trees and bushes around the yard and hauling the limbs to the street for pickup. Milspouses like to be independent and that makes them stronger physically and mentally. Being a milspouse instills power within someone that only gets stronger with time.