Wedding vows are a time-honored tradition in this world. Whether we choose to vow our undying love to our service member in a house of worship, in Las Vegas or through the good ole’ military courthouse wedding, “til’ death do us part” has a completely different sentiment attached to it in the world of military couples.
I began wondering what it would have been like to make promises to one another that would be specific and unique to our demographic.
So, I asked a sample of our military spouse community what vows that they MIGHT have included if they knew then what they know now.
Let’s see if any of these vows can be applied to YOUR relationship! ++ 6 Crucial Suggestions for a Healthy and Happy Marriage
- “I promise that I will not hurt you for ‘quietly’ ripping Velcro patches off your uniform at 0500.”
- If you “promise that you will never whistle while you pack for your TDY to Las Vegas or Hawaii,” then;
- “I vow not to whistle while I help you pack!”
- “I promise that I will never compare my enduring childbirth solo to how it feels when you have a fever. Yours was so much worse.”
- “I promise to get angry when you get surprise duty on our anniversary and I promise to get over it in at least a week.”
- “I vow to always bring your dress uniforms to the dry cleaners with enough time to spare before your uniform inspection.”
- “I promise to let you teach any children we may have MCMAP and I promise to buy enough mouth guards for them so that you don’t have to.”
- “I promise to always take the ribbons off before I wash your uniform. (Or promise not to wash them in the first place).”
- “I vow to always bake homemade treats for the battalion bake sale instead of transferring commissary cookies into our good Tupperware.”
- “I promise to invest in yoga pants and to pretend to actually do yoga every once in a while when you’re home, provided you promise to wear your Silkies once a week.”
- “I vow to share all things- except phone chargers – and if you take mine you will promise to suffer my wrath with good humor.”
- “I promise never to wash your flight suit, ever, and to let you check all your pockets for pens.”
- “I promise to bite my tongue when your mother insists she’s the first to hug you when you get off the bus and I promise not to be too harsh when I knock her over on my way to you.”
- “I promise to hate PCSing and to make the most of every duty station I hate.”
- “I vow to have all brand new underwear and socks washed and in the dresser when you return from deployment, if you vow to burn your deployment underwear and socks before you return home.”
- “I promise to know all the acronyms you use when you’re telling me a story about work.”
- “I promise never to get tired of seeing you in those rolled Cammie sleeves.”
- “I promise to be understanding when you say can’t call maintenance for something broken at home, because you aren’t sure what needs to be done, but you can figure out what needs to be done to call on a complicated airstrike based on distance to land, traveling speed, enemy threat, wind direction, etc.”
- “I vow to ensure there is a supply of coffee beans in the house if you vow to only grind them where it won’t wake me up at 0400.”
- “I vow not to threaten to leave you if you have to leave again, because I know that 6+ months without you is by far easier than the rest of my life without you.”
- “I promise not to love any of my personal belongings beyond what I can cram into a suitcase and hand carry while moving.”
- “I promise not to laugh at you because you can orchestrate an entire military operation in a war zone but cannot handle one day alone with the children without losing your mind.”
- “I promise never to wear your rank you earned.”
- “I promise to be *try* to be happy and completely present wherever we may live REGARDLESS of housing conditions, cost of living, the presence of alligators, distance from relatives, access to mouthwatering food, weather, the number of friends found, or the salsa selection at the commissary.”
- “I promise that I will not sign up to promote 15 direct sales companies at our new location.”
- “I promise to learn the Marines’ Hymn and to always stop talking when God Bless the USA comes on.”
- “I vow to continue to fight for childcare on the ship so that once, just once, you have to take the kids with you for 6 months on your own. (Just kidding…I would have to pick them up at the first port, because I would miss them MADLY…but I like to daydream about it…)”
- “I promise not to make fun of you, because you can multitask while flying a multi-million dollar aircraft, yet can’t talk and cook at the same time.”
- “I promise never to take my frustration out on your command by slamming a dirty diaper on your CO’s desk…PINKY SWEAR.”
- “I vow to be honest and straightforward about what I need to thrive as your spouse. I promise not to expect you to meet all those needs.”
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