Military Spouse Appreciation Day!

yay! today is military spouse appreciation day! to celebrate i think i'm going to make rey take me to see something borrowed tonight, although i think he wants to see it anyway so it all works out! i can't believe this will be my last military spouse appreciation day as a military spouse! growing up i told everyone that i would never marry someone in the military because i didn't want to have to deal with being away from my husband.. surprise surprise i married a marine! as hard as it has been i wouldn't change it for anything! i know that sounds a bit crazy since rey and i have missed out on so much time together, including our first anniversary, but i have learned so much! the biggest thing i think i have learned is a HUGE appreciation for the military and their families for all that they do and sacrifice for this nation! another thing i learned was how strong i am! during my time of knowing rey (dating and married) we have gone through time with him in the field, ship training for two weeks at a time, and two seven month long deployments missing anniversaries and plenty of holidays! heck, my birthday is a pretty big deal to me and i have always loved birthdays and rey has yet to be here for even one of my birthdays! basically i have learned that I can do things by myself and that I can handle very tough situations! Not too many girls my age, unless they too are military spouses, can say that they went 7 months without seeing their significant other, and went almost two months at one point without talking to or hearing their voice! i have heard countless times from people, 'oh i could never do that,' and heard many girls complain that they missed their significant other even though they were only gone for a weekend or something. i'm not trying to diminish that, since i know that for them that was probably tough, but i have come to the realization that i am a super strong woman and that i can handle so so much! lastly, i learned to not take the time i have with rey for granted! especially during the first part of our marriage when we knew rey was about to deploy, rey and i spent as much quality time together as possible and took in every possible moment. i learned what it was like to be without him, and know that we can make it through anything! i really am excited for rey to get out of the marines in october and for us to start our new life together, but i really will look back on this time, despite how tough at times, and be thankful for all that i learned and for how it changed my life!

i also want to end thanking all the other military spouses out there for the sacrifices that they make for their husbands and for their country! i know how tough deployments can be, but there is no better feeling than running into their arms when you get to see them for the first time after many months apart! seriously, every single marine wife that i have met is amazing and i want to thank you for your great examples on how to be tough and make it through! a real special thanks to melissa and autumn for being such good friends! i love you guys a lot and will definitely miss you! hopefully we can stay in touch and we can all be lifelong friends!!



peace in the middle east,
kristen!