Yep. That’s me. The real deal. (not the picture silly, the part about me being a Military Spouse)
Whether you are part of this military life or not I bet we have a few things in common and a few out of the box crazy stories we could share. Let me start by saying that my #1 favorite thing about Military life is the community that surrounds it.
I love meeting new people from all walks of life and all different places. I love that I can say I have friends in nearly every state and quite a few across the ocean.
Today I’m excited to link up with a few more. Thank you Mal and Samantha for the opportunity.
So Who Am I?
Well I am Hope Griffin. A wife, mother, friend, blogger, theologian, entrepreneur…. Who happens to be married to an amazing man and soldier. I’m an Army Wife. (And yes that is a picture of us)
My soldier and I met during my senior year of college. I was heading out the door for grad school and he insisted on tagging along. I am so glad he did! Soon after grad school and the whirlwind of children had begun, my hubby enlisted in the Army.
Where all have we been?
Well that’s kind of funny. You see the only highlight I imagined of Army life was the constant moving. Our first 5 years of marriage we moved 4 times. Since joining the Army 6 years ago we have been stationed in one place, Ft Bliss. So while my hubby has seen the world through multiple deployments I have had the pleasure of becoming very stabilized in Sunny El Paso, TX.
Don’t get me wrong. Ft Bliss is wonderful (I have a post coming soon on my 10 favorite things about El Paso) but I love to start fresh and discover new places. So yes, I’m ready for our first PCS.
My 5 Favorite Things About Military Life Everyone Needs To Know
When my hubby left for boot camp I was pregnant with our third child, had moved in with my parents, and was traveling back and forth to St Jude in Memphis every month for our then 2 year old’s cancer checkups (she’s 7 years cancer free now! Hooah!).
Let’s just say my emotions/hormones were on overdrive. Unfortunately, for those said hormones I discovered a show called Army Wives. Not just the show. A marathon on Lifetime. So with a handy DVR I recorded and preceded to watch every episode over the course of 3 days. I had never met an Army wife prior to that summer. I was terrified. Thankfully that did not become my life!
So here are my top 5 favorite things about military life. I’m working on a much longer list as we speak so check back soon for the link!
#5 Barriers are broken down. The moment I tell another military spouse that I am a MilSpouse as well, all of our barriers are down. We may be from completely different worlds but we get each other. We may have nothing else in common but it is enough.
#4 PCSing. No I haven’t done this yet other then our first one but I am looking forward to it. Yes I will miss my friends in El Paso but I love to travel. I love to discover new communities and cultures. Want to know a secret PCS wish? This Texan wants Italy!
#3 Opportunity for education. Each place we go to offers new opportunities. Opportunities to learn the local language (for Ft Bliss that is Spanish). The Military lifestyle is very homeschool friendly. Read why I believe El Paso, TX (Ft Bliss) is homeschool friendly. The more we move the more opportunities there are to teach the kids about the world around us. And for MilSpouses there are some amazing education opportunities and scholarships. The world is our playground!
#2 Honeymoons. Yes deployments stink. But they aren’t as bad as you might think. It’s like so many other things, you never know you can survive it until you do. And once they are over you have this beautiful moment with your spouse! We call it the honeymoon period because you are learning to reconnect all over again.
#1 I mentioned it above. I love the assortment of people I have met in this community. It is tight knit, forgiving, and accepting. Friendships start fast because there isn’t time to waste. It is a true multicultural masterpiece. In Seminary I took classes on how to have a multicultural church. In the military community there is no trying. It just happens! I’ve been the Ministry Director at a church in El Paso that has a strong outreach to the military, our congregation is beautiful! And it happens naturally. If I were in that class now I would simply advise everyone who desired an authentic multicultural congregation to have a Military Ministry.
So that’s a little about who I am, where I’ve been, and what I love in this military life. What would you add to the list? Tell us in the comments. And if you are a MilSpouse Blogger leave a link for us as well.
12 comments
Wow, you’ve never PCS’d!?!@! I think that’s something people are surprised to hear about military families! I know a family who were at the same base for 10 years and a guy who has never deployed in the last ten years (MOS is truck driver, so ??). It was fun reading your story from the linkup.
Thanks Bree! I can’t believe I’ve never PCS’d either. People have come gone and come back since I’ve been at Ft Bliss.
Great post!! Another milspouse here. And WOOHOO for seven years cancer free!!!! November 2013 marked my seven year remission mark! 🙂 I was 21 then and still have way too many complications but I’m alive and that’s what matters!!!
Congratulations! I’m headed over to your blog to read it now 🙂
Which by the way I love!!!!
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Great list!
It’s nice to meet you through Christian Milspouse Bloggers page. We are a reservist family and my husband enlisted late in life but while I haven’t experienced much of what you have, I do appreciate the wisdom you shared. Especially on how deployments stink but they teach you much too. Blessing to you. I look forward to getting to know you better.
Thank you. I am looking forward to keeping up with your love dare posts. Are you doing the military edition or the original book?
Hi Hope! I’m here from Christian MilSpouse Bloggers. And, what a great list! It is funny that you haven’t PCS’d yet. It really is a cool thing to go to different places. My hubby has been in the AF 25 years and we’ve been married 15. The military life can be a wild ride. How true that when we meet mil spouses, the barrier goes down. I’m happy to meet you!
Karin,
I absolutely loved your post Why You are Just a Mom I can’t wait to read more of your posts.
I do love Ft Bliss and the friends I’ve made here but I am ready to go 🙂 Do you have a favorite duty station?
Thanks for your marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you will
be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back down the road.
I want to encourage you to continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!
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