"Army Wife" isn't an MOS...

For those of you who aren't too good with hints, I am the wife of a soldier in the Army. Now then, before I go on, I want everyone to re-read that sentence. I am the wife of a soldier. As in, I am not in the Army. I am his wife. (And for extra clarification because some women are gossipy, he joined after we were married, so no I'm not a tag-chaser either.)  Last time I checked when he and I were thumbing through the big ol' book of MOS's (military occupational specialties) there wasn't one for "Army Wife."
Now the reason I say all of that is this: I did not sign any papers, I did not make any verbal agreements, didn't shake any hands, didn't make any secret winks and nods to agree to be on call 24-7, to follow rules, to be held accountable for things and yet here I stand. (Well, I'm sitting presently but you get the idea.) This lifestyle is a career for us both. It consumes our time, it fulfills our needs, it provides for us and things are expected of both of us. Someday when we have children, things will be expected of them even though they didn't sign up for anything either. The saying people who are not in our shoes seem to like goes something along these lines: "You knew what you were getting into."  But did we? Sure, we knew that, especially now, a deployment is probably an inevitability, military training and FTX's mean time apart, and worrying is going to happen. But did we know that the work hours would be unstable and bounce around? Did we know that when they say "We're going to be emphasizing family time before deployment" that what they actually meant was "Make sure you see your family as much as you can after work because you're going to be spending the majority of your time with us." Did we know that deployment looming over our heads would send us on the rollercoaster of emotions from shock, sadness, impatience, guilt, anger, sadness, frustration, happiness, diligence, readjustment, growth, hurt and the others we never let out? We never knew everything until it happened. We couldn't have known what would happen or how we would handle it until we were in the life living it.
When my father was in the military many years ago, the family of a soldier was considered unnecessary baggage. My dad and his comrades were told for years "If the Army wanted you to have a wife, they'd have issued you one." Times are changing. At each meeting, each briefing, each class and each speech we go to, we hear thanks for the service of our spouse, and then after we hear thanks for ours service as their support system as well. We are recognized as a crucial part of our soldiers' lives. We are scene as a part of the Army and a living, striving, growing workforce to aide our spouses, families, communities and country. We are no longer the chaff but instead are honey to the grain in the bread we share as a military community. This is the best life I could have ever hoped for. It is rough, it is full of heartache, but it has blessed us. Our cup runneth over.
And to think, the only promise I had to make was to Love, Honor & Cherish.

<3s
Fae