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There's No Such Thing as a Typical Military Spouse Experience
Every military spouse has a story to tell. Those stories could be humorous or heartbreaking, but no two are alike. And, some spouses are reluctant to share these stories because they think they are alone in their experiences. But that's not true. In fact, many brave military spouses from Ft. Hood, Texas gathered at the SpouseBUZZ Live event - held at the Plaza Hotel - to share all of their stories and experiences, both joyful and challenging, with each other.
Spouses and SpouseBUZZ Live panelists (SpouseBUZZ.com bloggers Andi Hurley, ArmyWifeToddlerMom, and Joan D'Arc, were just a few of 12 bloggers present) discussed their experiences with constant relocation, frequent deployments, and homecoming. Additionally, the panelists talked about some of the harder issues of being a military spouse such as, when your spouse becomes seriously injured, and raising children alone during a deployment.
"SpouseBuzz is not going to shy away from the tough topics," said Andi Hurley.
One of the most difficult subjects discussed that hit home for a lot of SpouseBUZZ attendees was reintegration. Blogger, ArmyWifeToddlerMom, gave a tearful account of how her husband's homecoming was stressful due to the significant changes that had taken place at home while he was deployed.
"I was worried that I had gained all of this weight [from her first pregnancy], and there was a new baby he hadn't seen, and that he was going to come home to this whole other person," explained ArmyWifeToddlerMom.
"I was terrified ... but he didn't care about that stuff. I made it [homecoming] a monster that it didn't need to be," she concluded.
Another complex topic addressed was hearing that your spouse was injured while serving. Army wife, Joan D'Arc, described how her husband sustained a serious injury from an improvised explosive device (IED) while deployed in Iraq.
She described the heartbreak and anxiety of getting the phone call informing her that her husband had been hurt, to seeing him incapacitated and in pain in a hospital bed.
"[I told him] As long as you'ew home with me, you not having an arm or leg doesn't bother me," she said.
Joan D'Arc continued to describe how she stayed by her husband's side day-in and day-out for weeks on end, until he improved. Today, he does not have full use of his hand, but he was able to make a recovery.
One of Joan's most pertinent pieces of advice for military spouses was to not compare experiences.
"I can not compare my experience to yours and you can not compare yours to mine, all though it sucked, but everyone's experience is different," she said.
SpouseBUZZ Live, helped military spouses come forward and let each other know that even though every story is different, they are not alone. SpouseBUZZ.com is also a great way to keep sharing those experiences online. Spouses can read blogs from Andi Hurley, Joan D'Arc, or ArmyWifeToddlerMom (just to name a few) about the topics - reintegration, the War on Terror, and deployments - that make you laugh, and make you cry.
To read these blogs or submit a question or comment about military spouse life, visit www.SpouseBUZZ.com.
