“Thank You” From a Grateful Military Spouse
“It takes a village” The stories of a meaningful tribe from the military spouses and chief executive assistants that bring Squared Away to life.
We’ve all heard the phrase “it takes a village” and, though it’s typically used in reference to child rearing, “village” takes on a whole new meaning for military families. Our villages are the folks who show up for us every single time. No questions asked. Even when we don’t know that we need them. They’re our people, our heroes, and our lives simply don’t work without them.
Each of us has our own unique support system and, as I began to consider my own village — my parents, my sisters-in-law, my husband’s parents, and my friends — I asked my fellow Squared Away Chief Executive Assistants about the people who matter most to them, too.
Squared Away’s Military Spouses on Their Village
Heather Patinos says that “My job within Squared Away, and military spouses who are placed around where we live have all been my family in more ways than one.”
And if she could send a message to her village, Heather “would thank them for putting up with the random issues, the venting, and tears that have spontaneously come. Also for uplifting and positiveness and strength that has kept me going throughout my marriage to a military man.”
For Shelby Merryweather, it’s her mother in law. “She loves my husband so much that she’s really the only person I feel can relate to a lot of the ache, pain, and worry that comes with this life,” Shelby explains.
“She’s there to worry with me not only through deployments but through dangerous training and stressful schools.”
Shelby’s message for her mother in law is straightforward and sweet; “I love you I love you I love you. Really I do. I could never make it through without your support. Thank you for crying with me when it feels heavy and scary. For screaming obscenities with me when it’s too much. And laughing with me when I get word of yet another change of plans.”
Laura Van Wettering leans on the support of the wives in her husband’s squadron and these ladies uplift each other through monthly coffee and happy hour meetups, daily communication in their WhatsApp group, weekly dinners, playdates, and much more!
They even have a “whine week” where spouses can declare that they’ve had a bad week and receive wine drop offs from each of their fellow spouses! Laura is so thankful for her fellow spouses and wants to tell them “I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! Thank you for listening to my rants and praises. I would be a wreck after each deployment and detachment if it wasn’t for all of you.”
Maggie Alger, too, cites her fellow spouses — specifically “the wives I met when I first got married and moved to Camp Pendleton” — as her source of support. “They took me under their wing and made the transition into military life so much easier,” she explains. “They were the best support when my husband deployed right after my daughter was born — I couldn’t have done it without them!”
Melissa Grady has always found her village in “my group of neighbors that help with cooking, kids, and overall mental health.” “It’s a blessing knowing I can call them or knock on their doors at any time, and they will always be there for me,” she says, and if she could tell her neighbors anything, it would be; “thank you from the bottom of my heart for always being there for me!”
And to our families, our friends, our fellow spouses, our neighbors, and everyone who is a part of our villages — this “thank you” is for you:
To My Village,
Thank you for loving me and my family selflessly and unconditionally.
Thank you for saying ‘yes.’ Thank you for being there when I need a babysitter, or someone to take me to the doctor, or someone to be my stateside emergency contact. Thank you for the meals you’ve cooked and the cards you’ve sent.
Thank you for being generous with your time and space. Thank you for answering the phone. Thank you for boarding planes and logging hours in the car to get to us. Thank you for welcoming my family into your home for holidays, for visits, or during times when we need a loving place to land.
Thank you for giving me grace. Thank you for forgiving me, and continuing to reach out, when I haven’t called you back in weeks, in months, because I’m adjusting to a new town or another deployment. Thank you for reinforcing that I’m a good parent. Thank you for being my constant, my origin, and my anchor when I feel lost.
Thank you for checking on me when conflict or hate breaks loose in the world. Thank you for thinking of our family even though you’re scared, too. Thank you for being proud of my spouse. Thank you for your patriotism, for your American flag waving proudly, and for supporting military families.
Thank you for knowing me well enough not to take my absence at your events or my last-minute cancellation personally. Thank you for knowing that I love you, that I’m thinking of you, and that I appreciate you even when I go quiet. Thank you for reminding me that I have a voice.
Thank you for showing up without hesitation, and for being there when we’ve needed you most. Thank you for standing beside us. Thank you for holding our hands and for putting your arms around us in good times and in bad. Thank you for being a part of this. Thank you for being you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Sincerely,
A Grateful Military Spouse
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