I did not grow up in a military family. The closest thing to knowing someone that served was my Memother's brother and a handful of older men that went to our church.
It's funny where life takes you.
For fourteen years the military life is all I've known. It's where I have met the majority of my adult friends. It's where I have met some of the most interesting people and been to some of the most interesting places. If not for the military I would not know as many veterans as I do. For that, I am thankful. So to all my military friends currently serving or have served and to those I have not met yet (The army is a small world), I say thank you.
There is another group of veterans that for the most part go unrecognized. The ones that don't wear the combat boots. I'm talking about the spouses and children of our Soldiers.
In the nine months that Steven was deployed this last year, I never once heard my kids complain. Sure, they wished Daddy could be here to see them do this or that. I'm sure this is not just my kids, this is military kids. This is their life. I've seen pictures of my friend's boys who as they get older and their dad is deployed, they take on that roll of "man of the house". These kids understand that birthdays will be missed. T-ball, karate, piano recitals will not be seen and heard, but it's who they are and they roll with it.
I have been very fortunate that some of my dearest friends are military spouses. They know what it means to be the lone Household 6. They do the jobs of both parents. They take care of all the household jobs. They stand tall during deployments and lean on each other. They pick up and move so often that they have to stop and think about what their new zip code is ( I've lived in Texas for a year, and I still have to think about and not give our New York zip code). They leave houses, jobs, friends, and family to follow their Soldier to a post or base out in the middle of nowhere.
So on this Veterans Day I thank those of you who do not wear the combat boots, but have followed behind those who do.
(This blog post is dedicated to my girls from 3-16 FA. Near or far no matter how much time has past, you have and still are some of my dearest friends. )
Don't let the title of this blog fool you. In no way do I think I deserve an award. However, I do want to give the thank you speech that people give after they win the award.
So just imagine me standing in front of a microphone looking all surprised....
I could never begin to name names because
there are way too many.
There were so many of you who emailed me to get Steven’s
mailing address to send him cards/packages.There were many churches and organizations that sent loads (and I do
many loads) of care packages to Steven and the Soldiers he was with.There was so much given to them that they
began to call it the Free-X (for those non-military, the PX is where we do our
shopping on post). There were churches/organizations that just through word of mouth and knowing someone we know, sent care packages. If I could, I would travel to all of you and thank you in person for giving of your time and money to send things to Soldiers that you didn't even know.
So many times I received a text or an email from friends
that was sent at the right time. Whether it was something funny or to let me know they were praying for me, it meant so much.I had
many people that let me know that they were praying for Steven, the Soldiers
that are deployed and their families. Imagine me giving you all a great big hug.
So for all those things, I thank you.
Most of all I thank God for his protection over Steven.I began to think the other of the day of the
things He has protected Steven from not only during this deployment, but during his other deployments as well. That led me to the think of the
things that He has protected Steven from that we don’t even know about.I thank Him for that.
We have song anthems in our life at different times and for different reasons. During this deployment (and will continue after) my theme song was this, Jesus At the Center.
On the night Madelynn was born, This Guy did our taxes between my contractions.
The day we brought her home from the hospital, This Guy sat with her at the piano and placed her tiny hands on the keys for her very first lesson.
This Guy talked to Wesley in the womb and said, "Dude, it would be really awesome if you were born on Leap Day". Dude listened and was born three weeks early on Leap Day.
This Guy takes time to have Daddy/Daughter dates and Daddy/Dude time.
This Guy has shown Madelynn how a girl should expect to be treated and has shown Wesley how to treat a girl by the way he treats me.
Even from several times zones away, This Guy is an incredible Daddy.
I don't ever want my readers to think "Oh, poor Millers." This blog is purely for fun and to give a realistic view of the life of a military family.
You may now commence reading.
Today was a HUGE day of firsts in our house. Dude played his very first t-ball game against another team. He also played in his very first piano recital. Madelynn also played in the piano recital and while it was not her first, it's just as special and important as if it was.
In a military family the Soldier tends to miss a lot of firsts. Whether it's a deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq, living in Korea with out the family, an NTC rotation or just being out in the field, they miss out on a lot of family firsts.
Because military kids have learned to share their Daddy/Mommy with the Army/Air Force/Navy/Marines they rarely complain about not having that parent there to cheer them on, clap or help blow out candles.
In our house, over the last 10 years, Steven has missed first steps and words, a first birthday, 1st grade play, choir performances, piano recitals, t-ball games and preschool graduation just to name a few.
But you know what?
In our house we try to look on the bright side of life! He did not miss their births (thank the good Lord!). He has been here for another first birthday and a sixth birthday and several other birthdays. He was here for the first day of school this year. And with the help of technology, he was able to watch today's piano recital and see pictures of t-ball in real time.
All this to say, this military life is what you make of it. We choose to celebrate now and we will celebrate again when Steven comes home! This works for you civilians, too!
And from my point of view, this just means more cupcakes to eat!
Growing up, I don't remember our house ever being egged. Toilet papered, maybe, but not egged. The wrath of my father on the youth that would dare egg his house would not have been pretty.
On Thursday morning we walked outside to find that our house had been egged! Not in the way that you would think, but Easter egged! Yes, a dozen plastic eggs were scattered in our front yard.
Honestly, I was a bit freaked at first, but the kids thought it was awesome! I found this note on our front door explaining what was going on. (I wish I had pictures, but it's really dark at 6:45 a.m.)
I've never heard of doing this, but this is such a neat idea to do in your neighborhood or for your kid's friends.
I was able to "egg" our neighbor's house this afternoon in the day light where her girls could see the eggs (I didn't want to do it at night because I do not need to have the police stop me and question my good deeds). She sent me a message telling me the girls were so surprised and excited to find the eggs!
So join in on the fun and go out and make some kiddos (or big kids) day by (Easter) egging their house!
My front door signaling my house has already been egged.
A dream is a wish your heart makes When you're fast asleep In dreams you lose your heartaches Whatever you wish for, you keep Have faith in your dreams and someday Your rainbow will come smiling thru No matter how your heart is grieving If you keep on believing The dream that you wish will come true
Five years have gone by way too fast! It makes me a little sad that you are a whole hand old. I guess there is comfort in knowing that you are really only one years old, being born on Leap Day and all.
You are the best little boy any parent could ever ask for. You are easy going and laid back. You are still rough and love to wrestle and, to my chagrin, fart. And on command at that. You are also hilarious! You are by far one of the funniest 5 year olds I've ever met. You've got some crazy mad dance moves, too. I don't know where you get them from, but you've got them.
You have been very obedient in your first five years of life. You came out of the womb being obedient. Your due date was March 21. Your Daddy thought it would be great to have a Leap Day baby. I told him he was crazy! That was way too early. The doctor said he was crazy, too! So, he had a little talk with you. He told you that it would be so awesome for you to be born on February 29th. Sure enough, you obeyed and were born on Leap Day. For being born 3 weeks early, you were 7lb and 7oz and completely healthy.
You have been our Dude from day one. You love Superheroes and "Sirs". I think that's a great combination. When you are asked what you want to be when you grow up, you say an astronaut, a teacher, and a "sir". (For those of you wondering what a sir is, that's all military people)
You love picking out "Dude" trucks and going to baseball games. You would be happy just to eat at Chik Fil A every day. Oh, and yogurt, too.
I know that you are going to be a great pianist like your Daddy and sister. You already impress me with what you can play and you're only 5 (kind of)
You are just beginning to understand that life as a military kid is tough. You still ask about all your friends in New York and when are we going to move back. It's not easy to move, but like your sister, you make friends so easily. As you grow up you will think it is awesome to have friends all over the world.
I'm so proud of how you remember the scriptures that we learn every week. I'm glad you are hiding His word in your heart. I'm excited to see what you do for Jesus as you grow up.
I hope the next five years will be as easy and fun filled as the first, but I'm sure we will have some bumps along the way, but remember that I will forever love you.
How can it possibly be 10 years since you were born? How can you possibly be two full hands old? It really only seems like last week that you came into this world on your actual due date (which I appreciate your timeliness, because we discussed while you were still in the womb my obsession with being on time).
You came into the world with a little drama, which should have been warning right then. You were bigger than they thought (8 lbs and 13 oz bigger) and they had to do an emergency c-section. For a split second (which actually seemed like an eternity) we thought you were a boy. The nurse said, "look at the little guy" and in the split second all I could think about was the pretty purple outfit my new son was going home in. Your Daddy quickly got clarification that you were actually still a girl. So from birth you were a drama filled red head.
I remember being alone with you late that night in the hospital room thinking what in the world am I going to do the with this baby. I was new mom, what did I know? I still sit alone in the house at night with you now and wonder what in the world am I going to do with this baby? I'm still a new mom, what do I know? I've never raised a pre-teen before!
You have been through so much in your short 10 years. You are so strong. Stronger than many adults. It's not easy being a military kid. In just 10 years you have had your Daddy deploy three times, moved 6 times, and have gone to 4 different schools. My heart breaks for you a little with each move because it's hard to move to new schools, but you have done so beautifully. Making friends so easily.
You are a wonderful student. With each move you have had to learn the different ways of each school, but you catch on and you do it. Some days are tougher than others, but you don't give up.
You have made me and your Daddy so proud. You are an amazing piano player. A terrific singer that has tried out and made the school choir twice! For only being 10, it's unbelievable what you can do.
You are a traveler. You like to see the world. It doesn't scare you try something new. You have been on more adventures and seen more amazing places than most people. There's so much more!
You can be full of drama at times. Many times it leads me to extreme eye rolling and you in some trouble, but honestly this could be your way to scholarships for college. Yale and Harvard have great drama programs.
You are extremely headstrong. Sometimes that gets you in trouble, but I know that it will do you well as you get older. You will not be pushed down. You will go for what you want and not let anyone tell you that you can't do it. I think of the Shakespeare line, “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” It describes you well.
You have a kind and sensitive heart. You have a special place in your heart for children with special needs. That's a calling that only a few people get. Special people. Very few children would give up their recess to volunteer in the Special Needs class. Not many 10 year olds would already know that they want to be a Special Needs teacher. That's amazing.
Most of all you love Jesus. It makes me very proud when you play and sing worship songs. It's a joy to watch you get excited to play for church. I can't wait to see what you do for Him in the next few years.
We have our days when we get on each others nerves and I know there will be many more in the future, but I am so glad I get to be your mom! I'm so glad that He chose me to raise you. There are days that I fail and days that you act, well, like a red head, but you should always know that I will forever love you.
Happy 10th Birthday, Madelynn Claire!
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