This Road We Travel…

Sometimes I feel like people's first instinct upon learning I am an Army Wife is to feel sorry for me. I don't understand it, but it is true. I guess I probably felt this way at one point also; long ago, before I joined these ranks. Tonight, I want to describe to you this road I (we) travel.

I have moved 12 times in the past 8 years… 12 times. I'm not joking either. Here goes… Allana and I left Florida in July of 2002 and moved to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. We stayed at Keesler until the end of October. From Mississippi, we moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. After a ton of debate, I thought it would be better to finish some schooling in Florida, and in May of 2004 I packed the two kiddos up and moved home-for 4 months. In August we moved back and into a new house on post in Tucson. It was here that Eric and I made the greatest military friends we could have ever asked for, Melissa and Chris! In April of 2005, Eric was getting ready to go to Army OCS, so the Air Force moved us back home to Florida while he went through some training. September 29^th 2005 took us to Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas…. Get ready folks. We got a house on post at Bliss immediately, stayed there for 1 year before we were moved into new quarters. We lived in the new house for a year and then thought it would be better to move home while Eric toured Korea. After 4 months at home, in which I realized that everyone's life was basically too non-military for me, I moved back to El Paso. I was lucky enough to move into the house that connected to my old backyard, and also to my great friends Kristi and John! The great thing about Bliss was that, even with all of the moves, Kristi, Kristin and I were always within one house of one another! At the time, we did not realize the blessing of that; we all do now. Eric was gone until May of 2009, and as soon as he returned, we were packing up to head to Fort Sill. After a six month school, the moving truck came once again, and packed us off to Fort Stewart. I have always been lucky enough to move directly into on post housing (except in Tampa…), and at Stewart I moved into a 3 bedroom while I waited for a four bedroom. We moved here in December of 2009, and by May, 2010, I was in my new and, hopefully last home on Stewart. Go on, I know you want to count them up…. It's 12 (TWELVE) moves, I promise. Note though that most of our moves are during summer. I know that if it is a mistake to move, I always have time to get the kiddos back into the routines they left (which often times we did). Think of it as a vacation of sorts….. just crazy Nikki style.

My point to all of the rambling, though, is because I want you all to know that this road I have traveled is awesome. On this road, I meet the most amazing people. We are all so different, but the main bond that we all have is that we do this life together. In how many arenas in life will you move to a new place, and know; just know, that there will be someone to greet you with open arms when you get there. I can pretty much guarantee that from here on out, anywhere I go there will be someone I know. And, by know, I don't just mean know…. I mean someone whose shoulder has supported many of my tears, or whom has cried on mine… someone who has made me a meal when I had a baby; or whom I have cooked one for. Gals I have volunteered many an hour with! Yes, we military wives do volunteer work you could not begin to even compete with! Believe me you couldn't. Ready for the volunteer acronyms? FRG, PTA, PWOC, ACS, AFTB, AFAP, USO, FSOSC, FSPSC, FBOCSA, MSEC and MCC… to name a few. And, yes, I have volunteered some time with each of these groups, as have many others I know. Ask my friends how many times I have gotten them to "help me out" with something that I volunteered to do. Not one of them has EVER complained- well, not to me anyway. It's not only the sad times when we are there to support one another… you know those homecoming photos many of you non-military people find so fascinating? Those are generally taken by one of these awesome individuals. Many times, they go to welcome a friends spouse home when theirs is still away… just to take the pictures. Now, that's a true friend. When I am having a bad day, or even a good day for that matter, I hang a mini-flag out front that says "Happy Hour", and these friends come and hang out. They even bring food and drink along.

The down side to this road we travel is that we very frequently say "goodbye". For all the times we meet someone new, we add a face to say goodbye to. It's beyond difficult, and at the time, it honestly feels like the end of the world. Soon after that moving truck unloads our shipment at our new location, though, there is new; usually friendly face to say hello to. You think it's hard to form an attachment in the civilian world- you have no idea. The point to my story is this… This is the road I CHOSE to travel. Don't feel sorry for me. It is an HONOR to live this life as I do. Thank you for paying my hubby's salary my dearest civilian tax payer friends (oh, we pay taxes too, so technically, we contribute to our own salary…). I love that I have been given the opportunity to travel, see new places, and meet new and awesome people. And don't forget the best part, the man who walks through my door wears a smokin' hot uniform. This IS the road we travel…