What it means to be a Navy Wife

Flip Flops and Combat Boots has teamed up with Anchors Away Etsy shop to host a contest for Navy Significant others. This is the first contest I have entered, and am quite excited about it. Anchors Away offers some super cute items on her Etsy shop.. I can already tell it's going to get me in trouble with the husband.

The winner of the contest will win this awesome clutch bag!

To enter I have to tell Nicole and Marianna what it means to be a Navy Wife, and post the best picture of my husband and myself. This is a similar question I asked in the previous contest I hosted open to all Military Significant others. But I never posted what it means to ME to be a Military Wife/ Navy Wife. So this is a great opportunity for me to share that with all of you, my followers.. and hopefully winning the awesome clutch as well! ;)

Let me start off by telling you why I chose this picture. This picture was taken on December 19, 2008. The day I became a Navy wife, the day we started on a new journey.. a new adventure. Not knowing where it would take us, not knowing the people we would meet, the places we would see.. not knowing what the Military life had in store for us. It is the reason my blog is titled "Married to a Sailor: The Journey of a Navy Wife". This is my journey, my life.. and this is what it means to me:

I was brought up with Military in my family. Daddy Wade was in the Navy and out of the Navy before he met my mom. My great grandfather was also in the Navy. I grew up hearing an occasional story from my grandfather, always seeing pictures on his wall and it bringing a smile my face (by the way, he's around 90 and still sports a high and tight). Both my Aunt and Uncle were in the Airforce and retired from the Airforce, I loved hearing them talk about it. My cousin was in the Army, had been hurt in Iraq and was discharged. My brother joined the Airforce straight out of high school. Never realized how proud I could be of someone until the day I watched my brother leave for basic training. I always had a since of Patriotism, a lot of pride in our military. I had thought hard about joining myself, and had talked to several recruiters. Then I met my husband.

I never told my husband I was considering the military. We dated nearly a year and he started talking about joining the service. I honestly was a little scared. I didn't know where it would take our relationship. I was madly in love with him. He came to my house one day before we both had to go to work. He sat me down and asked me If I thought it was a good idea for him to join the Military. I was just his girlfriend. What do I say? It's not my decision. And that's what I told him. I grabbed his hand and said, "I support what ever decision you make. But I cannot make the decision for you. I am only your girlfriend and you cannot base your life decisions around me". He looked up at me and said, "This is about you. This is about us. I plan to marry you. This is your decision too." Talk about making you choke up! I knew we were serious, I knew I wanted to marry him.. but never saw that coming. We sat there and talked about it. The next day, he signed his name to the United states Navy. Three months later, he asked me to marry him. Two short months later, we were married. The next month, he left for Navy Boot Camp.

So, Back to the question. What does being a Navy Wife mean to me? 

• It means it's more important than ever to have good communication, and to rely on communication of the the physical aspects of a Civilian relationship. Living life through emails, and setting up Mobile email so no matter where you are, not missing the simple emails that just say "I love you and miss you so much", and your heart skip a beat as you read those words from your husband while he's out at sea.
• It means being strong, knowing you can handle the life of a Navy wife. You will hear the saying, "Only the Strong Survive", I believe it is the truth. If you don't believe you're strong enough for this, how can your husband?
• It means that every kiss feels like the first and never loosing those butterflies.
• It means adventure, taking risks and taking things as they come. Getting to see new places and experience different cultures.
• It means not planning anything, and learning to be spontaneous. If you don't make plans, you can't blame the Navy for breaking your plans. Just enjoying everything on a day to day basis.
• It means learning that you won't always be number one priority and when you have kids, they won't be either. Means smiling and even laughing when you hear "The Navy is my husband's mistress, and that bitch gets all the attention" because it's the truth.
• It means putting your big girl panties on and enjoying the ride. Yeah sure, things get tough, but it's all about how you take them and what you make of them. It's learning to see the positive in every situation. 
• It's having even more pride for the Navy and Military. It's a lot different than a brother, or Aunt/ Uncle being in... when it's your husband, You're apart of it.
• It means determining HOW you let the Navy defines you. You can say it doesn't define you, but you're ignoring it. In having Pride for your husband, in being patriotic, living this lifestyle.. it's already defining you. To me, I define myself as a Proud Navy Wife, married to an amazing man who IS a Sailor. Do I love him just because he is a Sailor? No. I would love him just as much if he was just a plumber. 
• It means staying positive, to keep yourself from getting depressed when he's away. 
• It means making some of the most unbreakable friendships imaginable. Finding others who understand without saying the emotions that come with the Job of being a Navy wife. 
• It means being in a position to help new Navy wives, giving advice and direction because we were all lost at one point and it's nice to have a helping hand.

It means so much to me, I could go on forever about what Being a Navy wife means to me, this is my life and my husband's life. My husband is career with the Navy. We have many years ahead of us. Why not enjoy it? You choose your own happiness.

I hope you Enjoyed my Entry. :)