Sara Evans invite.

haha Watch this! It may not be the best acting in the world, but this is my boyfriend's company trying to get Sara Evans to perform for them in Qatar. He is the one looking for the DVD and the guy that talks to him is his brother. 

Proud to be a military girlfriend.

So, I went to the post office today and mailed Woody's first care package! After waiting almost 30 minutes in line, it was finally my turn. Apparently everyone and their mother felt the need to go to that exact post office at that time.. and I'm pretty sure there's several post offices here. Anyways, I found this a few days ago and I absolutely love it. Just thought I would share...

"I am a military girlfriend. I hold no formal recognition with the powers that be. I am at the bottom of the chain. I hold no Military ID card; I am not a dependent or a parent. The man I love may face unspeakable dangers and I am at the mercy of those who possess this recognition for news. I understand this and accept this. I have promised to be here for him upon his return no matter how long he is away. They may say I am insane for making such a commitment, but I hold onto our promises and have faith that he will come home safe. I know well that my love for him fuels him in the worst of times. There is no ring on my finger to symbolize our commitment, though I love him no less for it. I hope every day that he will be able to call because a simple 30-second phone call can bring the greatest spectrum of emotions smiling with tears in my eyes from so much joy and pain. My relationship is based on a brief communication where 'I love you' and 'I’m okay' speaks more than volumes and gives me the strength to keep going. I take no moment spent together for granted. I hold onto every touch, caress, kiss, and every word. I have memorized the feel of his skin, his smell, the sound of his voice and I play it over and over in my mind so that I will not forget. I cry myself to sleep some nights because missing him hurts so badly, but wake up the next morning, brush myself off, and start a new day."

^ This is great. It's true that most people don't realize the struggles of being a military girlfriend. They think it's only the wives that have it rough. But, let's not forget the wonderful breed of strong women out there that are proud to hold the title of girlfriend. 

Just Keep Swimming.

I love how I start a blog and then neglect it for 20 days. But, life has been hectic. With school and my new job I just don't have any time for myself! So, I noticed something interesting today. I think I need to vent! Many women in general do this. But, I'm going to talk about one in particular. Let's call her Erica. So Erica is engaged to a man in the Army. Erica has "Army Wife" and "US Military Spouse" listed as her employers on Facebook. This bothers me. It bothers me a lot. I understand that she loves and cares for her fiance, but she doesn't do what he does. She isn't overseas fighting for our country. Why does she think it's ok to list these as her employers? It's not a job; she doesn't get paid for it. And she's not even married to the guy yet! So she isn't a spouse or wife. In asking her why she has those listed she replied with "well it is a job". Ok, whatever. Another thing she does is post statuses twenty times a day about her and her soldier. That's the words she uses: "my soldier", "my soldier", "my soldier". Not my fiance, my boyfriend, my man, no. It's almost like she's obsessed with the fact that he's in the military and that's the only reason she is with him. She just likes to brag about it and blast it all over Facebook to get sympathy over missing him so much. Yea, I miss my boyfriend. I miss him A LOT. But, I don't plaster it all over Facebook. I honestly think she would die if he decided not to reenlist. That would just ruin her whole "military fantasy". AND let's just mention that he is gone on a six month deployment. She cries about it to the world every day. She doesn't even realize how good she has it. Uhm, I'm going through a one year deployment and I don't ask for sympathy. GAH. Ok, end vent.
 On a happier note, I've been able to talk to Woody every day since he's been over there. We have a schedule worked out where we can talk when he gets home from work and when I get home from school before having to go to work. The internet has been pretty crappy at times. But, today it was wonderful. We talked for an hour and a half completely uninterrupted on Skype! It was seriously amazing. I am actually quite surprised at my ability to handle this deployment. I have been thinking positive thoughts: it's not the end of the world, he will come home to me, and r&r will be here before I know it! His r&r is around four months away now. I am ecstatic. It really isn't too far away the more I think about it. I can make it. I will be fine. Just keep living day to day and he will be home soon. Or as Dory would say: "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming".

What not to say to a military girlfriend/fiance/wife

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"

This one comes in at number one on the "duh" list for everymilitary wife. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers in the backs of our minds -- but thanks, brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.

2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."

This is intended to be a compliment, but it's just a little annoying. Here's why: It's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cellphones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable; we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So, we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.

3. "At least he's not in Iraq."

This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbands are in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? An international game of golf? Guys are fighting and dying over there.

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas / anniversary / birthday / birth of a child / wedding / family reunion, etc.?"

Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.

5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"

Short answer: try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife out there who gets bored when her husband leaves, but I have yet to meet her. For the rest of us, those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people. That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored, and drinking massive amounts of wine always helps keep me busy.

6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"

This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they "can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq because there is work that needs to be done.

7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."

Sure, we do learn coping skills, and it's true the more deployments you've gone through, the easier dealing with it becomes. And we figure out ways to make life go smoother while the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before. The worry never goes away.

8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."

This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's three-week trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 12–15-month or more deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference, nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an IED (improvised explosive device), your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, he flew comfortably on a commercial plane, slept between crisp white sheets and ate well, paying for everything with an expense account. There is no comparison. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12-month combat deployment to a business trip is like comparing a Ford Taurus with a Mercedes convertible.

9. "Wow, you must miss him."

This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not, and they're now divorced.

10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"

I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province on a map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, know that Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadr is the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City is his home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and that it is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. Our country has been at war in Afghanistan for nine years and at war in Iraq for seven years. These basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in the papers every day -- and on maps everywhere.

11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there."

Yes, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects your right to make stupid, ignorant comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask to be hit by anything -- he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by the way, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fighting for your freedom.

12. "Don't you miss sex? I couldn't do it!"

Hmmm. Seriously ... military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most relationships probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation.

13. "Well, in my opinion ..."

Stop right there. I didn't ask for your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a restaurant when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our butts off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are inviting them to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the president. Especially while we're trying to heat up our Lean Cuisine in the crappy office microwave.

Last but not least ...

14. "Oh, that's horrible ... I'm so sorry!"

He's doing his job and he's tough. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our military fights the wars abroad so those wars stay abroad and you stay safe.

Here we go!

So, I guess I should start off by better introducing myself. I'm Megan. I'm 20 years old and I live in Columbia, Missouri. I'm originally from O'Fallon, MO. I am a sophomore at the University of Missouri- Columbia (otherwise known as Mizzou). I am pre-med with a major of biological sciences and a minor of psychology. I am taking a ton of credit hours this semester and I just got a job at Boyce and Bynum Pathology Labs. I hope to make this deployment fly by! About that deployment; my boyfriend, Woody, is in the U.S. Army National Guard. I love that man more than anything in the world. Cheesy, I know. But it's true. I've never felt the way I feel about him. It truly is spectacular. He is the love of my life, the man of my dreams. Unlike many military girlfriends/wives I will not cheat on him! He knows that I will be 100% faithful. He is the only man I ever want to be with.  He recently deployed to the middle east for an entire year! AHH! Which is my reason for starting this in the first place. Sometimes, you just need to vent. And it's hard for me to vent to most people I know; mainly because they have no clue what I'm going through. And they try to sympathize, but it never comes out right. I have a few friends who are girlfriends/wives of other men deployed with Woody. By a few, I mean three. Other than that, I'm on a ton of Facebook support pages. I have met some great women on those, yet it's hard to really talk to a lot of the women because all they do is cause drama. I don't like drama. Therefore, I am writing this. I doubt anyone will ever read this besides me. So, I guess I'm venting to myself. But hey.. I can look back on this after the deployment and laugh at myself. I think the hardest ting so far has been living in the big apartment alone. Before Woody left, we got a duplex/apartment. Basically it's half of a house. We got it because it has a yard for the dog and Woody knew I didn't want to live in the dorms this year. It feels so empty without him here. Just me and the dog. It's definitely not easy being on this side of the deployment. I have a dog to take care of, a house to maintain, bills to pay, a car to maintain, school, and a job. And if something happens, I don't have him here to help me. Everything is my responsibility. I don't sleep well at all. It takes me hours of laying in bed to finally fall asleep. Without him holding me, it's impossible to sleep well. I wake up constantly and barely get any sleep. I'm hoping this will improve once we get farther into the deployment. I am already counting down the days to r&r. I'm excited, but at the same time, I'm scared of having to say goodbye for the second time. I've heard that it's even harder to say goodbye after r&r.