I woke to the sounds of pans clanking in the kitchen and pretended to still be sleeping, knowing it was time for my traditional Mother’s Day breakfast in bed. Going running was on my mind this morning, but I gobbled down every bits of chocolate chip pancakes and coffee with a smile. With my oldest almost 13, my middle son 11 next week and my daughter 8, life has been full of adventures. My intention was to return to teaching immediately after my son’s birth. Once I held him in my arms for the first time, my mind was changed. Besides, we would be constantly moving as a military family. Tenure would never happen and we were already living on one paycheck in case I was ever unable to find a job at a duty station or decided to stay at home.

When son #2 turned two months old, we were off to another duty station. On this assignment he had some medical problems that would follow us through one more move. Certainly, this staying at home thing was imperative at this point. We moved again and suddenly my boys were in school. Now let’s not forget that my husband was active duty and was frequently absent from our lives. We were fortunate to escape long deployments but instead were used to him being away from us often. We took inventory of our family and came to the conclusion that a Princess was missing from our lives. With an anticipated lengthy stay at that duty station, we jumped into the Foster system and were now the proud parents of three beautiful children.

Whenever my husband received an award during his career, he took the time to acknowledge the sacrifices that I made as a military spouse. There are no regrets about my decision of staying home all these years, even though you can tell from my recent writings that I’m restless for a career and trying to find my place in the world now. Certainly there are many military wives who due to their circumstances or personal choices will not stay at home like I did. Whatever path they choose, there is no easy way to be a military wife and mom – period.

Today, we had a little scare while we were out boating. Son #2 was having the time of his life on his kneeboard when he fell of. As we circled to get him, a 30 foot boat going full-speed turned the corner and was heading straight towards him. My screams echoed on Lake Pontchartrain while hubby gunned our boat to cut them off. My son had no idea what was going on, but I grabbed him and pulled him in the boat and said we were done for the day. In a moment, he could have been gone and my heart was in my stomach. Thoughts of the mothers I met at the Gold Star Mother luncheon this month went through my head. On my third Mother’s Day since my husband’s retirement so much has changed in my life. But, being a mother is a constant I welcome and embrace. My children are amazing human beings!

c/p at Hooah Wife and Friends