Don't forget, we must maintain our image. These were the words my mother spoke to me last week, and they have been the object of much thought these last two weeks. An image! At my age, being married and the mother of three I wondered if it were possible to have an image. But I knew given the circumstances, which are this week the same as last, exactly what she meant.

My husband Chad is in the army reserves, although lately it feels like the regular army because he has been gone so much. In February and March he went to Germany for three weeks, then last week he went for almost the whole week down to the firing range in Kentucky. And now he is gone again for two and a half weeks to Wisconsin, working on his promotion! I always hate it when he goes away, I really do kind of like that boy, but I try to be a big girl!! So, I try to find something good in him being gone and for me it comes in little blessings like the following: I take a break from things like shaving, wearing make up every day, and sometimes I just brush through my hair instead of doing it right!! So, on this particular morning, I had gotten up late, and had places to be at 9:30, so I bathed quickly, wore no make up, put a quick straighten through my hair, and asked my mom if I looked ok! She said yes, but quick to add that I had an image to maintain. Exactly what does that mean one might ask? For me, its easy............

I am a wife, I am a mother, I am a daughter, a sister. But my other image is that of an army wife. Although Chad has yet to be deployed, I know in my heart it is coming. I guess because of that, it makes you view life differently. I think I love him more (much to his annoyance), I appreciate the things he does more, I appreciate everyday that he is here, especially when you personally know someone whose husband is leaving in a few weeks. Sometimes as I go throughout my day, running errands and working I hear people talk, about the war, the president, the military, and politics and I listen with a certain curiosity. Sometimes I want to join in but know its best to be silent, sometimes I do join in, sometimes I want to tell them how wrong they are, and sometimes I even purposely pull in front of cars with stickers against the war just so they can see my pro war sticker and the army plate on the back of my car. And then there are times when I want to stand up and shout to everyone that "hello, my husband is in the army!" because I guess for me, I am so proud of him. And in some respects, I guess it makes me special. It may be my husband who one day has to defend this country, and give those people who oppose the war the freedom to gripe!! And boy won't they be glad they still have the freedom to grip. I am proud to be an army wife, don't mind my image at all.

I am reminded on a weekly basis of the that no matter what the bad publicity may be there are people who appreciate what our soldiers do and care about the safety of my husband and our family. People at my church ask, people at my bank ask, my neighbors ask, my photographer asks, and even an old classmate from high school asked me about him, and i had no idea he even knew Chad was in the army. Every where I go, I take this image with me, I wear it proudly. And almost daily, I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for, for you see, he is still here with me. So, although he has been gone much of the time since March, and it does make my heart sad, I am truly glad that it is only temporary, and soon he will be back with us. But while he is gone, I will work on my image. I walk around with a little extra pride in my heart, a little extra attitude if you will, for who he is, who that makes me, and if you want to know and have the time, I will be glad to tell you all about that.

So, yes mom, I will remember who I am, even when Chad is gone. I will try to look my best each day, will strive to do my best at mothering, working, and keeping house while he is gone. I will try my best to step up to the plate in all areas while he is gone. And I will always look for opportunities to tell you about my husband Chad, who is almost a Sergeant in the Army Reserves!!

And besides, aren't men in uniform so much better looking!!!
Lucky me!!

Saying goodbye to a friend, we have all done it. This is what I had to do today, say goodbye to someone, or maybe I should something, that I loved very much.

A few years ago my husband, Chad joined the army. It nearly rocked my world as I had never been apart from him for very long at a time. And of course while he was away at basic and AIT, I had a wreck in our van, which did nothing to boost my emotions!!! But he, in his ever calming way, assured me that this was not a big deal, and maybe it was time to get a new car anyway.

So when he got home, we started the adventure of car shopping. We looked at vans and SUV's and talked money, and went back and forth. When it was all said and done, the choices were either a brand new van, or a two year old Chevy Trailblazer. Well, I was really over driving a van, and REALLY wanted that SUV. Yet, I knew Chad thought we should probably get the van.

So we held off a few days for him to decide. Then one evening he came to pick me up after work and said he was taking me back to look again at the cars, nothing I really wanted to do. So when we got to the Chevy dealer, I got to get into that Trailblazer I wanted, and I got to drive it away. While I was at work, he had done all the paperwork, and bought that thing for me. And of course, it's been a great car until just recently when the gas prices started to rise. That's when my husband started to complain. And if you knew my husband, you would know how out of character it is for him to complain. He started threatening to get rid of it, and kept complaining, and as I live and breath, the more he complained the higher the gas prices got. Even I was ready for it to go!!!

So, on Wednesday, I said goodbye to my friend. We traded that gas hog in for a Pontiac Vibe!! Very economical!! Chad spent hours researching and looking and talking to salespeople, nothing I would be willing to do, and he finally made the decision. We would trade. He was kind enough however to make sure I was ok with this. And how in the world do you say no when he is trying to save us money. So, while I know it was the best decision to make, I hated to see my blessed Trailblazer go away, but only because ........my husband bought that car for me!!! Perhaps because he loves me!! I wonder how many other girls can say that?

I think I am a very lucky girl, my husband loves me!!!!