Celebrate the Military Spouses in Your Life, You Couldn't Do This Without Them
by Rebecca Alwine - April 20th, 2022
Military spouses are different. We move around the world for our service members, and we make lifelong friendships along the way. And it’s ok to celebrate that!
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed the proclamation designating the Friday before Mother’s Day as Military Spouse Appreciation Day. A day set aside in recognition of “the profound importance of spouse commitment to the readiness and well-being of service members on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserve, and to the security of our Nation.”
We can celebrate every day if we want, but it is nice to have some attention one day a year. Newer spouses, if you’re hoping your service member will remember this date, you’re going to just have to tell them about it. The real appreciation, the real thanks, the real celebration will come from your military spouse community.
Why are we celebrating Military Spouse Appreciation Day?
Military spouses have changed the way the military community works. They’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to give to nonprofits and college students. They have started companies that are on the Inc5000 list. They’ve saved lives as nurses and doctors. They’ve protected each other through legal proceedings. They teach our children.
Military spouses come from all backgrounds and when they work together, it truly is for the good of the military community, and the various communities we live in. We feed and care for the homeless through the Bautista Project. We share our experiences on marriage and how to make it work on platforms like the Lifegiver Podcast. We volunteer millions of hours each year in hundreds of different areas. And we are among the ranks of presidentially appointed positions.
Military spouses celebrate each other
Sure, it’s nice if our service member posts about their appreciation on this day, but the real celebration is when we take the time to remember and honor each other. For the times we’ve answered the phone at 5am when you were in labor. And the times we met and asked each other to be an emergency contact in the same five minutes.
For all the times we swapped kids for doctor’s appointments, watered the plants when we took a vacation, and drove each other to the airport. For the shoulders that have been cried on, the hips that have held someone else’s baby, and the ovens that have cooked meals for everyone in the neighborhood. These are the things we celebrate.
Say "thank you"
The words seem so simple, but sometimes it is that simple. Military spouses just “get it.” They understand what the lifestyle is like and that is often the biggest reason we want to say, “thank you.”
Thank you for connecting me to another spouse when we get orders to a new place.
Thank you for becoming our family when ours is so far away.
Thank you for listening to me rant and rave when I had to leave my last job for a move.
Thank you for understanding why it’s so much harder to not be able to go home this year for the holidays.
Thank you for your advice on the thing you went through, which I am going through now.
Thank you for walking in the front door and not judging my dirty floors.
Thank you for telling me all about the new country we’re living in, and for teaching me how to adjust to the new culture.
Thank you for doing my laundry when I was too tired to get up.
Thank you for reminding me to turn off the news channel during a deployment.
Thank you for telling me it’s time to “stop crying and get moving,” when I need it.
Thank you for speaking up for future spouses, so they don’t have to go through the mess we went through in the future.
So, this year, when you notice it’s Military Spouse Appreciation Day, take a moment to thank your military spouse family. Recognize that this is a day for us, for you. We have willingly sacrificed a lot for the most important people in our lives – our service members, and each other. We are special to each other, and they couldn’t do this life without us. We have, and will continue, to change the world. Let’s take today to remember that, to celebrate each other, and to remember how awesome this life can be.
Rebecca Alwine is an Army wife, mother of three and lover of her adorable pirate dog. Over the past 15 years, she’s discovered she enjoys coffee, lifting weights and most of the menial tasks of motherhood. Her days consist of working out in her garage gym, audiobooks and pretending to cook while her Instant Pot and Air Fryer do all the work. Her motto: work smarter, not harder.
