I have a delima and i feel like i should get other moms opinions on it to help settle my mind.
I am a mother of 2 kids. one who will be 3 in march and my son just turned 4 months old. i have always wanted to live the military life. after being a military wife for only a few months i fell in love with the way of life, the structure the stability the togetherness etc. since then i have wanted to enlist my self. not only to help my country but to help my kids as well. the only problem is i feel guilty. i would feel guilty for leaving them for the 8 weeks for boot camp...and then another 14 weeks for my training. i know in the end it would help them out give them stability and what they need i just feel bad. i would feel bad for missing my sons first crawl or word or my daughters 3rd birthday or anything else that means alot to her. so im going back and forth about enlisting i need some help here. some motherly advice if you will...someone please help me!
*Heather
Heather I was a military wife for 10 years. (Navy) I still miss it. It is a family. Boot camp would be the initial time that you would be leaving, but I have a few questions that may help... What branch and what are the requirements for time away after boot camp? Would you immediatly have to go on deployment somewhere out of the states? I know that all bases have MWR and most have childcare facilities and in home care available. Another question...do you have support from your immediate family? Parents? siblings? friends that will help with the kiddos until bootcamp is over? I am assuming that you are a single mom...if I am wrong I apologize. If you are, you have to do what is best for you all in the long run. If I was facing this, I think that I would weigh alot of questions. Can you leave the state with the kids? Is there custody issues? Is the father military? What field are you lookng at pursuing? Will you go to school too? There are so many questions that come up when you are faced with a life changing decision. If you want to talk you can email me. I will be praying for you. stacy.stlmoms@gmail.com
Heather,
I know I am repling to this a little late so to speak but I am in the military. In the Air National Guard to be exact. I have been in for 7 yrs now. I am also a mom of a 13yr old boy. I joined when he was only 4 yrs old getting ready to turn 5yrs. I joined the guard because I was a single mom and could not join active duty as a single mom. I love the life and I don't regret it one bit. I gives me a lot of pride. I will say yes I have missed my son very much when I have had to leave, several times. At the same time I miss him so and miss so very much he also understands and I have always told him he is serving his country as well by supporting me. It is not always easy but it is always worth it in my opinion. When I went to basic it was the very first time I had ever been away from Matt and I cried every night looking at his picture, at the same time he was my strength and continues to be even now. I am now married to a retired AF member he served 22 yrs, so this helps a lot not with Matt being older. (13yrs) It doesn't always make it easier.
The one thing you have to think about is being married to someone still serving is that you both can be deployed at the same time and then who do the kids stay with? You can always look to the Guard or Reserves as another option. There is also the duty station location and you and your husband having to work together on placement.
I would say go for it! I have been deployed many, many times since 9/11 and have spent the better part of my time away due to what is going on now. I am usually gone for 6months at a time and home for a year or better. In the Guard we can sometimes choose if we want to deploy or not, that is a lot different than active duty. I just got home a month ago from a 6 month deployment.
I love the life and more than anything I love my country and the Pride I have in the uniform I wear is passed along to my son who is also very Proud. He loves hearing the stories of where I have been and what I was doing. Good Luck and God Bless. If you need anymore help please let me know.
Becky
They're still really young, although they'll remember they won't have any regrets. You need to think of the life your kids will have with you in the military, a steady job, a steady paycheck, always a roof over their heads and food in the fridge. My husband has been in ten years, and I can't imagine a life outside the military.