In keeping with the theme of thankfulness in November, I wanted to share what I’m grateful for in my life – but with a military twist. Sometimes it’s so easy to forget all the good things that come from a life when you or your spouse is in service, so many little blessings we tend to take for granted or overlook. I know many of these I did until we had 5 years as civilians and realized the military life had provided us with some pretty amazing things.

I am so thankful for:

• Insurance. We went a year without this and it was rough. We also have had regular insurance and spent thousands of dollars on deductibles and co-pays just to start over again. Tricare is a blessing to us.
• Moving. Yes, it can be a pain, but part of the reason I was fine with Sam re-enlisting was knowing we would be able to move and see new parts of the country/world. I am thankful we can get stuck in a place we may not like and know it’s temporary.
• A steady paycheck. The military never forgets to pay us, or has a check bounce. Because of this, I am able to stay at home and work at home while knowing my income isn’t something we have to depend on.
• Short deployments. I don’t like these, but it’s part of military life. And it allows me to remember that I can do things on my own, to have a sense of accomplishment in doing it all for a while, and to reconnect with things I’ve been too busy to do. It also reminds me how much my husband does around here.
• The base. I’m thankful for Ft. Bliss especially, one of the nicer bases. It’s a little piece of heaven here.
• Discounts. Every so often I run into a store that offers a military discount, and it’s always a nice surprise to have that happen.
• Friends. There is something special about knowing the mom you met gets your crazy life – from deployments to moving to last minute changes.
• Time off. Right now, my husband is in a job where he gets all holidays and then some off. I am grateful for this, because we’ve had jobs where he worked through everything. He may work long hours but the days off are worth it.
• Appreciation. I know how much it means to Sam for someone to tell him thank you for his service. He doesn’t expect it, he signed up willingly, but it sure does make an impact.

That’s my little list, I’m sure there are many other things but these are the ones I reflect on more often. Tell me yours – what are you thankful for in a military life? What part of how we live makes the actual living a little easier, happier, better?