Someone asked if I collected things. It got me to thinking. I even collect people! Here are some of the things I’ve amassed over the years. And let me add, this is hardly scratching the surface.

I’ve collected:

1. 1 husband, 1 daughter, 2 sons, 1 son-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law, 2 granddaughters, 2 grandsons, and 1 as yet unborn grandson.
2. 3 brightly colored laundry baskets to replace 1 with broken sides, 1 with broken handles, and 1 with a hole in the bottom.
3. 2 sets of flatware (service for 8 each), minus 5 forks (a disastrous picnic I will never forget) and 2 knives (bent when sons were ’sword-fighting’).
4. 2 bent iced tea spoons (hard ice cream)
5. Too many wrinkles to count or think about
6. 7 partially used jars of wrinkle cream. These creams don’t work! — Wait… maybe that’s where the wrinkles come from. Let me go read those labels 1 more time.
7. 3 tubes of lipstick with a little bit left in the bottom, and a few of those tiny paddles used to dig it out with. In a drawer. In another room. Somewhere.
8. 67 spools of thread (in colors I don’t even wear, LOL)
9. 1 worn-out broom
10. 1 worn-out mop
11. Various porcelain sheep and lambs in different poses. 1 had its legs glued back on after they were broken off years ago, when the boys got into a fight in the living room. They put it back together and never said a word. But — they didn’t glue it, so the first time I dusted and picked it up… Imagine my surprise when the legs stayed behind! Imagine the talking to they got! Yeah. Not for breaking something. Life happens. Glass breaks. But for being deceitful.
12. A list of friends’ names in my email address book. Some of these friends I’ve never seen face to face, but they’re as dear to me as sisters.
13. Last but not least, a box full of mismatched socks whose mate the dryer-monster ate. Surely, some day, they’ll show up. Probably as soon as I throw out that box…

So, what kinds of things have you collected over the years?

While trying to decide on a topic for the blog, I scrolled through some of the previous posts to get a feel for what’s already been said so I wouldn’t repeat or rehash old news. What I discovered when reading posts written by former and current military personnel, is that while I’m very much a supporter of the amazing men and women of the US Military, and while I’ve read extensively about what they do, how they do it and why they do it, there is nothing in my background or experience that could ever truly make me understand the military way of life.

It’s a unique and highly honored club and it’s right that those of us on the outside looking in couldn’t possibly ‘get it’. Couldn’t possibly know what you’ve been through – both good and bad. Couldn’t know what you’ve learned, what you’ve cherished, what you’ve feared and what you’ve loved about your commitment to country above self.

I’m awed and I’m humbled by what you all give up. You leave your homes and everything you hold dear for long deployments into hostile and foreign environments. You leave knowing that when you come home, nothing will truly ever be the same again. You’ve lost months, sometimes years with your children, your spouses, you’re extended family and friends. You risk much. And you do it willingly.

And for just this short post, I want to say thank you. Not a generic, ‘I’m so grateful for the sacrifices you make for us,’ but a heartfelt, deeply sincere thank you for doing something I don’t think I could ever do, for giving up things I’m glad I’ve never had to give up, for being strong and stalwart and providing inspiration to a nation of Americans, who need something good to aspire to.

I’ve lived in 14 states and two other countries. The “14” doesn’t count moves, just locations. When it came time to pick a retirement location, I knew the background of nearly every region in the U.S. I knew where I wanted to go and hubby was with me. We chose an area where the Defense Department is the major employer. But that’s not what this blog is about.

This is about making friends during all those freakin’ moves.

Settling down is a lot harder work than I thought. In the military, your friends are your co-workers. But if you’re the spouse who follows or the kids who change schools, you don’t have co-workers. You have to make friends. Fortunately, most learn how to do this, and it’s a skill you use for the rest of your life.

I’m on the other side of the fence now. I don’t have to make new friends because I’ve lived in the same place for—wait for it!—four whole years! I’m the person who the military has to make friends with. Yay!

I’m going to tell you a dirty little secret now: Some civilians are wary of making friends with military families. Why? Because they move! As hard as it is for military families to pick up and move every two or three years, it’s just as hard to watch your friends leave. One of my civilian friends confessed that when her then-first grade daughter’s best friend moved away, it devastated her child, to the point she was wary of close friendships with military families after that.

There is a key word in that last sentence: close. In my adult life, I can count best friends on one hand, and two of those friends are where I live now. I would be willing to bet that even full-time civilians don’t have more than a couple of best friends, but loads of just friends.

As any military person will tell you, we have loads of friends too. We exchange cards with them every year; sometimes we track them on Facebook; and sometimes we move to the same location again. Even if we lose touch, we’re still friends. These are the friends that come over in the middle of the night to sleep on your couch while you run your sick dog to an emergency vet. They tell you about people they know in the area you’re moving to, so you’ll know someone when you get there. They offer to watch your newborn because your maternity leave is up and your baby is too young for childcare.

So maybe I am on the other side of the fence now, and maybe we’ll never be best friends. But if you come to my hometown, I got your back. Because military people aren’t just friends, they’re family. And I’ll do whatever I have to for my family.

Call me. I’m here for you. ~ AJ

www.AJBrower.com