Appreciating Your Fellow Military Spouse

I love pulling into my driveway, and not just because it means I’m home and can change into my comfy sweatpants.

When I park my car, I’m looking right at my flower garden. If I may be so bold, it’s pretty awesome. There’s a riotous rosebush that I never prune, peonies (because I always plant peonies), and lilies.

But the best things about my flower garden are the hostas and pinks. These plants came from one of the most fabulous neighbors I could ever have asked for. Before she PCS’d last year, we transplanted her beloved flowers from her yard into mine. It was a messy process, one which required numerous mimosas in red solo cups. But every time I see Vanessa’s flowers, I can think of the fun times we had as friends and neighbors.

I promise, this post is going to get around to how we can appreciate our military spouses. Just give me a second to get a Kleenex…

Okay, I’m back! When we asked on our Facebook page about showing appreciation, a lot of the answers had to do with how our partners show us we’re loved, which is great. It warms my heart to hear about how awesome these special people are.

But, I’d like to offer some suggestions as to how military spouses can show our fellow milspouses that we appreciate the work they are putting in on their various journeys.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Bake something

And I say this first not only because I happen to make the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. (Yes, I’m sharing my recipe at the bottom of this blog post because I love you.) Something that comes from the kitchen also comes from the heart. When I was growing up in the Midwest, every event was punctuated with food from a home kitchen. Birthday? Wedding? Funeral? Preg-checking the cattle? All needed a potluck to be truly special.

2. Offer some time

Dollars to donuts that every person reading knows another person (probably a mom) who could use an extra hour or two of time. Does this person need someone to watch her kids so she can go to the commissary without small people asking for the sugariest cereal? The answer is probably yes. Break out the sidewalk chalk and let the small people go to town on your driveway for a while, and give their mom a break.

3. Ding Dong Ditch

I can’t do this as well as I used to—I’m older and much slower. However, for all you youngin’s out there who are capable of the “ditch” aspect of the game, the key to Ding Dong Ditch is to leave a small gift bag on the door handle. It doesn’t have to break the bank—it can be a card that says “you’re amazing,” a pack of flower seeds, some coffee or tea. Ta-da!

4. Volunteer with the deployed spouses program

While it’s great that so many husbands treat us like the queens we are, the truth is that sometimes our husbands leave. It’s the nature of the Army beast. It is during these times that we Army wives especially need to band together. It’s only together that we are better.

 

And as promised:

Sarah Anne’s World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 small box instant vanilla pudding (unprepared)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter, Crisco, and sugars. Add eggs and beat very well. Stir in vanilla pudding and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, mix together flour and baking soda, and slowly add it to batter. Do not overmix after you add in the flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by spooonfuls onto baking sheets, and bake for 8-9 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before taking them off.