Military Family Blog Carnival: I first knew I was part of the Military Family when...

Welcome to my first ever Military Family Blog Carnival on An Army Wife's Life.

Please write a post and add your post title and specific post URL (not your entire blog) to Mr. Linky. Write about whatever you like, however, you like--just make sure it is an actual post on the topic. You could tell an anecdote, share your thoughts, put up photographs, compose a poem, anything that you believe fits the topic. On Friday, I will move this post back up to the top and copy your links into the main body of the post.

If you do not have a blog, ask to hijack a friend's for the day or consider Guest Blogging your post on An Army Wife's Life.


To encourage participation, I will be offering a prize. At the end of the month, one participant will be chosen at random to win a copy of Doonesbury.com's The Sandbox: Dispatches from Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am really hoping you'll join me and that this will build, because I think it would be fun!

This week's topic is: I first knew I was part of the Military Family when...

When my husband left for Basic Training, it just didn't seem real. I was still working the same job, hanging out with the same friends, and . I moved into a smaller apartment closer to work because going from NYC big firm law salary to specialist in the US Army is quite a pay cut, but we've never been big spenders so other than that my lifestyle did not change much.

So it wasn't until I went to Basic Training graduation that I really understood that I was now an Army Wife. When the new soldiers marched out, calling cadence, I immediately felt a renewed sense of pride in my husband's accomplishments. He had already accumulated lots of prestigious awards and positions in his academic and work career. That he also possesses the integrity to serve his country, the sense of duty to see that commitment through, and the physical and psychological strength to make it happen, gave me a huge amount of respect not just for him, but for all of our warriors.

Then, I looked around and saw all of the other wives, girlfriends, parents, and siblings, also angling for a view of their soldier. I realized that although we were different ages and came from different regions, we were united in our love for our troops. Our men, it was an all-male class, were being accepted into the world's most elite military at a time when our nation was at war. I knew at that moment that, although the road ahead would be tough, I would never be walking it alone.

Please tell your story and add your link below. Remember, the only rules are:

1. You should post relating to the theme.
2. Link back to this post so others will know about the carnival and play along.
3. Add the title of your post and the URL of your SPECIFIC post below (not your homepage).

UPDATE: Thank you to our first participant: Then I Knew (Christine)

Only one so far but I'm not discouraged...it is brand new and several bloggers have told me they plan to join in. So, go ahead and get posting!

You are welcome to post to this theme (stories, anecdotes, thoughts, photos, poems, whatever works for you) at any time. If you want to be considered for the drawing for the book, you'll have to participate in one or more of the carnivals this month by the last Friday of the month.

Next week's theme, to be posted Monday, is: "Veterans' Day..." This one is wide open--a biography of your favorite veteran, what the day means to you, pictures of your hometown parade, ideas for ways to honor our veterans...whatever you would like to share about the day!