TBI Army Wife

I was asked to write about marriage and intimacy. What a topic of so much divergence and complicated to the human nature. When I see marriages that survived WWII, Korea and Vietnam I can’t avoid thinking “wow, how they made that happened”, but the more I speak with more experienced couples the more I see a common theme among them, values and commitment. I remember seeing my grandparents’ growing old and still saying “I love you” like it was part of their daily language. “What have we forgotten or when did we disconnect?” “There is no intimacy, there is no marriage”. These question and statement are so common and have been brought to my attention by spouses of wounded warriors. One afternoon I am sitting at home and I am reflecting in all the comments that I have heard and the pain and sorrow that these situations bring to these spouses. Are you the spouse of a wounded warrior? Life is not over, like my husband will say, “It is a new beginning”. The problem is that sometimes we are y...

I received a message from a dear friend that made me cried, not only because I could relate to her but because I felt there is nothing I could do to be there for her. This strong, beautiful woman is one of a kind. We were together serving in the Family Readiness Group and she was always ready to help and was instrumental in fulfilling the mission with families in deployment times. She had a sense of carism and she was vibrant, funny and overall fun to be around. Unfortunately her husband was medically discharge from the Army and the family they new has become distant. Yes, in the military we are a family and when we don't have that we feel we lost something precious. I will never forget one specific statement my friend wrote and that I keep hearing from spouses of wounded soldiers, "I feel like we are stuck spinning in the same circles". They feel they were left behind and I can share that same sentiment but then she said "I just wish I could waive a white flag and ...

Dear friends, I just started the blog and I am amazed how many people have been writing to me and expressing their support. To ALL of you THANK YOU! During this year, many things have happened, good and not so good. Last year I was accepted to a PhD program and I was very excited to start this new journey in my career but on the other hand my husband was deploying for the third time in the past 5 years. I had so many mixed emotions, things to celebrate but not next to the one I love. Well, my husband left on May 3, 2009 and our anniversary was May 29th so again we missed another important day. I cared when we missed Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays etc. but like everything in the military is all about adapting and overcoming. I love the military life, I feel very proud of being an army wife, it is just something that I cannot describe. When my husband was wounded on June 29, 2009 I felt so worried because I wasn't sure how he was and I remembered that when he called me the first...

Dear friends, Yes! it is true that I haven't taken full responsibility on writing here. I have to admit that the last time I wrote I was writing in tears so I got a little bit scared of writing. I want to be strong and not cry or show emotions. If you are reading my husband's blog www.tbiwarriors.blogspot.com you will understand all that we have been going through. I have spent most of my time writing to Senators, Congressmen and others that can change the healthcare system for our Wounded Warriors. The other day I was making some tea and had a lemon in my hands. I looked at it and thought about what my mom always said, "if somebody throws a lemon at you, just catch it and make some good lemonade, then share it with that person". That is exactly what I have been trying to do. I am transforming my sorrow and pain to happiness and joy. Let us work together and unite to make changes, ones that will serve well and will help our wounded soldiers and their family members. W...