Today's guest post is by a new friend of mine, a wonderful woman I had the good fortune to meet through my husband while he was away on course in Toronto. She was a student on the same course, and has been a first rate supporter of my writing career since we met.
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| Marie Cotter: friend and military spouse! |
extremely challenging times, and has a successful career and family. She's lived through some (but thankfully not all) of the experiences my heroine in DEPENDENT lives through, and she's proven that life goes on. Not only that, but life can go on in a positive and enriching way.
Meet Marie Cotter, military spouse and proud Canadian!
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Background:
Tell us about yourself, in relation to the Canadian Forces, that is.
My Mom and Dad met at Stadacona (in Halifax, Nova Scotia), and my Dad
had a full career in the military. Lots
of moves as a kid. I joined the military
for a while, and I married the funniest, coolest guy in NATO. A few more moves. Sadly, I lost him in a training accident, but
was surrounded and supported by the Regimental family. Now twice blessed, I’m remarried, again to
another terrific military guy. All that
time, I’ve been either in the regular force or the reserves myself. I count the military spouses as sisters, not
just friends.
Why
do you think military spouses are special?
If you’re a military spouse, you already
know this, so you can skip over it.
Keeping the home fires burning isn’t just trite expression. The husbands and wives of our uniformed folks
do what most would quickly become discouraged with and abandon – we keep our
home going, bills paid, daily tasks accomplished, children cared for and
loved. Oh yeah, and lots of us hold down
jobs. Without our spouse around to pitch
in, provide support, encouragement, or call the appliance repair guy.
We do that, knowing our husband or wife
will be returning next week, next month, or next year. We deal with the school problems (hoping it’s
the right thing to do), shoulder the household issues, shovel the driveway or
mow the lawn. Accepting invitations to
social events, knowing we’ll be alone or maybe with a “stand-in”. We rely on babysitters to escape the young
ones for just an hour or two. We comfort
the kids and keep them happily anticipating their Mom or Dad’s return, and
reassure our families who are likely in a different part of the country all
together.
Military
spouses and national security? Really?
I’ll bet you haven’t thought of this
angle. Let’s face, it. A lot of military spouses are wives. Lots of dudes, too, but the majority are
women. And women aren’t typically the
ones to blow their own horn. So you
won’t have heard this often ... or at all.
Well, I just completed a 10-month program examining National Security,
and I am convinced our military spouses one of the country’s great
strengths. The same goes for many other
nations too. Here’s why.
Our uniformed folks, the majority being
men, go off on deployment to some pretty crazy places. Here’s the thing. He (or in some cases she) has the reassurance of
knowing that someone is waiting, and keeping a life going somewhere sane, where
the rules and expectations are familiar.
And where he (or she) is wanted and loved. And knowing there is an open pair of arms at
the end of the day is what keeps people going.
I’ve been those loving arms, and I’ve needed those loving arms to be folded
around me.
I am certain that knowing there is a beating heart and an open pair of arms allows
our uniformed folks to focus completely on doing what they do in those crazy
places. Doing Canada proud. National
Security? Damn straight.
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Thanks so much Marie, for sharing your thoughts! Hope to have you back on the blog again soon.
Brenda
God bless you and all the military spouses!
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