I've come to the conclusion that, even though I can't sew a button on a piece of clothing, I am a quilter. A lot of talk at SpouseBUZZ Live 3 centered around support. Support for the soldier that is deployed and support for the spouse left behind.
Ideally, every spouse dealing with a deployment will have a wonderful FRG supporting them. Ideally. But that doesn't always happen. And sometimes, the FRG cannot meet all of the needs that a family may have during a deployment. It may just not be possible. The FRG cannot be all things to all people. Such is life.
We are a resourceful bunch, us military spouses. We bloom where we are planted. We make lemonade out of lemons. We kick deployment gremlin butt. We do it all. But we don't do it alone. We can't (loathe though I am to admit that).
So we quilt.
We piece together our support and make a "quilt", if you will, that
surrounds us and keeps us warm. Some pieces can come from our neighbors
and those that live around us. Some pieces can be found in church. Or
at the gym. Or at a play group. Or at work. It's colorful. It's unique.
The panels may change based on the circumstances under which it's
needed.
And what do you do when you can't find a piece for that quilt? A
certain fabric or thread? The same thing you don when you can't find
anything in the stores near you...you call friends and family in other
towns, other states, and other countries. Those long distance
connections can often provide us with the pieces to the quilt that we
lack. And when we can't find that piece that we need any other way?
Where do we turn?
Yep. eBay.
I'm joking. Kind of. But the internet does provide avenues for support
and connections that we, as military spouses, might not otherwise have.
Email allows us to stay in touch with friends that would have otherwise
faded away. Websites such as SpouseBUZZ let us see
that we are not alone. All are pieces in the quilt that surrounds us.
So I can't sew my kids' AWANA patches on their vests but I sure can put
together a quilt that will keep me warm while MacGyver is away.
I am a
quilter.
