How to be a Good Army Wife

Rule #1: Love the man you're with. Without love you'll never get anywhere. Nothing can fail if you have true love. Rule #2: Be supportive and understanding. An Army job is very stressful and scary, making an Army life stressful. Showing that you understand what he's going thorugh and support him thorugh it can be the best thing to help him. Sometimes just standing by him and walking with him through these hard times is all he needs to know you care. Rule #3: Keep yourself busy when he's away. Find a hobby that can help to keep your mind off of any sadness that you may feel because he's gone. Make friends who can help and support you through your hard times, or join groups on and off post to help. Nothing is worse than being stuck in the house and depressed about your situation. Rule #4: Show your support to him when he's away. Be sure to write him lots of letters and send him lots of photos. He'll want to know about everything that is going on in your life, even if it's nothing. Letters and photos are what will get him through the hard times. Rule #5: Have something that reminds you of him. If you have a favorite picture or something that reminds you of him then keep it our in the open. For children, there are books and stuffed toys that can help remind them of their father. Talk about him often with your children (especially young ones) so they'll remember him and they'll know he's coming home. Rule #6: Do what you love. Take time out for yourself. Living the military life can be lonely when you move a lot, so make sure you keep with the things that you love to stay grounded. Whether it be a hobby, an excercise, a sport, or whatever, it can help to keep you happy within all the chaos. Rule #7: Take care of your family (including yourself). Of course you take care of your family everyday, but what about yourself. Don't forget to take care of yourself in hard times. Mothers and wives often forget to take care of themselves by putting themselves at the bottom of the priority list, but you need to take time for yourself as well. You can't expect to be able to take care of everyone around you if you're not well taken care of. Rule #8: Stay faithful. This sounds like a horrible thing to say, but every Army Wife hears about the rumorsof unfaithful wives and eveyone knows the statistics. Don't become one of those Army Wives who cheat on their husband while he's away, or even while he's here. Just remember the previous steps to help you through and remember why you're there in the first place.