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Louise's Blog

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We’re new to this military life (GUEST POST)

I joined the military at 17 years old, my husband was a military child it has been part of us for many many years but imagine you have your house, your life, your children and then the military comes and settles right in! So much change for all members of the family unit and Amelia shares below their experiences in such an open and honest way in this weeks guest post. Thank you for sharing, Louise xxx

Hello…! I am Amelia, mother of two daughters aged six and one.

This military life is pretty new to me, my husband is in the Royal Air Force graduating from RAF Halton just a couple of months ago, he is now stationed just over three hours from our home.

On that day when we first said goodbye, I don’t think that anything could have kept us from crying and with every goodbye, it just seems to get harder. 

Does anyone else feel the same?

Due to the low income during this initial trade training period, its difficult for him to come home every weekend so every three weeks has seemed to become our “normal”.

On a Sunday night right before her Daddy leaves, my eldest reads the book “My Daddy’s going away”.  We cry, we hug and we say goodbye.  She gets to sleep in my bed that night, to be honest I’m not too sure who benefits more from those extra cuddles, me or her.

My youngest at just one doesn’t quite understand yet.  Once Daddy has gone, she calls out for him, shouts out “Daddy where are you?” she also kisses the countless photos we have around the house of him.

The first few days are tough after he leaves to go back to base – I don’t seem quite good enough for the girls, but I’m all they have. 

We try as much as possible to remain connected and to face-time Daddy every night before bed I also make sure I give tons of extra cuddles out to the girls, I want them to know we are still a family unit.

Soon after our goodbyes the routines so fall back into place, the memories of the weekend are hidden behind realities of school lessons and playtime; who has got the coolest Pokémon cards, what was on the school dinner menu and what other adventures the day had brought.

By the time the end of the second week arrives so do the struggles again… the longing for their Dad to come home.  The questions at night time; “everyone else gets to see their Dad every day, why don’t I?” or “why can’t Daddy get a new job here?” or just simply “I hate Daddy’s job”

There are so many times I want to break down and sob “me too, baby, me too…”  But we have to be strong don’t we?

We have to keep it together for our babies, for our Little Troopers.

The members of our military community are amazing, I am unbelievably proud to say my husband is serving in the Royal Air Force.   Anyone who my eldest speaks to knows her Daddy is in the RAF, her smile is a mile wide with pride when she gets to tell them all about his job, we are so excited to see the parades later this year for the RAF 100 that my husband is taking part in.  We are also so grateful for all of the opportunities this has given us, but it is difficult, it is unforgivingly hard, and it can cause so much heartbreak and upset.

Our Little Troopers are incredible, they are the reason we get through, they are the  reason we are here doing what we are doing.

I pray for the next week to go quickly.  I can’t wait to see him, I can’t wait for the girls to see him…I also can’t wait for a day off from doing the washing up…!

Amelia xxx

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About Louise

Louise herself served in the British Army and saw active service in Kosovo. Her husband is a serving soldier who has undertaken six operational tours of duty since their daughter was born in 2003. Louise is passionate about helping all the Little Troopers at home through the anxiety of deployment and also the stress of a long course or exercise having experienced first hand the impact it can have.

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  1. This so lovely to read! I’m in the same boat, my husband and I have been together for 6 years, 2 children, 2.5 and 5 months! He decided one day that he wanted to go into the RAF and he left for his training 5 weeks after the birth of our second baby and graduated 2 months ago! He’s got to do his phase training still and it’s hard and our eldest misses him so much, but communication is key, for our son and for me! The weekends he can come home are a godsend, mainly because I get to have a long soak in the bath! Haha.

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