Boom COVID!

Let me begin my saying I am not an expert, I'm not a professional blogger, and I am fairly new to the military spouse community. My first five months as an Army Wife amongst Covid-19 has been rather adventurous. I have also recently been given the time to reflect and share my story because I am currently quarantined in a new apartment, while in a foreign country.

Let me just say that to survive in a military marriage against Covid, you have to have an immense amount of love, dedication, and trust to begin a marriage while being physically separated.

These are definitely symptoms/side affects of being a Milspouse:

• Sleepless nights worried about him and his safety

• Countless amount of tears

• Eating your emotions

• Complaining to family & friends

• Becoming extremely aggravated with "the process"

If you've been married to someone in the military longer than 5 minutes, you're allowed to laugh along! If not, don't worry it really isn't all bad this Covid crisis is just new territory. At first I was very upset that I couldn't be with my husband, and the process to get me there seemed to be moving particularly slow. It wasn't two weeks after our marriage that Covid creeped up,borders closed, no movement on or off base, and no end in site. This pandemic truly affected my mental state, and put a strain on my new marriage. I constantly asked my husband about exceptions, and updates which hindered our relationship (it was super annoying to pester him) although it was always on my mind.

Our Process:

If any of you are in limbo, and experiencing this struggle right now just hold on!

There is hope, there is a plan although, I understand mentally what you are facing.

• Married- February 16, 2020

• February- I had to go to DEERS to obtain my DOD ID, Got registered on his insurance, Apply for medical clearance, and he began the process of amending his orders to include me.

Now I had to do A LOT of my own research about what paperwork needed to be completed, and processed. My husband didn't have the information and I was stuck stateside, so if you like to be prepared then I recommend in-depth research but I don't mind sharing any tips and tricks I've learned.

• March- Waiting, we were told they are in the process of amending orders (waiting for approval)

• April- No change, no update, longest month of my life

• May- Yay!! We've been denied, no clue why and we get to start all over again

• June- Denied (which btw this was the fourth time now)

• July- My husband contacted me with an airline ticket and said, "Here's your date." After we received an exception to policy finally I was given 2 weeks to leave my job, pack all our belongings, and mentally prepare.

I safely made the journey 7,500 miles to begin my new life by my soldier on July 21,2020!

So for any wife that may be stuck in limbo, between houses, raising a family, and dealing with coronavirus consequences keep pushing! Re-apply for ETP as frequently as you can and be prepared to move quickly!