What the heck is a MilSO?!
Military life can be confusing. There's an acronym for everything. I mean everything. It's almost like we have our own secret language. Even though it can be frustrating at the beginning, using acronyms becomes second nature. Just like I'm slowly inheriting a southern accent, it was only natural for me to use an acronym in my blog name!MilSO is a fairly new to military lingo and is not an official acronym. It's simply a shorthand term created by the military community to represent a military significant other. I really love it! Why? Because it encompasses so much more then just military wives, husbands or partners - it includes girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancés, etc. These titles are important too!
Being married to someone in the military is drastically different then dating, *insert a whole new world theme song* but everyone involved in a military relationship goes through trials and tribulations. Long distance relationships, deployments, trainings, missed anniversaries, birthdays, and events...the list goes on. Because of this, I believe all significant others should be included.
I was 18 years old when my husband (boyfriend then) was shipped off to the middle of the country while I was attending college in the north east. Not only were we young, military exposure was extremely limited in my area and I struggled with no support. Of course my family was there for me, but unless you're living this life, you just don't get it! I often wonder how different my experience as a new milSO would have been if I had been surrounded by others going through the same day-to-day struggles as I was. Obviously I survived without, but I didn't thrive.
Now 5 1/2 years later, I feel like I've done a darn good job of surrounding myself with positive people and truly thriving in the military community. I thought, how can I help other milSOs thrive in this lifestyle - regardless of their geographic location? MilSO Minute is the answer. It's a place for us to share, encourage, and bring us together. My hope is it will help you navigate the waters of military life and provide some validation to the feelings you may be having. You are not alone! I'm not just saying that - it's true. Need some convincing? There are currently 1.3 million Americans serving in all branches of the United States armed forces, which equates to around 1.3 million significant others supporting them every step of the way. Just like our spouses lean on their comrades, lean on each other!
"We rise by lifting others." -Robert G. Ingersoll
- xoxo -
