Bobbie A., Air Force Spouse (Retired)

I am a PROUD Air Force Spouse (Ret), a PROUD Air Force Mama, and a current Air Force civilian employee. The Atkinson Family's Air Force chapter began in 1989...this is when we started "bleeding blue!" Let me tell y'all, our Air Force chapter was a roller coaster ride. The deployments took a toll. The PCS's took a toll. The lack of employment took a toll. Surviving on one paycheck took a toll. One year, my Spouse and I threw around the "D" word...yep, DIVORCE! Neither of us could afford a lawyer, so we purchased a "Do-it-yourself Divorce Kit." When the tolls became more than what either of us wanted to bear, we'd take the divorce kit from the top of the fridge and start filling it out. When we'd talk through our issues, we'd put the divorce kit back on top of the fridge. We repeated this cycle a couple years until we learned that communicating and talking through our issues was difficult, but communicating meant the divorce kit would be banished to the top of the fridge to collect dusk. We decided to toss the divorce kit in the circular file (trash can) and never mention the "D" word again. Did the issues disappear after that? Heck no! We still had issues, but we learned that communication was key to resolve the issues; it wasn't easy, but it was so worth it! My Spouse and I have been married for 32 years (28 of those years were spent in the Air Force)! #Yasssssss #AirForceWifeForLIFE