We believe stories are important - they connect us with other women who share similar experiences and help us feel as if we're not alone when life throws us a curveball. And as a military spouse - owned company, we believe in the power of sharing stories of fellow military spouses. The military spouse community is a unique sisterhood - they show strength with every relocation, deployment, and lost job; they’re resilient - making a new home and forming new friendships at each duty station; and they are fiercely devoted to the family and military hero they love. Despite the uncertainty and sacrifice that military life brings, military spouses face each new challenge with grace and bravery. At Charliemadison Originals, we're celebrating our sisterhood of military spouses through our Meet a Milspouse series - sharing one story at a time and giving you a glimpse inside their world.
GIVE US A BEHIND-THE-SCENES PEEK AT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY – HOW DID YOU BECOME A MILITARY SPOUSE (MILSPOUSE)? WHAT DO YOU DO IN ADDITION TO BEING A MILSPOUSE? AND A FUN FACT ABOUT YOUR MILITARY FAMILY?
I found myself in an airport in 2005 and saw this handsome man wearing brown boots, jeans, and a pink and white pinstripe button up dress shirt. He had a gorgeous smile, radiated confidence, and it’s been history since that moment.
We of course didn’t live in the same location so we began a long distance relationship founded on phone calls, video chat, and a lot of flights from my hometown to his duty location. After six months of dating he asked me to marry him and I said yes, and on a Friday afternoon during my lunch break we met at the courthouse and tied the knot. Three weeks later he received orders for his first combat deployment.
I joined him in Columbus, MS, after his deployment and that is when our military journey really began. Fast forward through 14 years, 9 total moves, 3 deployments, and 2 kids and you will find us calling Little Rock, AFB, our home.
I’m no stranger to the challenges of this lifestyle; I don’t believe any of us are immune to the challenges. Over the course of 14 years I struggled with fitting in, employment, pursuing my education, developing relationships, and experienced my fair share of resentment. However, I also learned to reflect and focus on myself through a series of self-inventories to discover that I was the only thing standing in my way from living a passion and purpose-filled life.
In 2017, I was blessed with an opportunity to be the 2017 AFI Military Spouse of the Year and I utilized the title and the year to engage with military spouses across the nation and to be a sounding board for them. Through the year I journaled and learned that military spouses were struggling with their own identities.
Since 2017, I’ve been on a mission to help military spouses discover who they are through the Discovering Your Spark workbook. I share my raw experiences of military life, the good and bad times, what it’s like to be a special needs parent and now a caregiver to a wounded warrior.
We recently transitioned from active duty life to civilian life due to combat related injuries that resulted in a medical retirement after 20 years of service and we use each day as an opportunity to share our story because it could be someone else’s survival guide.
Now you can find our family still actively involved in the Air Force as my spouse is a member of the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program and is actively training for the 2020 Warrior Games Trials, hoping to make the 2020 Air Force team for the DoD Warrior Games!
WHICH MILITARY BRANCH DOES YOUR SPOUSE SERVE IN AND FOR HOW MANY YEARS HAS HE SERVED?
Airforce and he served for 20 years, 1 month and 8 days but who's really counting.
WHERE HAS THE MILITARY MOVED YOUR FAMILY OVER THE YEARS? WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE DUTY STATION AND WHY?
Altus AFB, Columbus AFB, Peterson AFB, Travis AFB, and Little Rock AFB. Our favorite assignment was Peterson AFB, CO and it’s a place we are strongly considering moving back to in our retirement days!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A MILITARY SPOUSE? TELL US SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED OR HAS MADE YOU STRONGER BECAUSE YOU ARE A MILSPOUSE?
My favorite part of being a military spouse is the ability to meet new people and expand my {framily}! I have learned that I have the ability, power, and resources to live my life with passion and purpose despite the challenges of military life.
Discovering this about myself has made me a stronger more aware person. I truly live a motto of turning challenges into opportunities and looking at life as the cup half full.
WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY?
People inspire me, not just one person, but people. Children, especially my children, inspire me because I see how resilient they are and I see how my son who has special needs doesn’t allow any of those challenges in his life to limit him. My daughter shows me every day how to live with an open and loving heart. My husband shows me how one can continue to live after injury and illness and how life will go on but it may just look different. My family and friends inspire me by seeing what they accomplish in life and how to push through every day to be their best self.
WHICH CHARLIEMADISON EVERYDAY REMINDER DO YOU WEAR ON YOUR WRIST AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT PARTICULAR BRACELET?
Lifegiver Bracelet | A Meaningful Marriage Bracelet
I wear the Corie Weathers Lifegiver Bracelet every day because it helps me remember to be patient, kind, and understanding with my spouse. It helps me remember that we made a commitment to one another through good and bad. It’s a reminder we all need as life sometimes gets in the way and can create a canyon within our marriages.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO STAY CONNECTED TO WHAT MATTERS MOST, DESPITE THE UNCERTAINTY, FREQUENT MOVES, AND DEPLOYMENTS THAT GO ALONG WITH BEING A MILITARY FAMILY?
I make it my mission to write hand-written notes weekly, to pick up the phone and call my family and friends to check on them, and to do my best not to have relationships solely based on social media. I have been known to have virtual coffee with friends across the globe and if I have the means I will make a way to be present in person for important moments in the lives of my family and friends.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A FELLOW MILITARY SPOUSE WHO IS STRUGGLING WITH MILITARY LIFE OR DEPLOYMENT?
I would tell military spouses who are struggling that they can turn every CAN’T into a CAN, they can take the challenges in front of them (the mountains) and find a way to go over, under, around or through the challenge and turn it into an opportunity or possibility. I would tell spouses to fill their cup not their time and to not be afraid to identify their value. I want military spouses to decide what kind of life they actually want and then say NO to everything that isn’t that!
WE HAPPEN TO BE QUOTE LOVERS AROUND HERE – CAN YOU SHARE A FAVORITE QUOTE THAT KEEPS YOU INSPIRED?
I love quotes and I have so many that I live by but I have my own quote and it’s what I remind myself on the daily.
“Fear doesn’t shut you down it wakes you up, so be scared and do IT anyway” ~Brittany Boccher
WHERE CAN OUR READERS FIND YOU ONLINE?
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/discoveringyourspark/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/425248371465555/?source_id=504059219781472
Brittany.boccher@yahoo.com