Did you know today is National Military Spouse Appreciation Day? Then of course... this Sunday is Mothers' Day. Somehow these two holidays create a perfect intersection for the most influential women in my life: military moms.
Military moms move around the United States at a speed illegal on most major highways. One year here. Two years there— three if you're really lucky. The U.S. Army doesn't give much weight to 4th grade best friends or high school graduation years or your favorite OBGYN or your next door neighbor. They deal in Duty, Honor, Country... and orders.
My mother, Laura Sholar Carlton, the oldest daughter of a North Carolina family with its own military roots, handled the hustle with grace, humor and humility. She was a military spouse. A military mom. 27 years in th U.S. military, and believe you me, she earned her stripes. She defended and supported a man in uniform. She raised children, created a delicious nightly meals, provided countless hours of family therapy. It was no small calling.
And like so many other military moms, she prevailed. She taught the power of rearranging furniture to make a new house look like home. She proved that simmered onions and garlic make any new house smell like home. She consoled when I cried about leaving. She comforted, or more precisely, offered Ben & Jerry's ice cream when things got really bad. She insisted that tears are a gift, and that moving can feel like death, and that God can give new life in any new place—and He always, always did.
But more than that, God offered me the best kind of mom there is: a military mom.
love you mom.