This is Home
by Kelly M
The first time I drove onto an Air Force Base alone, I cried. I was visiting my new husband during his training at Maxwell AFB and got overwhelmed by the guns and gate guards. I pulled over and had a good sob. Everything was so new and so different from what I was accustomed to. As newlyweds, we had just begun our Air Force adventure and were completely green. Fast forward seven years and I guess you could call me a seasoned military spouse. We've left home and moved to many more. We've had great times and some bad. We've made friends all over the country and lost some too early. But despite the hardships, the moving, the uncertainties, there is always a constant in our lives. Behind the walls, behind the guards and guns, there is the most wonderful community. A community, the likes of which, is just not found in civilian life. Now, driving onto a military installation, even one I've never been to before, makes me feel right at home. I never would have believed that sitting at that Maxwell gate, but it's true. The Air Force became my home, our home, and even though I know there are unique challenges to this life, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.