Julia Here....

There is a little over a week left of this last quarter of my junior year. I am in the homestretch and only have three papers to complete. I am finally realizing my dreams of an education in a field that will allow me to give back and help others who need help advocating for themselves. I am grateful for the MyCaa grant that covered 2/3 of my tuition costs for the year. We have never qualified for any grant money and this program took an incredible amount of stress off my shoulders. I am trying everything I can to keep from putting us into huge amounts of debt.

Here are a few thoughts from those early years.

In choosing young marriage I had to go to community college instead of the university where I had a full scholarship waiting for me. Within a few short months of getting married my womanhood came to the surface again. I was pregnant. This was just a small glitch on my road to getting my education and “making something of myself”. I knew that as soon as I had this baby I would be able to put the child in daycare and continue school and work. God had other plans for me. During the birth of my son he was hurt in many ways. He has a paralyzing injury, effects of oxygen deprivation, depression and a learning disorder. My life changed in an instant. My husband was obligated to military service and taking care of my sons medical and educational needs would fall upon my shoulders as the mother. If the military had wanted him to have a wife they would have issued him one. I quit college and became a stay at home mom. My son required extensive therapy and medical care. My own mother offered to babysit so I could go back to work. All my sons’ needs were expensive and military insurance only covered so much. My mother helped me with therapy and his medical needs so I was able to work outside the home. I had to find a job and arrange my hours around the needs of my son. My husband was unable to change anything about his work hours or responsibilities. I was unable to continue my education with all my responsibilities. I never got much sleep in those early years. There were never any questions about how as the mother I was the one that had to make it all work. My experience as a military spouse was that I must be strong and self-sufficient. The unspoken rule was that we must handle everything and be grateful for any time our husband was able to be a part of the family. Military spouses do not complain and that is from not wanting others to perceive us as weak. This is a common theme in my community.