Welcome to Ramona. Enjoy your stay.

There are many things that define us in life: words and categories that others use (and sometimes we, ourselves, also use) in an effort to fit into a group or describe our circumstance. Our gender, our job, our marital status, and where we live. None of these describe us by themselves, but together, they have a way of explaining exactly who we are. Some of these are constant and others are constantly changing.

One of the most prominent things that I am is a Marine wife. This describes me and dictates parts of my life. Being married to a Marine is a lot like being married to the Marine Corps and occasionally having this amazing guy fix things at your house, talk to you till you fall asleep, and walk your dog. I don’t have a husband with a conventional job with conventional hours. This label, which applies to me and thousands of women, controls a lot of aspects of life. Even after moving in together, my husband spent more days out of the year in a plane than in our home. Some days it is difficult, some days it is nice. Regardless, I signed up for the military too, the day I said, “I do!” I signed up for a new way of life and I am still trying to figure it all out.

One of the culture shocks from civilian life is the constant moving. Usually, you find yourself moving every 4 years or so. That way, you have just enough time to settle in and feel comfortable in a new environment right as you have to move… Again. On Thanksgiving Day in 2010, my husband and I were sitting in our new apartment with boxes scattered and no couch. We had driven past the smallest Sears I had ever seen, and there wasn’t even a Target. Welcome to Ramona: A new chapter, a new adventure, and above all else, a new category to change our lives.