Thursday, December 9, 2010

thankful thursday: the value of a sponsor

a short military brief here
before we dive into this edition of thankful thursdays
when you pcs (move)
the member 
(in our case that would be kenneth)
gets a sponsor
a sponsor is someone at your new base 
who is responsible for 
orientating you to base
making sure lodging is set up prior to arrival
answering all your questions about the new base, squadron, etc


kenneth's sponsor has been nothing short of helpful.
however,
i still had questions
and i of course don't have a sponsor
or any military wife friends that have been or currently stationed at aviano.


meet misha.


misha is married to another k9 handler
and currently stationed in germany
misha's husband and kenneth worked together at cheyenne mountain
pre k9 days
misha was not married yet  
but i knew of her and did know her soon to be husband.
enter facebook
misha and i are friends on facebook
i also read her {blog}
how or when we became friends i really can't tell you
but i am so glad we did
misha is who i would consider one of my sponsors
yes, i require multiple sponsors


when we initially found out we had orders
misha provided a wealth of information 
from traveling with dogs
to explaining how housing allowance worked
she helped tremendously during the first weeks dealing with the shock of 
"OMG i am moving overseas!"


***
now
meet brittany


here is our story
one day i'm browsing cinchouse
it is a great website for military spouses
i found this website when kenneth and i first got married
but haven't utilized it much since my first year as a military wife


back to the story.
on the site i entered the search term "aviano"
up pops a thread of  aviano spouses.
brittany had posted on the thread 
(in response to someone else's post & it was january 2010 when she entered the post) 
her response in the thread was
facebook me.
"ah ha!" i thought
an open invitation
yes i understand she wasn't talking to me but i saw an opportunity and took it!
so i searched facebook 
 found her
and sent a friend request.


brittany's response was
"do i know you?"
hehe not yet but you will! i secretly thought
i explained to brittany how she knew but didn't know me.
and she accepted my friend request!
woohoo!
and let me tell you
i would call her my angel.
not only has she allowed me to facebook stalk her
she sent this lengthy email about 
aviano;  
what to expect,
passports,
housing,
driving on the roads,
insurance rates,
job opportunities,
husband's work schedules
it appears they work many days for long hours at a time
it was more than i could have hoped for.


some things i've learned about brittany that makes me like her even more
she owns german shepherds 
this is from her facebook page (told you i was stalking her)

and she takes a lot of photos 
 it appears she uses editing software and is good at it 
(i am not)
we have so much in common! 
dogs, photography, ikea, aviano hehe!


brittany is my sponsor.
we've never met.
but i hope we do!
she understood the bond of military wives
and for that i am truly grateful.



as a military wife
you learn the value of friendships
and learn quickly how much friendships are needed.
i've been very fortunate to be stationed at tinker 
where i have many friends i grew up with
that i can seek out for advice,
comfort, 
or just plain girl talk.


now
facing the unknown
and going into place where i would have known no one
i am much more at peace
more comforted
more excited for the adventure that lies ahead
because of 
kind hearts
like misha
and brittany.


thank you ladies!


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