The Better Half Awards

Awarded to those special ladies in the military lifestyle 

who have met a challenge and conquered it

The idea for a virtual medal belongs to Maggie O in Kingston and came about after some lighthearted 

discussions in a military spouses' email group.  Those who keep the home fires burning often find themselves

 faced with challenges they had no idea they would have to deal with.  But, for every challenge met,

 you become a little bit stronger. 

And so Carolyn M.'s  suggestion of The Better Half Awards certainly suits the light-hearted atmosphere

 I wanted to create for this page and includes all ladies, whether they are wives, girlfriends,

 common law spouses or mothers.   Tracy M.'s suggestion of calling this medal, The Home Fires Medal 

was one that I thought all who live  in the military community could relate to. 

 My sincere thanks to all the ladies in my email group 

who offered their thoughts on the creation of this page.

The ribbon colors:    pink representing our femininity, gray for the strength of steel

 that military spouses possess, and white for the purity of our commitment to our partners.

Why not share your challenge and how you conquered it.  Please feel free to suggest a friend or relative

 who would enjoy a little boost to their day by seeing their accomplishment recorded here. 

 No accomplishment is too big or too small.  

A special sincere thank you goes out to Amy Coxworth, a very talented military wife who came 

through for me once again by taking the combined input from members of my group

 and creating our very special medal. 

Send your suggestion  

 Home Fires Medal 

awarded to:

Amanda and Kimberly Stewart

I have been a military spouse for over 28 years to a Combat Engineer. We are currently living is Ottawa, 

and as you can see the military controlled every other aspect of my life so I even went to work for them.

 I have done pretty much everything that a spouse is been expected to, and a few that no one told me

 about, had a baby by myself, moved, had floods, had bats in the house plumbing problem

 and how could forget the car problems. There were too many night to remember that I cried myself to sleep

 while he was out in the field or off in another part of the world that I found hard to pronounced.

 But this email is not about me I would like to nominate my two daughters Amanda 21 

(now joining the military) and Kimberly 18 for the better half award. They are the one that kept me going 

while my husband was away. They were my reason for getting up in the morning and making 

a real meal at night. For all the hurt that goes with leaving your school and friends every four years, 

and having to start over, they have both turned out to be two wonderful and beautiful young ladies. 

Any yes it has been hard to have my sole mate gone half of our marriage, 

but they have had their Dad gone half of there lives.  Patricia Stewart

Kudos to Patricia, Amanda and Kimberly for making the most of a very challenging lifestyle.

Debbie U

The loss of her best friend, and a month later, her father weighed heavily on Debbie's heart. 

 Being a gifted, creative person, Debbie turned her sorrow and grief into something very unique and positive.

  She created a labyrinth in her home town.  Something that everyone can enjoy and it is such a 

wonderful memorial to her loved ones.  But more than that, it is a testament to Debbie's determination

 that something good would come out of tragedy.

Kudos to Debbie, a military wife with a heart as big as the outdoors.

Darlene T

When a heavy rain/hailstorm hit her city recently, Darlene was faced with a flooded basement 

and a porch floor under water. "The basement is now water free but everything has to be taken out

 and washed. Our porch was also flooded and I need to rip the carpet up and get everything out of it too. 

Then when I was backing out of the driveway the end of it collapsed because of all the rain

 so we will have to call the city and see what they will do."  

Kudos to Darlene for facing this stressful challenge - while her husband was out in the field!

Linda G.

When you are used to being one half of a strong partnership, you immediately feel the loss when

 that other half is gone - even temporarily.  Adjusting to life alone while your partner is on a tour 

takes a concentrated effort.  Linda has faced that challenge, determined to make the best of things

 while her husband is gone serving his country.  Little did she know that she would face a painful,

 unexpected challenge but life has a way of throwing unexpected things in our path and, without your partner 

there to share the load, you sometimes must deal with it on your own.  Linda recently broke her right foot 

and is now in a cast and using crutches.  Since it's her right foot, she is unable to drive which makes things

 much for difficult for going to work, let alone walking her large dog.  But, as I've often said, for every 

challenge we face, it makes us a little stronger.

Kudos to Linda for dealing with this setback while her husband is serving in Afghanistan.