Do Your Part: Shake Hands with a Hero #ShakeHandsWithAHero

Thank you to Procter & Gamble, Kroger and the USO for sponsoring this blog post and the Shake Hands With A Hero initiative. Please to learn more about this program. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Here is my personal story with a small favor I ask at the end:

As most of you know, my husband is in the Air Force.  Even though he is in the Air National Guard, he still works active duty for half of the year and this is his full-time job (yes, it’s hard to understand sometimes).  I actually met my husband in college.  He took a year after high school to join the military and then enrolled into college in 2001.  We met in August and he was smitten at first site (he will attest to this actually).  We briefly dated and September 11th happened.  Very shortly after, his parents received a phone call they probably never expected.  They were searching for him that night calling his fraternity house.  The words were uttered.  You have been activated.  I will never forget that night.

So, Justin had to withdraw from college and head to the base waiting for his orders.  Long story short, then being sent out of state for support (he was in Security Forces), he was able to enroll back in college and travelled between 3 states each week to work and go to school.  He proposed and the wedding date was set.  Two months from our wedding he’s told he is being sent to Kuwait.  What a blow!  He was told if somebody would volunteer in his spot, he could stay so we could get married.  A loving soul did just that.  We got married and moved.  After moving he continued working at his base being activated and traveling to finish college.

As he finished college, he decided to stay in the military and became an officer as a Navigator on the C130 planes.  His career has moved us from Kentucky to Texas to Arkansas and now back to Indiana/Kentucky.  Never in his life did he think it would stay in this long.  Now, after almost 11 years, he is going through a similar move to become a pilot.

I am very proud of my husband.  After 2 tours to Afghanistan (picture above is during his last tour over the holidays during a sandstorm) and everything he has accomplished, I am his biggest fan.  I never knew what it was like to know somebody in the military- let alone my husband.  Being a military wife, I have sacrificed a lot to be with my husband, but I also think it has made me a better American.  It is definitely a life that is hard to understand unless you live it.  I am thankful for what my husband and all of the others do to fight for our freedom.  They should all have a great support group as well.

I ask that you virtually shake a soldier’s hand to thank him/her for their service! !  Simple steps make happy hearts.  By the way, the first 50,000 people who utilize the microsite application (at www.honoringourheroes.com) to shake a soldier’s hand will receive a coupon (loaded to their Kroger Plus Card) for $1 off P&G products.