I quit going to family parties!

Yes, I said it. As a Latina mom and military wife, family is always first. I love my extended family and going to gatherings on the weekends. As a Latina, I love to get all the “chisme” on the family and to see all the new babies. As a military wife, I understand that my husband has a duty to his country but our extended family doesn’t get it. By “it” I mean the military life, especially, the Marine Corps life. I am so tired of going to family parties by myself. I am so tired of giving excuse after excuse of why my husband couldn’t make it to the party. In a Hispanic family, you better have a very good excuse why you can’t make it to a family party.

I have a Tia Maria that keeps telling me, “Mija, you can tell ME where he really is or what he’s really doing.” She thinks I’m lying to her with my excuses or that he’s in a top secret mission where he can’t tell anyone where he is. Hispanic family members can be very persistent. When I get to a party and give hugs and kisses to the family, the first question out of their mouths is “Where is your husband?” There is no, “Hi, How are you? How are the kids? How is the weather where you live?” They need to know where he is at and why he didn’t make it to the party.

My husband is stationed in southern California and we only see him once a week. Sometimes we get to see him on the weekend but right now he gets one weekend off every 4 weeks. The weekend he has off is very special to our family, we want to spend it together and not share with anyone else. Yes, I am very selfish with my husband’s time. He is my husband and my kid’s father first. I know that our Hispanic family will never understand the duty he has to his country, but I still love them, they are our FAMILIA. I will still end up going to family parties and keep giving excuses for my husband because I have a duty to my FAMILIA.