"Your Mama Wears Combat Boots..."

"A woman is like a teabag - only in hot water do you realize how strong she is."

          - Eleanor Roosevelt 

If you've read any of my earlier posts, you would know I grew up around other military kids (or "brats" as they are known.)

It was a tough crowd.

The kids I ran with were resilient, diverse, determined and out spoken.

It was at the age of nine I first heard the teasing comments, "Your mama wears combat boots"  and it was meant as an insult.   Of course the joke was absolutely lost on me.   

My mother at the time was British, she didn't wear combat boots, and as far as I knew, Clarks (where she bought her shoes) didn't make combat boots.  Of course, my logic didn't stop a whole playground of 4th graders laughing about what else my "mama" said or did.

Needless to say, I'm proud that the phrase "Your mama wears combat boots" is really now a badge of honor and means nothing close to what it meant when I first heard it in my Department of Defense elementary school.

As we celebrate Women's History Month, I can't help but reflect and thank all the amazing women that have influenced and shaped my life and my military career, to include my mother. 

I'm humbled by their courage, sacrifices and the trails they blazed so that my three sons think it's absolutely normal that their mother (and her girlfriends) wore combat boots...in multiple colors.

A Salute to All Our Sister Veterans from the Past, Present and Future
©Laura Hatcher Photography

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity."

          - Amelia Earhart

Laura Hatcher is a retired Naval Officer, Mother, Harley Rider and Published Professional Photographer located in Northern Virginia.

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