Keystone Today

After winning election to the State Senate, Rebbie and I were invited to Harrisburg to meet with several political power brokers. The line and tone of questioning betrayed their disapproval of us being there. The questions were the usual delineation of political insider quest to judge the seriousness of one’s campaign. Such as, how much money did you raise (the quintessential swamp question), who was your consultant and who was your campaign manager, etc.  o these career insiders, our answers were wholly inadequate resulting in the line of questioning to become sterner.  Finally, when they asked, “Who was your campaign manager,” I answered, “my wife,” to which they glared at Rebbie and harshly asked, “What are your qualifications?”  Her answer was classic, answering with confidence, “I am an Army wife.” This completely stumped the political insiders, who just sat there in amazement, blinking their eyes.  

The old saying that the hardest job in the Army is being an Army wife is true. Military spouses tend to be the secret to anyone’s success in uniform. For us, this entailed over thirty years of active-duty service, twelve moves across the nation and overseas. And no, it does not get easier over time having the contents of one’s house dumped into the yard, boxed up and sent to some far away destination. This also included twelve years residing outside of the United States as well.  Not to mention that each time I was sent off to a combat zone, we were living overseas, adding immensely to the pressure and stress on Rebbie.  

Rebbie and Doug Mastriano/Mastriano's Facebook page

The thing is, Rebbie sacrificed EVERYTHING for my military service and for our family. The fact is; 

There would be no Colonel Mastriano, without Rebbie,

There would be no Doctor Mastriano (Ph.D) without Rebbie,

There would be no Senator Mastriano without Rebbie,

And, (with your help) no Governor Mastriano, without Rebbie.

Rebbie’s ability to stay strong as our lives uprooted every few years to move to far away places, is rare and admirable. Tolerating typical 12–16-hour workdays, constant unit deployments, field exercises, immense stress of the various Army jobs I found myself in, and yet still finding a warm and welcoming home created and maintained by my Rebbie, was/is something I don’t take for granted.  

And then, when Josiah was born, you could not find a more loving mom, who set aside what little time she had to homeschool him from kindergarten through high school.  

Rebbie is the hero of this story, of being willing to go counter to the prevailing cultural pressures to do what she knew was right for our family. Now we are traveling the length and width of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania meeting with literally thousands of people. At most of these events, you will see and meet Rebbie. As she has always been for the past 34 years, Rebbie is the real hero of my story.  It is impossible for me to say enough for all she has done, but let it suffice for the moment to wish her and all moms across our great land, Happy Mother’s Day.

Doug Mastriano serves as the senator for Pennsylvania’s 33rd District and is currently running for governor.