A Military Wife

I am a constitutionalists, and I have a lot of American pride. I appreciate the sacrifices our troops are making in preserving our freedoms. I think that they are underappreciated by many in our country. I would like to offer my gratitude and respect for them at this time. But this is not what this post is about. This post is a post to offer my gratitude and respect for an even more underappreciated group… their families. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to have a husband or a wife overseas. Not able to see every day. Not able to share parenting experiences with. Not to be able to kiss and hold and just be with daily. These men and women are so strong. They are my heroes. I never wish myself to be one of these women; I just don't think that I am up to the challenge. But I honor them, I respect them, and I am grateful for their sacrifices. I can't imagine what it must be like to have a son or a daughter overseas, or to have a mother or a father. Its one thing not to be able to be with your loved ones, but the real difficult thing I think would be to know that at any moment, they may die. To be taken from you and your life forever. That is a worry I hope never to experience, but I am so grateful that people do experience it. Because it means that we have troops to defend our freedoms and our nation. Now if only the citizens back home could defend our freedoms and our nations within our communities and branches of government right here in America the way our troops do overseas. If only we could show a little more gratitude and pride to be Americans. If only we could respect our history and our constitution a little better. I promise to do my part.

I heard this read on the Doc’s show and it really struck a chord. I would like to share it with you all. It's dedicated to the wives of the enlisted military. I am grateful for your sacrifice.
What is a military wife?

They may look different, and each is wonderfully unique but this is what they have in common. Lots of moving. Moving. Moving. Moving far from home. Moving two cars, three kids and one dog, all riding with her of course. Moving sofa’s to basements, because they won't go in this house. Moving curtains that won't fit. Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours. Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends. Moving her most important luggage, her trunk full of memories. Often waiting waiting waiting. Waiting for housing, waiting for orders, waiting for deployment, waiting for reunion, waiting for phone calls, waiting for the new curtains to arrive, waiting for him to come home for dinner… again.

They call her military dependent, but she knows better. She can balance a checkbook, handle the yard work, and fix a noisy toilet. She can put together a wooden swing set. She is immediately familiar with dry wall anchors and toggle bolts. She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, and set up a move all with one power of attorney. She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her. Reinvents here career with every PCS. Locates a house in the desert, the Arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all home, because she makes them all home. She is fiercely independent.

Military wives are somewhat hasty. They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches, and friendships. They don't have 15 years to get to know people, their roots are short but flexible. They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them. Military wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse network and accept offers of friendship and favors, and record addresses in pencil. Military wives have a common bond.

The military wife has a husband unlike other husbands. His commitment is unique. He doesn’t have a job, he has a mission. He can't just decide to quit. He is on call for his country 24/7, but for you, he is the most unreliable guy in town. His language is foreign, TDY, PCS, MOS, FOB, ACU and so a military wife is a translator for her family and his. She is the long distance link to keep them informed, the glue that holds them together. The military wife has her moments. She wants to ring his neck, dye his uniform pink and refuse to move to Siberia, but she pulls herself together. Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag and a wedding picture, and she goes. She packs, she moves, she follows. Why? What for? How come? You may think it is because she has lost her mind, but actually it is because she has lost her heart. It was stolen from her by a man who puts duty first, who longs to deploy, who salutes the flag, and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her military husband she will remain his military wife.