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Military Spouses

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kodiakemt414

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Seeing as how a lot of you are military, either active, retired, or family, I thought I would post this.

Enjoy and thanks for serving.

Military Spouses
By Paige Swiney

It was just another harried Wednesday afternoon trip to the
commissary. My husband was off teaching young men to fly. My
daughters were going about their daily activities knowing I would
return to them at the appointed time, bearing, among other things,
their favorite fruit snacks frozen pizza and all the little extras
that never had to be written down on a grocery list.

My grocery list, by the way, was in my 16-month-old daughter's mouth,
and I was lamenting the fact that the next four aisles of needed
items would pass by while extracting the last of my list from my
daughters mouth, when I nearly ran over an old man. This man clearly
had no appreciation for the fact that I had 45 minutes left to finish
the grocery shopping, pick up my 4-year old from tumbling class and
get to school, where my 12-year-old and her car pool mates would be
waiting.

I knew men didn't belong in a commissary, and this old guy was no
exception. He stood in front of the soap selection staring blankly,
as if he'd never had to choose a bar of soap in his life. I was ready
to bark an order at him when l realized there was a tear on his face.
Instantly, this grocery isle roadblock transformed into a
human.... "Can I help you find something?" I asked.

He hesitated, and then told me he was looking for soap.

"Any one in particular?" I continued.

"Well, I'm trying to find my wife's brand of soap."

I started to loan him my cell phone to call her when he said, "She
died a year ago, and I just want to smell her again."

Chills ran down my spine. I don't think the 22,000-pound Mother of
all Bombs could have had the same impact. As tears welled up in my
eyes, my half-eaten grocery list didn't seem so important. Neither
did fruit snacks or frozen pizza. I spent the remainder of my time in
the commissary that day listening to a man tell the story of how
Important his wife was to him -- how she took care of their children
while he served our country. A retired, decorated World War II pilot
who flew over 50 missions to protect Americans still needed the
protection of a woman who served him at home.

My life was forever changed that day. Every time my husband works too
late or leaves before the crack of dawn, l try to remember the sense
of importance I felt that day in the commissary. Some times the
monotony of laundry, housecleaning, grocery shopping and taxi driving
leaves military wives feeling empty -- the kind of emptiness that is
rarely fulfilled when our husbands come home and don't want to or
can't talk about work. We need to be reminded, at times; of the
important role we fill for our family and for our country.

Over the years, I've talked a lot about military spouses..how special
they are and the price they pay for freedom too. The funny thing is;
most military spouses don't consider themselves different from other
spouses. They do what they have to do, bound together not by blood or
merely friendship, but with a shared spirit whose origin is in the
very essence of what love truly is.

Is there truly a difference? I think there is. You have to decide for
yourself. Other spouses get married and look forward to building
equity in a home and putting down family roots. Military spouses get
married and know they'll live in base housing or rent, and their
roots must be short so they can be transplanted frequently. Other
spouses decorate a home with flair and personality that will last a
lifetime. Military spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with
the knowledge that no two base houses have the same size windows or
same size rooms. Curtains have to be flexible and multiple sets are a
plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle pieces.

Other spouses have living rooms that are immaculate and seldom used.
Military spouses have immaculate living room/dining room combos. The
coffee table got a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still
looks pretty good. Other spouses say good-bye to their spouse for a
business trip and know they won't see them for a week. They are
lonely, but can survive. Military spouses say good-bye to their
deploying spouse and know they won't see them for months, or for a
remote, a year. They are lonely, but will survive

Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call Maytag and then
write a check out for having the hose reconnected. Military spouses
will cut the water off and fix it themselves. Other spouses get used
to saying "hello" to friends they see all the time. Military spouses
get used to saying "good-bye" to friends made the last two years.
Other spouses worry about whether their child will be class president
next year. Military spouses worry about whether their child will be
accepted in yet another school next year and whether that school will
be the worst in the[url] city...again[/url].


Other spouses can count on spouse participation in special
events...birthdays, anniversaries, concerts, football games,
graduation, and even the birth of a child. Military spouses only
count on each other; because they realize that the flag has to come
first if freedom is to survive. It has to be that way. Other spouses
put up yellow ribbons when the troops are imperiled across the globe
and take them down when the troops come home. Military spouses wear
yellow ribbons around their hearts and they never go away. Other
spouses worry about being late for mom's Thanksgiving dinner.
Military spouses worry about getting back from Japan in time for
dad's funeral.

The television program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in
front of a long, black wall that has names on it touches other
spouses. The card simply says, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. You would
have been sixty today." A military spouse is the lady with the card,
and the wall is the Vietnam Memorial. I would never say military
spouses are better than other spouses are. But I will say there is a
difference. I will say, without hesitation, that military spouses pay
just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty husbands and
wives. Perhaps the price they pay is even higher. Dying in service to
our country isn't near as hard as loving someone who has died in
service to our country, and having to live without them.

God bless our military spouses for all they freely give.

God bless America
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Damn, that hurt!!! Lump in the throat still there.

I just emailed a copy to my mother-in-law (military spouse), my wife (military spouse) and my new daughter-in-law-to-be (military spouse to be) with an added note of thanks and an appology for not having said it sooner.

Thanks for posting this.

B.Ford
 
often over looked,and seldom thought about,but the strongest spouses in the world are military spouses
i tried to join twice but they wouldn't take me,and the closest thing to a firefight i came to was fighting fires.but every day i leave for work i give my wife a hug and kiss for that reason
 
as we know now this does not just involve husbands going
"in harms way" but also wives, mothers and daughters!
snake-eyes
 
I just printed a copy to take home to my wife.
She's been there through thick and thin during my career.
She is about to endure more as I leave for Tallil Iraq in May.

Huntin
 
Thanks, KAPOOF!, for reminding us of the sacrifices our spouses (and kids) faced on every WestPac/Med deployment, every TAD tour for schooling.
 
out a huntin',
thanks for your sacifice and i pray you come back safe!!!!!!along with everyone else!
snake-eyes :peace: :peace: :peace:
 
Gonna definately email the wife this one, and I have to agree with you all that yes, sometimes we do take a lot for granted and sometime need these reminders! :agree: :agree:
 
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