Thursday, September 9, 2010

Spouse or Special Ops

Army wives prayer

Dear Lord,


Give me the greatness of heart to see the difference between duty and his love for me. Give me understanding that I may know, when duty calls him he must go. Give me a task to do each day, to fill the time when he's away. And Lord, when he's in a foreign land, keep him safe in your loving hand. And Lord, when duty is in the field, please protect him and be his shield. And Lord, when deployment is so long, please stay with me and keep me strong. Amen.
 
Ok, so now where is the prayer that gives you patience and strength to deal with the kids, carpool, school, pets, shopping, sleeping alone and nonstop emergencies?  Could someone point me in that general direction.  We are not simply Army wives.  We are special ops Army wives! 
 
I can plan an luncheon while making my son's lunch.  Throw a load of laundry into the washer while making return phone calls to my FRG.  I can sort and count Boxtops at the same time I'm stirring dinner on the stove.  I can pick up my husbands Class A's, run to the px and jump into the commissary in less than 2 X 2 flat. 
 
I remember once being wakened about 3am, by someone pounding on my window.  We were stationed at Ft. Bragg at the time and my husband had just deployed to Iraq.  Not knowing what to expect, I grabbed the pistol he had left me and up I jerked the window shade.  Imagine my surprise when I seen it was my girlfriends from the neighborhood out on a late night expedition and theirs when they saw the pistol.  I was fully prepared to defend the homefront in my husband's absence.  We laugh about it now, but at the time I was thinking "what the hell is going on". 
 
What color star should a spouse get for years of living like this?
 
You cannot be a military wife without knowing how to compartmentalize your emotions. Sometimes those feelings, or those tears, sneak up on you, but you learn how to reign them in. The faster you learn how to do it, the better off you are. But other times, when you find you can't feel anything at all, you wonder: where does compartmentalization end and disassociation begin?
 
All in all, I absolutely love being a military wife.  With each move, our family meets new lifelong friends.  We've travel to some of the most beautiful places.  I'll take that anyday over a delayed household goods delivery, extended stay at the hotel and all that goes with a PCS move. 
 
After all you're surrounded by people just like you, other army-wives who no doubt share experiences and interests


You get free health and dental for rest of your life and for any of your dependants too!

You get to hear all their funny stories (believe me they are funny, makes you wish YOU enlisted too!)  NOT


 

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