Military Wives...the Unspoken Heroes

Anyone that knows a military wife knows the struggles she goes through--while her husband is gone on deployments or trips but also while he's home.  Andy and I have only been through one deployment since we've been married.  We recently went through a 3-month separation while he was at 1st Class Dive School and we have a deployment ahead of us in the near future.

I think people forget how MUCH a military wife truly does to support the household and the family while her husband is away and at home.  My good friend is currently raising her little man on her own.  She's going through all the trials and tribulations of a first time mom without her husband by her side because he is currently on deployment, serving his country.  And while the deployment is hard on him because he's missing out on a lot of his son's first and of course the comforts of home too, it's just as  hard on her, in my opinion.  Not only is she taking care of the household, but she's caring for her 6-month old baby, handling bills and house repairs, all of the doctor's appointments, and still managing to find time to care for herself.

I think being a military wife, especially with children, makes you a stronger woman.  You realize that you can do things you didn't think you could do.  While Andy was gone, I took up mowing the lawn & caring for the pool.  I didn't have much problem with the lawn but the pool proved to be my arch enemy.  I swear if Andy is gone during the summer again I'll be hiring me a pool boy...seriously!  As military wives, we are often forced to drop everything to change our lifestyle while our husbands are absent.  Now, I wouldn't have it any other way because I'm proud of my husband, proud of his service to his country, and love him more than words can describe.

And then, when our guys are home, while things are definitely easier, we our their sounding board for all the craziness that comes along with being in the military: the mindless regulations, early mornings and late nights, last minute trips, the stress of advancement tests, and more.  And it seems that sometimes it's almost harder when they're home because if their work schedule changes at the last minute...we can be stuck left in a bind with not much time to change plans to accomadate the last minute changes and are left scrambling to make back-up plans.  For me, as a part-time college student, late nights at work for Andy mean I may have to find someone else to watch Brock and I may not know until the last minute.  Luckily, I am surrounded by wonderful friends and neighbors that are always willing to help when needed.  But not every military wife has this support network.

I guess I've been rambling but the point of this post is just to say, not only THANK YOU to the military men and women that serve this country, but also to say THANK YOU to the families that stand behind them.  Without the support of their families, these men and women would not be able to clearly focus on the task at hand, protecting our country.