Over the years I have talked a lot about military spouses,
how special they are and the price they pay for freedom too.
The funny thing about it, 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? 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 immaculate living rooms and are 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 that they won't see
them for a month, or for a remote, a year. They are lonely, but they will
survive.
Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call Maytag and then write a
check out for getting 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 new school next year and whether that school will be the worst
in the city...again.
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.And
other spouses are touched by the television program showing an elderly lady
putting a card down in the front of a long, black wall that has names on it.
The card simply says, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. You would have been sixty
today." A military spouse is the lady with the card. The wall is the Vietnam
Memorial.
I would never say military spouses are better or worse than other spouses
are. But I will say there is a difference. And I will say that our country
asks more of military spouses than asked of other spouses. And I will say
without hesitation that military spouses pay just as high a price for
freedom as do their active duty husbands or 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...
And God Bless America!!