The Military Wife

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 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? 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 gota 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 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 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. 
And 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 is 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 nearly 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!

By Colonel Steven Arrington 
17th Training Wing 
vice commander Goodfellow AFB 
San Angelo, Texas 
from the Goodfellow Monitor 
11May01 
 

Dedicated to 
a special friend 
Samantha
and
Virginia 
my #1 'bestest' friend in Alaska
!!!