Among the MANY things you have been asked/expected/encouraged to do as a military spouse, you have followed…
followed the mailman to inquire on your forwarded mail;
followed the school bus to be sure your son got to his new school with ease;
followed a neighbor, secretly, to find out where the Post Office/PX/Self-Help is;
followed the directions on your new self-cleaning oven that doesn’t/won’t;
followed your soldier to the ends of the earth and back, on orders and out of a lasting love.
You have packed…
packed with a day’s notice for a move that wasn’t scheduled for weeks to find your things wouldn’t arrive for months;
packed lunches for children who weren’t convinced this new school was really going to be so great;
packed cookies you baked late, late at night to get to the Unit, to get to the Field, to get to your hero who always favored your oatmeal raisins;
packed your wedding album in an old worn towel, then wrapped in an old worn blanket, to preserve the pictures of the dress you’d worm that day you become Mrs..
You have allowed…
allowed another’s future to shape your present, and your life;
allowed the stairwell neighbor to use the washer first, despite how late you’d be up and down the stairs to get your turn at laundry chores;
allowed those lonely single soldiers a special memory when you opened your door to them at the Holidays;
allowed your soldier to believe in himself which allowed him to remain successful.
You have supported…
supported Bake Sales when your own family hadn’t seen a homemade brownie in months;
supported the young wife next door when a field problem turned into a nightmare of loneliness;
supported your soldier when you’d rather have gone back home, realizing you already were;;
supported your Country even though they’ll never understand the sacrifices that included;
supported the man you love, the marriage you’ve created and the Army you’ve now both committed to.
You have cherished…
cherished moments and memories from Units, countries, ceremonies and isolated assignments;
cherished the melodies of our National Anthem while on foreign soil far from home;
cherished your children even in moments when you were asked to do it all for them on your own;
cherished the time you have together, no matter how little that often was;
cherished the women the Army has offered to you to be your mentors, friends and sisters ! those precious spouses of your husband’s comrades.
You have discovered…
discovered that you can do more than you ever believed you were capable of;
discovered that when he leaves for the field, every household item senses the same and decidedly breaks down;
discovered people and friendships you might never have ever known had you not boarded that plane and left that comfort zone;
discovered that absence really DOES make the heart grow fonder, and fonder;
discovered how many meals you can stretch out of a pound of meat before payday finally rolls around.
You have given…
given of yourself, time and time again;
given advice freely whether or not it was needed;
given your mother’s recipe as your own to save the Unit cookbook;
given your last can of cream soup even though you KNEW the commissary would be out of it when you went again;
given your love to a man who looks so good in BDU’s;
given your heart to a man who stands for all this is good and honest and respectful in mankind.
You have hung…
hung curtains in more windows over time than the grandest castle might have;
hung on to your sanity by a fragile thread as the deployment wore on and on;
hung around with folks who brought joy into your life and memories into your soul ~ “Army folks”.
hung onto him with all your might, as if a long hard hug would delay a goodbye;
hung every plaque from every job he’s ever had on the wall that you’d wished held a painting;
hung the For Sale sign in from of the house you thought you’d live n forever.
The MILITARY SPOUSE – who deserves this special day of his/her own.
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