Thursday, October 25, 2007

Letter from a civilian wife to a military wife

A friend of mine sent me an email that had this letter attached. I am not sure how she came across this email. I can never thank this woman enough for all that she has written. There is no way to truly explain the way this letter makes me and many other military wives feel. Thank you!


Dear Military Wife,

I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news. I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for. I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband. I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so. I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand. I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home. I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with. And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting.

For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel. I can not tell you that you must be strong. I can not say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man". I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes. What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - -I will never have to walk in your shoes.

I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now. I have figured out that you are not like other women. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess. The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America. You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American. I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment.

Until this moment I could never put into words exactly whatAmerica meant to me. Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you. Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down.Military families make this nation what it is today. You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Because of you and your family...I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land. Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay. Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday. I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom. I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable.

However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are...what you are doing...what has happened today...or what will happen tomorrow... Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me.... And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten. You are all in my prayer's everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely. May God Bless You. Military spouses make daily sacrifices while their spouse serve our country. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Nic's Doctor Visit

I took Nic in for his six month well baby check up this past Friday. He weighs 16.9 pounds! The doctor said that everything looks great with him. Nic's first tooth is now through. It came through last Friday. He is growing so quickly! Over the weekend he tried Cheerios for the first time....and loved them! He has not quite caught on to the fact that he has to grab them with his fingers. When he tries he just makes suck a mess! Nicholas waits until I grab one, then grabs my hand to put it in his mouth. He knows when I have food!

Breanna and Caitlin are great as well! They both enjoy school very much. Caitlin has yet to get into trouble and Breanna has managed to get in trouble twice now. Once for whistling in class (the third week of school) and the other, yesterday, for slamming books on the floor in the hallway. I have no idea why she thought that would be a good idea. Caitlin has gotten in trouble at home lately. Caitlin thinks it is okay to slam doors in the house, so yesterday when she slammed the door I made her go to a door to where I could see her and open and shut the door 15 times. Everytime she slammed it, she had to start over. She has not slammed another door since then. I think she learned two lessons yesterday, the first one is to not slam doors, and the second is learning to count to 15 without skipping a number. Then again, I will know more on the slamming doors in the house when she gets home!

Kevin called us on Saturday. Nothing new is going on there. Just working a lot and ready to come home! We are barely over two months until he comes home to us! I cannot wait. It is so hard to not tell the girls that Kev will be home before Christmas.