Saturday, December 11, 2010

DD#29 Army Wives

No, I'm not talking about the TV show. I'm thinking about the real life Army wives that I get be around everyday. We don't all come from the same cookie cutter mold and we are definitely not the army wives of the 50s who were all stay at home moms cooking and cleaning all day! I saw a comment to a news article just yesterday degrading army wives at Ft.Carson because they are out of touch with the real world because all we do is stay home and take care of our kids and husband. If that person could have walked in my shoes over this last week they would have seen wives that we are anything but that!

Thursday I was in the midst of some very strong Army wives. A friend was making a DITY move onto post and her husband was in the field. Several of her friends came over to help unload the truck. Her husband, in his misguided thinking, told his wife that it would be okay if we only brought the boxes in and that he would bring some guys over that night to get all the "heavy" stuff. By the time we were done, we only left four or five pieces of furniture in the truck. Never underestimate the strength, both physical and mental, of an Army wife. In some ways it was like an episode of army wives because we were all from different backgrounds and our husbands have different jobs and ranks, but none of that matters.  What matters is that we are here to support each other through the good and the bad.

We have learned to be independent and to take care ourselves because of multiple deployments. We've also learned to lean on each other for help. We do things like car repair and maintenance, yard work, household repairs, painting, and many other "manly" chores. Not because we want to, but because if we don't do it, no one will!  Army wives are no longer the stay home mom type...even the ones that don't necessarily "work" outside the home are rarely actually home! They are volunteers, teachers, government employees, soccer coaches, students, and artists to name just a few of the things that army wives do.

We are often called the silent ranks. We sacrifice a lot and so do our children, but we are resilient and show our strength during times of adversity. Many do it without any thanks or praise. So this holiday season as you are gathered with your family and friends, remember those families who are separated from their loved ones this holiday season. They are a special group of women and I love all of my fellow army wives dearly. I don't know what I would do without them. Thank you for all you do!

And last, but not least...GO ARMY!!! BEAT NAVY!!!

1 comment:

Abby said...

aww!! I <3 you! Thanks for helpin me move!! Jake was SO SHOCKED to see what we all had accomplished and talked about it all evening.. He even got excited when I told him that Hannah was coming over to help go through the last few boxes to "organize" things because after seeing what we had accomplished he KNEW that the house would be done when he got home.. He got humbled and took it quite nicely.. :) Now, LESS than one week after we got keys, the pictures are hung and there will be curtains tonight!! :) Army wives ROCK :)