Grace Under Fire

OK. So Army wives don't technically come under fire, but fuck me, isn't all the shit we have to deal with comparable in some ways to being in a war zone?? Don't the terror we experience for our husbands, the psycho wives we encounter, obnoxious children we wrangle, the headaches we get from the Army being stupid count in any way toward us being able to say that we are under fire?

Deployment is a constant battle for spouses left behind-a battle to maintain our sanity, stay strong for our families, to make a somewhat normal life for our children. We struggle with these things for a year at a time with no loving husband to hold us in his arms and say, "It will be OK." Who do we have to lean on?

Some people pray and that's all well and good. I pray myself. A LOT! But I find that God is a poor substitute sometimes for a shoulder to cry on or another person to vent at. There are times during deployment when it seems like life would be easier if there was no husband to worry about and no kids to try to control. Sometimes it seems like it will never end and we will be stuck at the bottom of this shitty rabbit hole forever. And it's times like these when we wives need the strength and courage of our friends and fellow Army wives to pull us through.

I have seen wives who cry at the drop of a hat and wives who can't seem to take charge of their own lives. I have seen women hide in their homes and try to deny what is going on and others who bury themselves in a bottle to ignore the fact that they are alone. I have seen it all. Drugs. Fucking around on their husbands. Near suicidal behavior. Neglecting their children. But I am happy to say, that these women are the exception to the rule.

Most of the wives I have met this deployment are handling the shit storm that is deployment with immense grace and integrity. They go out. They take care of their kids. They may have the occassional drinking binge or smoke like a fucking dragon (that would be me), but they are handling their business. They manage to juggle bills, kids, school, jobs, loneliness, and fear with only sporadic contact with their husbands. And when it all gets to be too much, they find another wife to cry to or bitch at.

These women, these great wives, are the unsung heroes I would like to honor. Army spouses usually get a bad rap, but these women are outstanding human beings and deserve far better than the lot they have drawn (a lot which any one of them would tell you they wouldn't trade for the world). In spite of all the shitty circumstances and the overwhelming emotions that a deployment inevitably brings on, these women not only survive: They inspire other wives to not just make it through deployment, but to conquer deployment.

So, to my harem, you are my heroes! You inspire me to do more and be a better Army wife. Thank you all and Happy Veteran's Day to the unsung hero: the Army Wife.