Being a Military Spouse

Your furnace won't work. Fix it.
Your child is sick and you have to get to work or class. Tough. Your world has to wait.
Your soldier has been deployed to Iraq and you haven't heard from him for a week. Trust. You have to have faith that they are safe and it is just a communications blackout... because someone else's soldier is hurt or dead and they don't want word getting out the wrong way to the family.

Imagine living in a world where 365 days a year you are waiting for the other foot to drop, praying God forgot to put on His shoes and walks gently through your life.
Imagine the dreams you might have laying in bed alone after having just put your children to bed crying for their soldier parent.
Imagine the sleep you might lose when those dreams frighten you awake night after night, 365 days a year...or more.
Imagine how the military spouse feels when their service member returns. The elation of feeling their arms around them, the newness of the touch after having gone without it for such a long time; realizing that they have both grown and changed, wondering if they have grown so much apart that they won't be able to find their way back to each other; knowing there is barely a year to reconnect before the next 365 day separation.
Imagine the loss of odds on that marriage, and the work and effort it takes to save it time and time again.

Imagine knowing that your loved one believes so fondly in this country that they are willing to put their lives on the line. The honor of knowing they fight even for those that would spit on them or call them baby killers. It takes a strong heart and an even stronger faith to be willing to give for them.

The heart of a military spouse is made of steel. Not everyone can handle this life. Their hearts have to be able to withstand being torn apart every other year as their loved one goes off to war. Their hearts have to hold the pain it feels tight, because they have children to hold and be strong for. They have lives to live.

They have days where they just want to scream. They have days that they want to cry. They have days that they do.

Military spouses are some of the strongest people you will ever meet.