Friday, May 11, 2012

Dear Military Spouse

On this Military Spouse Appreciate Day, I just wanted to say …

Thank you for keeping your households, your families, going through deployments, separations, repeated cross country moves, and countless uncertainties.

Thank you for knowing how to make your house a home, no matter where it may be.

Thank you for building friendships quickly and cherishing them eternally.

Thank you for the tears you shed every time a hero is lost—not only because you know what could have been, but also because you feel the pain of those left behind.

Thank you for clenching the phone and whispering sweet nothings to your spouse who’s away, even when static and poor connections cut the conversation short, and even with the frightening sound of bombs exploding in the background. And thank you loving him or her enough to keep picking up the phone, each and every time.

Thank you for enduring dates over a phone line or webcam, anniversaries spent on different continents, and birthdays celebrated alone—again.

Thank you for working, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, soothing, chauffeuring, and tutoring, all with a phone held tightly by your side and an instant messenger constantly on and waiting.

Thank you for being by my side while my husband was deployed—again—even if yours was as well.

Thank you for understanding that when I said “everything’s ok,” I really meant, “I need a hug.”

And thank you for knowing that “I’m a little sleepy” meant “I’m worried sick and haven’t slept in weeks.”

Thank you for cherishing every moment with your spouse, and understanding that we truly never know how many moments we may get.

Thank you for the boxes of cookies, inspirational cards, books, and care packages you have sent to the Middle East—even while your spouse was at home next to you.

Thank you for being the first to ask, “What can I do to help?” and the last to leave after everyone else has gone home.

Thank you for knowing that Welcome Home is just the beginning of the journey.

Thank you for nurturing, caring for, hugging, kissing, and comforting your children—often alone—even when you feel like giving up.

Thank you for always remembering that we are still at war, even after the news, and the world, seems to have forgotten.

Thank you for welcoming me into your home, your life, your family, even when I felt like I did not belong.

Thank you for being some of the strongest, most dedicated, most devoted people I have ever known, and for letting me learn from you each day.

And thank you for loving someone so deeply, so completely that you sacrifice more than anyone else could ever understand.

On this day, our day, I just want to say …

Thank YOU.

2 comments:

  1. and Thank You as well for writing what and how you do!!

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  2. A friend of mine awarded me the Liebster Award, and now I'm passing it on to you! I follow you blog, and love all the recipes. Liebster is a German word meaning "dearest," so the award is for smaller blogs (less than 200 followers) that you enjoy. It's a nice way to show your favorite bloggers know you love them.
    The Liebster Award does come with some rules: Give 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you, nominate 11 blogs of your own, and list 11 questions for them to answer. Go to my blog http://tastingmywords.blogspot.com/2012/11/liebster-awardsweet.html to get the questions I listed for you.

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