Recently I heard from my married daughter, Candice, that her husband is expected to return from Iraq within the next 2 to 3 months. I am, of course, thrilled at the prospect of having my son-in-law and daughter together again. They were married only five months when he deployed and that was over a year ago.
The experience of having a close family member deployed opened my eyes to a lot of things that I'd never given a second thought to. I had never realized the extent of the sacrifice the military families endure and how difficult it is to hold their lives together in the face of long deployments. I also never thought of the physical discomfort the troops face because of climate and distance from home. Listening to my daughter talk about her experiences as a military wife was a real eye-opener for me. I had no words of wisdom to give her because it was something I had never experienced. Instead, I tried to be supportive of her and Thomas, and I also put a yellow ribbon around the tree in front of my house.
I've made it a point to thank every member of the military I meet now. Thanks never seems like enough, but they are always so happy to hear it. When Thomas deployed I promised myself that I would attend mass every chance I got and pray for his safety and it's a promise I have not yet broken. However, instead of letting my promise fall to the wayside when Thomas is home, I will continue to pray for the safe return of my cousin, Jan, who deployed August 1. The day Jan deployed, I put another yellow ribbon around my tree.
Jade
P.S. Thomas' ribbon will come down when he arrives home, Jan's will stay until she does the same.
I'm glad to hear that. I do too. I thanked the guy at the hardware store and he started crying.
ReplyDeleteI understand that there is a huge difference between the politicans and military. That there are business interests that heavily influence our public policy.
And I think in the end, it has been the "Military Industrial Complex" (remember this from the Eisenhower years) along with the cooperation of politicans, that has in many ways, downgraded our military leaders.
Sadly, the majority of politicians do not know about the military either. The last President to have a son or daughter serve was Roosevelt.
As for our congress and senate, I think there are only 1 or 2 who have children serving. And of our elected officials, those who have served in the military themselves can be counted on one hand.
And so we have an inequity in our country. We have some bad stereotypes about the military that it is the last resort for people who cannot find or do any other kind of job. This is untrue. Did you know that in the career Army that many of the officers have Masters and Ph.D's?
My solution? Everyone serves in some capacity. I wrote about it here
Thanks for your comment, Kanani. Sadly, it's true that becoming a member of the military is considered a "last resort for slackers" and that not enough respect or support is given to those who serve. I think this attitude falls in line with the lack of respect for any type of authority, whether it be police or military.
ReplyDeleteAs for some members of the military being intelligent, highly educated members of society that is most certainly true. My cousin Jan hold a master's degree and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. She recently gave up command of her unit in Korea to serve in Iraq. By the way, she left her husband (retired from the Army) and her two young daughters behind when she deployed. Not only is she intelligent and loyal, she's also unselfish and courageous. I'm proud to say she's a member of my family.
Let's put it this way.
ReplyDeleteMost of our politicians don't hold the educational, leadership and organizational abilities that officers have.