I had to go on Base today. There was a rotator going out and I wanted to put a package on board for my husband. Another group of men and women were heading overseas... leaving loved ones to do what they are called to do.
Now that Carl is gone, I don't like going onto Base. I go when I need to make a large commissary run or when one of the kids needs to go to the clinic, but other then that, I avoid the Base like the plague. It is not because I don't like the Base-I actually love it-it is because my heart breaks each time I pass through the gates. The Base represents my husband. My husband represents the Base. All of the men and women in uniform are a part of my husband. They share his love for this Great Nation. My heart aches for my husband when I am on Base.
I have always loved passing through the gates onto Base. It is like going from the outside in. Like going from the outer banks to the safety of a fortress. When I am on base I am surrounded by military members who would put their lives in danger for the safety of mine and my children's. I feel safe amongst the people who stand up to danger and say "If you want to get to my country, you are going to have to go through me first."
We Americans place a huge burden on our military members. We expect them to go to the ends of the earth for us. We expect them to stand up and fight so that we do not need to. We expect them to defeat the enemy at the gates, and they do just that. They do what it takes to keep America safe. They sacrifice and sacrifice again.
You know how people who have faced a debilitating disease and survived have a new outlook on life? They see what they did not see before their life was in danger. They see the importance of life. I wonder how many Americans think about our military in that way. I wonder how many people truly know that men and women in uniform have looked death in the face and survived. They are prepared to do what it takes and don't look back. They know the importance of living, they know the importance of freedom. They know the significance of fighting for those who are unable and standing guard for those who need them.
To top is all off, they are kind. They are considerate. They call people ma'am and sir. They open doors and take off their hats in buildings. They know what respect is. They know what hard work is. They know what if feels like to belong to this country and to have the commitment to uphold the values that we live under.
They will make sure my husband gets his package of love notes and 5 year old drawings. They know how valuable the lifeline to home is.
Do you think John McCain knows how valuable the lifeline home is? He survived thinking of his home. Thinking of the place where he knew he belonged. America. Do you want a President that has always known what it is like to love your country... or one that spent years searching for a place to belong?
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36 comments:
Right on!! I am so proud of your courage to stand up and speak out on your blog for what is true and what is morally right! I too am an Air Force Wife (16yrs), just survived a year long deployment, and am one of your anonymous folks who comments every once in awhile...maybe someday I will get the courage to tell you who I am..we will see...but again thanks for speaking up....love your blog too:)
AMEN, SISTA!!!
A beautiful sentiment!! Thanks for being so eloquent and vulnerable!
My family prays for all our brave service men and women and all of their families every night. We love you guys!
Well said. Please know that your husband and others like him are always in my prayers. Your entire family's sacrifice is precious and does not go unnoticed.
McCain survived thinking of how at home he'd ditch his loyal wife for some hot young wealthy thing.
Oh annon... you are so right. While John McCain was being tortured for years his main thought was "I am going to divorce my wife and marry someone else when I make it out of this hell hole... if I make it out."
Your lack of compassion for a war hero who was tortured and came back to America to only serve his country again makes me feel sorry for you.
But rest assured my annon friend, John McCain would fight again for you, and so will all of the other members of our great military... they will fight so that you can run your mouth and be inconsiderate and sound ignorant.
Congratulations. You just solidified my choice for President.
Amen!
Good for you. I am attacked on my blog for my political choice (same as yours) and it is nice to find someone else out here that feels the same. Right on!
Nice smack down on Annon. God Bless you and your family. We are a military family too, and we are terrified of what Barack Hussein Obama might do as Commander in Chief.
Thank you!
As a retired military family - hooray for you! OBama has no idea what it is like to pick up a gun in defense of the freedom he has to run for president in a country that has given him that freedom. Nor does his wife know what it is like to wait and pray for the safety of your loved one to return from harms way. Here is a man who wants to be our commander in chief, but has no idea what fatigues are. God Bless you June and your family and all the other wives/husbands out there waiting in support of their soldier.
Hey, June Baby. Anon really did a great job of showing the huge disconnect between those who would die for their country (and their families) and the majority of Americans who have no idea (or cares) about how hard the military life is and the sacrifices it entails for the service member and the families. Perhaps we could lock Anon in a dark closet and drag him/her out at odd intervals for beatings on and off for a few years and see if at the end of it, he/she can just reintegrate with his/her former life without skipping a beat.
But we chose this life, so no complaining, right? How dare we remind them of the sacrifices we make as if to make them feel a tiny bit of guilt for doing not one thing to serve their country except drive homeless people to the polls to vote for the candidate they tell them to vote for?
When I went to a McCain rally last month, one of the speakers mentioned that, if elected, we would have a Pres and VP who each had a child serving in the military at that time - this would be a first. I take tremendous comfort in the idea that they would have a personal interest in the welfare of the military.
I love the last paragraph Cris! I just took a poll of how many people thought Obama would make a good President...6,000 said yes, and over 100K said no! Tells you something huh?
Carl is in our daily prayers.
We love you all!
Claire
Thank you for the inside look into base life and the "heart" of our military.
So much is swirling about Obama, did you know he is being sued to produce his birth certificate?
"Do you want a President that has always known what it is like to love your country... or one that spent years searching for a place to belong?"
I so want John McCain and Sarah Palin.
God bless you and your husband and family!
I hope we can agree to disagree. I do know one thing: My politics may be different, but I am amazed every day at the courage and honor of people like Carl (and let's not forget the sacrifices of the spouses and families at home). God bless you all!
- K
June, I totally know what you mean about avoiding the base when your hubby is away. I felt the exact same way when my hubby was deployed. At times it's the safest, most comforting place in the world, and at others it's the loneliest, most heartbreaking. Hang in there, my friend!
Amen, Sister!!!!!
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 10/14/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
My family says a prayer for the men and women in uniform every night.
My godfather just made it back from Afg. and my uncle is soon to go to Iraq.
We do understand the sacrifice you and your husband are making. Thank you
June, I just can't hold it in! I'm so glad most of your readers agree with you politically and I pray they all vote.
Anonymous is just regurgitating what he/she reads in all the papers. Bill Clinton gets head under his desk while discussing National Security Issues and we're supposed to leave personal lives out of politics. John McCain has trouble adjusting to life after Vietnam and divorces his wife and now personal lives are back on the table. Whatever! Everyone has faults but at least John McCain isn't standing at the podium saying "I did not divorce that woman".
Sarah Palin's family probably has more in common with the average American household than any candidate in history but the press is now laying it on about how dysfunctional they are.
Oh well, I'll just keep praying that the unstable/dysfunctional ticket wins this election because the stable/power hungry/do anything to get elected/sell the country out for a nickel ticket scares the hell out of me!
This is very well-said and I agree completely.
My father was a helicopter pilot in the Army and later in the National Guard. He also worked as an engineer in the Army and died while on the job as an engineer, though not in any kind of combat situation. When he passed away the Army could not have been more helpful to our family. We felt like we were treated very well by them, and when I see servicemen and women out in uniform I do totally tear up.
I am also a Democrat, as was my father. But I fully acknowledge that people can belong to different political parties and be patriotic. I absolutely and truly appreciate the sacrifice that your husband and your family make. I happen to be a big believer in government regulation; I would love more of it! I know, people who detest government regulation obviously feel differently. Our country is made up of all types, and that is one of the reasons I love it.
I realize that this is going to be a close election. No matter who wins, the winner cannot claim to have the whole country behind him. There will be almost 50% of people feeling disappointed, even angry. My biggest hope is that during the next span of years we can all work on making this a country where at least most of our needs are met.
I LOVE your blog. We happen to support different candidates. I respect that. I still love your blog.
Hi, I just stumbled across your blog and this is only the second entry I have read so far. Your husband [and everyone serving in the military home and abroad] and their families are in our prayers every night. Our daughter is 15 yo and doesn't pass a service person in uniform that she doesn't shake their hand and thank for their service. The reaction is always so interesting to me. Some are proud, some are speechless, some are shy. The reactions of those with them are priceless also. Last week there was Wart Hog at the mall having lunch with his girlfriend, mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. The kid [he was awful young] was kinda shy but I watched his dad sit a little taller through out the rest of their lunch. It was awesome. {we also live in the Omaha area}
I definitely have your blog bookmarked and will be back.
God bless!!!
Not only did McCain fight for his country, he returned and decided to continue serving his country. I don't think McCain or Palin entered politics with the ambition of one day becoming Pres/VP. I can't say the same for Obama. I think from day one he has had this in mind and was 'serving his country' for completely selfish reasons. He knows what it is to love a country, unfortunately that love isn't for our country-and if he gets elected I honestly fear what he will do to the grand US of A. I really hope he proves me wrong (course I really hope more that McCain gets elected).
r
Very nice post. I pray for your husband and family and hope that our next Commander-in-chief appreciates your family's sacrifice. In fact, I'm praying a rosary every day for John McCain and Sarah Palin and I pray that John McCain does become your husband's Commander-in-chief. God bless you.
Even over ten years after my husband got out of the military I will never forget what it was like to have my husband deployed in an unsafe place. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family.
Thank you for such a wonderful post and reminder of what sacrifices our military members and their families make every day for us.
God bless you!
I found this post from a link on a blog that I sometimes read. I think that not having a sense of belonging and then discovering that sense of self here says something significant about America - even more than it does about the person searching. While I do not agree with your politics and do not think it takes a military man to be a great leader, I do very much appreciate your husband's service to our country. I appreciate yours and your entire family's as well. Thank you!
they sacrifice and sacrifice again...
Yes, and, as you so courageously illustrate, so do their wives and families!
God bless you all, dear!
Really cool post! As a family of Army and Air Force (yes we can eat holiday meals without fighting) I totally agree with all you said. I am not married to a military guy but my cousins are in Iraq, and another is in flight training at the AFA. God Bless them one and all. Go John McCain, defeat Barack Obama!!
I'm one of "those" who'll be voting for Obama in November, but with the exception of that one minor point, I couldn't agree more with your excellent & eloquent post.
It's men and women like your husband (and his family!) who've insured that you, myself, and everyone else in this country have kept the rights we were given over 200 years ago.
Those of us who've never been part of it the way you have -- my dad fought in WWII, but it was more than ten years before I was born -- do forget about their sacrifices, far too often.
The other day, in a grocery store parking lot, I called out "Thanks, man!" to the driver of a rather beat-up looking pickup truck.
"For what?" asked the guy, who looked to be in his late fifties.
I pointed to the bumper sticker on the back of his truck, "If you love your freedom... Thank a Vet!"
"Oh, that," he said. "I've had that on there almost as long as I've had the truck. In all that time, you're the second guy who's ever said anything about it."
I walked away, feeling rather ashamed for all of us "civilians."
I don't care whom you're voting for. If it weren't for the liberties our armed forces have maintained for our sakes, either you or I would be forced to accept the other's choice. And that would be many times worse than letting the "lesser" of two candidates get elected.
Thanks again for the post.
You made me cry for you...it's a good thing..I will pray for you as Carl is away....Obama will severly cut defense budget....so much for keeping our safety and liberty!!
again, thank you for your sharing these personal thoughts. God bless you and your family!
love the blog! Popped over here from Urban Mom. I hear ya. We are no longer a military family, but I can identify more than ever. You articulated this so well. Our prayers go out to you, your husband and your kiddos. Stay strong.
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