My Husband, My Veteran

Happy Veterans Day! 

It is so wonderful that our community has devoted days like this to remind folks to stop and think about the sacrifices that protect our freedom, and thank the men and women who made them. 

My husband is a veteran, and I dedicate this blog entry to him and all the other veterans in this great country.  Please indulge me as I speak about him (he is the face of the veteran in my world). 

I am so proud of my veteran and all the great things he does to protect me, our family and our way of life.  My veteran joined the Army shortly after we had our first child, in 1989.  First, he served in the reserves and then he moved to active duty. 

My veteran was training in Kentucky while I was pregnant with our second child.  He was injured and sent home for two weeks to recover before restarting the training program.  On the morning he was scheduled to catch his flight to Kentucky, I began to cry and immediately went into premature labor.  Our son was born later that day, five weeks early.  My veteran was allowed to stay until we were discharged from the hospital three days later.

My veteran delivered our newborn and me at my parent’s home on his way to the airport.  He would not see his newborn or his two-year-old son again for eight weeks.  I often wonder how he must have felt on that sad day. 

My veteran did this with a sense of honor and duty, but I also know that it caused him great heartache to make this sacrifice at such a pivotal time in the lives of our children.  Two weeks later, Desert Shield began, and six months later, the United States entered Desert Storm.  The next year was laced with fear and uncertainty for both of us.  Thankfully, my veteran was not deployed to either of these theaters, but he was ready.  Had he received orders, he would have heeded them, just like he did after our son’s birth.  This was his call, and his duty.

This morning, I heard a radio story where current soldiers and their family members discussed the impact of multiple deployments on families and I thought back to that sad day in 1990.  Similar events to those I mentioned above continue to plague military families today and every day.  My thanks and prayers go out to all the men and women who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice.  My heart  breaks for all the parents and children who sacrifice precious time together during these deployments.  This is the cold, hard reality of the military family.  In my view, every day should be Veteran’s Day.  I hope you all hug and thank a veteran and their family at every opportunity.