Honor, Courage & Commitment -From a Military Wife's standpoint.

Honor, Courage, Commitment, Faith, Hope & Love: from a military wife's standpoint.

Honor: Realizing that I am married to not only my husband, but to one of the most elite warriors in the military. Knowing that I am married first and foremost to my husband, the father of my daughter and to a man who puts it all at risk in an act of selflessness; fighting for our country and our freedom. A man who does not do his job for the glory, for the publicity or for the "thank you" 's. He does it because he knows in his heart that it is the right thing to do. It is an HONOR to call myself a Marine or a Military wife.

Courage: The courage to take on EVERYTHING at home while he's deployed. The courage it takes to know that each phone call could be our last, and each time I send him off to war, it might be the last time my daughter sees her daddy alive and well. The courage to take on the man I love, when he returns home. To help him face the battles of what he has seen and gone through, once it's all over. To know that the man I married, could quite possibly not be the same man who returns home to me from war.

Commitment: This is the most important. Committing to loving, supporting and cherishing every moment with him. Committing to being FAITHFUL while he is at war and committing to all the hardships that marriage and the military brought when I married him. Commiting to the good, the bad, and the unforseen.

Faith: This does not necissarily mean having faith in a higher power. We have the faith that our men know their job and do it well. We have faith that no matter how, in what condition or under what circumstances, they will come home. We have faith in ourselves that we can do this. We lose faith from time to time, but it always comes back to us. We move on, we get stronger.

Hope: What is the world without hope? We hope that all the things we do while he is gone are appreciated. We hope that if nothing at all, our love is enough to keep him going while at war. We HOPE that he will come home to us, safe and sound. We hope that the battles he faces overseas, cease when he returns home.

Love: Love is the force that holds all of this and all of us together. Love is the reason we do what we do, put up with what we have to and do it with a smile. Love is what keeps us going at home, and keeps him going overseas. It is what we need the most, next to understanding. Without love, none of this would be possible. None of this would be worth it.

It takes a lot physically, emotionally and mentally to be a military wife. Not everyone is cut out for it. There are those that break under pressure, run from things they can not control and give up when things do not go their way, or how they would like them to. Those of us that stand strong, grounded and most importantly; stand by our men, are considered the "silent ranks". We do not put on a uniform, we do not carry a weapon and we do not get paid for what we do. We put on a smile when it's the hardest to do so. We carry the weight of everything and then some while they are gone, so that our husbands and children do not have to bare the burden. We keep everything in line and together so that when they do return home, that's a few less things they have to worry about. So that they can transition and return to civilziation with as few problems as possible.

We are the silent ranks. We are strong, bold, outspoken, humble and proud.


Note: I felt like spilling my guts out. If you made it through this, congratulations.