Army Wife

Having served in the military myself for the past 12 years, I often don't think of myself as an Army wife even though I gained that title last year on July 6th. I don't watch much of the TV show Army Wives because I get to experience the real thing first hand.

Being an Army wife means hearing your husband's work phone ring 5 minutes after you both go to bed on late on a Saturday night and having him have to go back into work to deal with a Soldier issue until 5 am. Of course, you don't know it will be until 5 am. All you know is that the situation is very serious and that he will come back home when the situation is stabilized enough. Being an Army wife means that you spend the next day, Mothers Day, letting your husband sleep in until 11 am and then travelling with him to a hospital 2 hours away to visit the Soldier in a hospital. Due to the type of situation, you can't actually accompany him to the hospital but instead must find something to occupy your time for however long it will take him to visit the Soldier (and an additional Soldier who was admitted for a different reason). Thankfully, you are able to visit an old friend on that base (old friend in Army terms.....you met 4 years ago) and spend the time with her and her new baby. By the time your husband is done in the hospital you have already had to cancel your dinner out with another couple. Instead, for Mother's Day your husband makes ham sandwiches at home for both of you for dinner.

Being an Army wife means that most mornings your husband leaves for work around 6am and returns home again after 7pm. It means your dinner out the next Saturday to celebrate your completing your final two classes of your Master's degree instead turns to you getting take-out alone from the KATUSA snack bar. Of course, you don't find out the change in plans until he gets a phone call on the work phone 10 minutes before you both were about to head out to the nice dinner. Once again, you are at home with a dinner of chicken cheese ramen, yaki mandu, and spicy pork and rice waiting for him to return after an equipment and training issue arose that required him to go back in to work with no known return time.

Being an Army wife also means that you see how hard your husband works, how selfless he is both at work and at home, how much he cares for his Soldiers and the mission, and how much the men he works with and for respect him, and you couldn't be more proud of him.