Monday Motivation: The Military Mama

Since today is Memorial Day, I wanted to write something that shows my appreciation to those who are serving or who have served in the military.  Their courage and willingness to sacrifice everything is something that I cannot comprehend but am incredibly beyond grateful for. And behind many soldiers is the wife and the mother to their children.   Those moms who silently sacrifice behind closed doors and expect no worldly recognition for the difficult job THEY are asked to do.

Today I want to give a tribute to those moms who are at home raising their little ones while their husbands are oceans away from home, putting themselves in harm’s way and who are willing to give everything for the nation that they love.  I want to say a huge “Thank You” to those moms who don’t just have the normal worries that come with having children but have those worries multiplied on a daily basis as they think about the safety of their husbands.

I can’t even begin to comprehend this type of sacrifice and I won’t pretend that I know even a little bit of what you’re going through.  Even thinking about writing this post made me feel very inadequate because I haven’t stood in your shoes.  But if you are a military wife I want you to know that your sacrifice isn’t going unnoticed.  I want you to know that there are those of us who look at you with amazement at how you are able to “hold it all together” while your husband is away.  There are those of us who admire your courage and keep you in our thoughts and prayers as well as your husband.  How do you do it?

I found the following tribute from http://forums.military.com/eve and I needed to share it.  It puts into words what I am feeling but unable to eloquently express.   Thank you, thank you, thank you to you and your husband for the sacrifices that you are making each and every day to keep our country free.

A Salute to the Military Wife

 This is for the sad military wives, the angry military wives, and the strong military wives.

This is for the young women that are waking up at 6 a.m. every morning, laying out clothes and packing three lunches for those small precious children that they have been left alone to care for.

This is for the pregnant military wife wondering if her husband will make it home in time to watch their *miracle* happen.

This is for the childless military wife, living in a town or on a base alone where she is a complete stranger to her surroundings.

This is for the women that feel like a third leg when they go out with their friends and their husbands.

This is for the military wife that canceled all her plans to wait by the phone, and even though the phone broke up and cut off every time you spoke to him you waited anyway.

This is a pledge to the women that cry themselves to sleep in an empty bed.

This is to recognize the woman who felt like she was dying inside when he said he had to go, but smiled for him anyway.

This is for those of you that are faithfully in that long line at the post office once a month, handling 2 large boxes and 2 small children like a pro.

This is for that woman who decided to remodel the house to pass time, and then realized that she had no idea what she was doing and sighed and wished she had a little help.

This is for all the lonely nights, all the one-person dinners, and all of the wondering thoughts because you haven’t heard from him in days.

A toast to you for falling apart, and putting yourselves back together. Because a pay check isn’t enough, a body pillow in your bed is no consolation, and a web cam can never compare.

This is for all of you no matter how easy or hard this was for you. Our marines/soldiers/airmen/sailors/coasties are brave, they are heroes, but so are you.

Hold your head up high, hang that flag in your front yard, stick 100 magnets on your car, and then give yourself a pat on the back.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE’S

Happy Memorial Day!