Marine Wives

When I was married to an active duty Marine I was never "moto". I never thought we did anything so impressive. We got the comfort of our base housing and regular income while the Marines were off eating sand in an undisclosed location. They were the ones who really sacrificed. Now looking back I know the wives endured their own and unique struggles. I know that each of you are dealing with issues that most can't understand. I appreciate your part in service to our country. You hold the family together faithfully. You have babies alone. You make hard choices with little to no input while your spouse is gone. Communication sucks a lot of the time. You have to worry about matters at home and abroad. You have to learn to juggle parenting, and career, or school alone. We learned to not complain and cried ourselves to sleep at night....if we had time to sleep! We learned what long distance relationships really meant. We were told not to bother our Marines abroad with too many concerns at home as to not distract them from their mission at war. When you're in it you just do what needs to be done. You put yourself last on the list. You know this life is only for a short while. You fantasize what life would look like after retirement and living by your own rules. When you can schedule a family vacation and actually do it. Without a deployment, duty, training coming up and ruining it. You count down to that day with determination. This will not break our family. And if you are fortunate that day will come. Your family will rejoice. I did not make it that far and and know some of you won't either. It is another sad reality of the sacrifices we make. We all live with the reality that some will not make it but it does not make us try any less or stop hoping for the future. I've never met another subculture of women stronger and with more responsibility.  So I am proud of you as much as I am proud of our Marines. And you know I mean that sincerely. What you do matters.