Veteran's Day Revisited

I spent some time last night thinking about Veteran's Day, especially with regard to my husband and my children. When our sons were all very young, they were not fond of the military because to them it meant endless goodbyes and having daddy gone for months at a time. They are much older now and understand better the necessity of what their father was doing but sometimes I wonder if they understand the sacrifices that he made to do it.

They know that they missed their daddy terribly when he was gone but, oh, how he missed them. His job required his missing some of their childhood "milestones". Those are things that can never be gotten back. That's hard for a dad.

Through those months, the boys had to watch their mother deal with things she wouldn't normally have had to. It is a hard thing for a dad/husband to have to hear about those things from the other side of the planet and not be able to rush home and fix whatever was broken or just to hold his wife if she was what was broken at the time.

Military wives know that major things seem to happen when their men are deployed. Many times, in our case, Tyler would have a major asthma attack or someone else would get really sick. Oh, what a challenge for a dad to be so far away when those he loves are really ill...when all he wants in the world is to hold them, comfort them, and be with them through it. To wait days for an update to know if they are better or worse...perhaps only those who have been far away from family for an extended period of time understand the depths of that ache.

These are just a few of the small sacrificies their daddy made because he loved them, because he loved his country, and because it is how God created him. But there were bigger ones as well. The kids and I are so grateful that Keith was not called to the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life but many close to him were. He was pulled off a plane in Germany, on his way home from yet another deployment, and handed a piece of paper with the words "F-16 crash, Aviano AB" written on it and instantly knew that his best friend had made that ultimate sacrifice for all of us. Just a year later, he got word of the death of another very dear friend just 2 days before Keith was to deploy making it impossible for him to even attend his friend's memorial service. Such burdens are difficult for most of us to fathom.

I do not write this blog entry as a chastisement to my children or to myself for not understanding. I write it as a reminder to us all that there are many sacrifices, large and small, being made by our military members and their families day in and day out. I know that my children missed out on some big things with their dad when they were young, but it was necessary. It's very easy to focus on ourselves and not think about the flipside. Without the sacrifices of these individuals, we would not enjoy the freedom that we do today.

I am married to an incredible man and I know that there are countless others out there like him who make these sacrifices daily without comment or complaint. They don't ask for our thanks. They do it because it is who they are, it is what they have been called to do.

I, for one, am so grateful for that. And so, to my husband, Keith, and to the rest...THANK YOU! Thank you for being who you are and for being willing to die... for me.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13