Do you know her?

She loves without recourse or knowledge of distance.
She can love through pain, distance, and tears.
She can love even when she hasn't heard from him in days.
She can love though parted by large expanses of time because even time can not tear down the walls that love built.
She can make a home and move it many times, on short notice, no notice, and across countries and states to be with her heart.
She wears a tag on her neck to remind her what he does, a ring on her finger to symbolize the promise they made, and keeps an eye on the horizon to catch the first glimpse she can of him when he comes back to her arms.
She deals with the ups and downs of life often alone.
She takes care of the children and meets the need of both mom and dad until he comes home.
She will sleep with a phone in her hand, holding a pillow that smells like him in a bed that stays made on one side months out of the year.
She has friends all over the world that are better known as sisters. She can talk to them about anything and they understand because they have been there too.
She loves with all her heart and soul but chooses to live alone because she knows he can not stay.
She gives her heart to a country that was based on freedom and liberty because those truths she always holds dear.
She will hold her head up high as she sheds a tear when she hears the National Anthem, or TAPS, or sees Old Glory fly high.
The sound of a jet gives her goose bumps.

The heart of a military spouse knows no bounds.

You may not understand why she does what she does. But if you take the time to ask her she will tell you with a humble smile, Because I love him and its what I do.

If you love your country and appreciate the soldiers that fight for it everyday. Take the time every once and a while to thank the ones that stay at home. The may not wear any uniform but serve as well.




The Silent Ranks

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens.
But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders.
Salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.
I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough.
I'm the one that's left behind.
My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man and the call to serve his
country not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice.
But so do our kids and me.
I love the man I married.
Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks
known as the Military Wife.