21 May 2007

Weclome to our world

I must shamefully admit that I have been watching the Bachelor. I will preface it by saying that I have a weird Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing with this Bachelor. He is a friend of a childhood friend and for that reason, and the fact that he is military, I was hooked. Needless to say I have been glued to my television.

Tonight the Bachelor picked his bride-to-be (who I thought was the best choice, not that anyone was asking me).

As I sat and watched I found myself wanting to tell this woman what she is getting into by marrying the military. I wanted to share all of the things that you don't understand or don't think about before you are the wife, before you are the Staff Sergeant's wife, the Major's wife or even the General's wife.

So here goes...

Dear Tessa,

You are beginning a journey that many of us forged through, and for that reason I say welcome. I could give you advice or tell you the secrets to success but the truth is I don't know them because I don't think there are any. You have just found the man of your dreams and you are embarking on the most difficult yet rewarding journey of your entire existence.

Your life if forever changed. This man who has walked into your heart and made it his home is one of the bravest and most dedicated men that you will ever know. He is fiercely loyal and unbelievably determined. He will strive for things that you couldn't even imagine. He will walk into a building because everyone else is running out. He will be your rock. He will be your sanity. He will be your everything and you won't be able to imagine a second of your life spent apart from him.

The things is those seconds apart will come. Unfortunately, they will turn to minutes, hours, days, then months. You will have to say "see you soon" and pick the pieces up as he goes and fights for something he believes in. You will have to stand, helpless as you watch him walk away, not because he wants to but because he understands why he is going and that understanding and belief gives him comfort and strength. He understands that they are protecting you, us, our children, our future.

You will sometimes go to bed at night with tears in your eyes. There will be mornings when you wake up and the tears will still be there. You will walk into a party and feel alone because you are the only one there without a husband to lean on. You will get frustrated when you hear "I can't tell you that" or angry when the phone doesn't ring. You may even find yourself jealous of other couples walking through the mall holding hands and talking to their children; wondering why they are together while you have to be apart from the man you would lay your life on the line for.

Life will be hard, there is no denying it. The secret is; it is totally worth it. To see your husband climb out of that jet, or walk down that field wearing that uniform that melts your heart every single solitary time you see it; that is worth all of the struggles, the loneliness and the tears. You see we are truly blessed, we are married to the most amazing men that will ever walk this earth.

So while it may not always be easy, it is always worth it. I wish you luck but I don't think you need it. I think somehow these men of ours know that we will be alright and that is part of the reason they have chosen to spend their lives with us.

Welcome to our world!

1 comment:

  1. I too watched this Bachelor. I really liked that Andy picked Tessa.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments but let's try to keep it nice. If you wouldn't say it directly to my face let's not say it here, k? k!