May 11th is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. As a military spouse I wanted to take this time to thank all spouses that are supporting their soldier. Many people think military spouses only have to sacrifice time with out loves. They do not realize deployments spent apart are merely the tip of the iceberg. We have to support our solider through every bad day, every injury, every nightmare, everything. Soldiers have bad days at work just like any one else. Like most spouses we are supportive when our significant other has a rough day. Personally, if my soldier has had a bad day I try to make sure he has the things he likes at home. On these nights I try to make his favorite foods. I want the house clean when he gets home so everything is in order. I am more comfortable in a clean house so I logically think he would be too. Honestly, this is probably the easiest thing I have to deal with.
Injuries are one of the toughest. I know a lot of jobs result in injuries but few result in injuries like Traumatic Brain Injuries, loss of limbs, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These are not easy things to deal with nor are they things your soldier can "just get over and deal with". When facing these things all a person can do is be as supportive as possible and try to remember the person you fell in love with in the first place. For some, this is not always easy.
Nightmares and guilt are also difficult to understand. As a spouse I am happy my husband survived his two tours. As a soldier he carries guilt because he did not die like some of his "brothers". My husband lost a close friend who was a husband and father of three. At the time my husband was a single soldier. He had no family to be responsible for. Apparently, when his friend died in combat and he saw it, my husband had some trouble dealing with this. I now know he still does. There are many nights, usually around the anniversary of the attack, he will have nightmares. He will talk in his sleep and wake up sweating and in a panic. When this happens I try to keep him calm and just hold him. It is best if I can keep him from waking up because then he does not remember it in the morning.
Dealing with all these things makes deployments feel like just another day. The thing I worry about most when he is away is what happens if he needs me when he has a nightmare and I am not there. I no they have therapists but I always feel like I should be the one to comfort him.
I know I am not hte only spouse who handles this type of stuff so to all the Military Spouses I want to say thanks. We have a tough job to do and it is not always easy but with love for our soldier we can handle it. No matter if you are a soldier's husband or wife you deserve thanks and I understand your sacrifice. So here is a blod dedicated to all of us!!!
Side note...today was also "National Eat What You Want Day" so treat yourself to a special snack!!! I did lol!
No comments:
Post a Comment