Page Details HERE
Yesterday and today I'm taking a time out to simply thank our veterans. I'm lucky enough to even have one in my home and my family is quite military strong! My Dad, my grand-father, my father in law, my brother, my brother in law, my uncle, my husbands uncle… they have all served!!!
I'm so incredibly thankful to all the service men and women that have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and safety. The sacrifice is not just on the front line either. The sacrifices are much deeper. As a military wife I can tell you the sacrifices are MUCH deeper. The months or years away from loved ones is just one of many. This is the one that goes deep with me. The time away from family is so hard. Don't get me wrong, as a family we are SO proud of our soldier! We stand tall when we speak of him and the sacrifices he makes but even I couldn't understand the scope of that sacrifice until he came home. Especially in today's military and especially where they are fighting. Years ago when my Prince deployed he was based on a ship flying jets off the carrier. I never thought he was in harms way. My only worry was his safety when flying an OLD jet. Our children were young and couldn't understand the deployment. Time was not an issue because they couldn't understand it. 6 months = 1 week to them. Of course this was very different for Russ. He knew all the things he was missing with his children. These men are the best at compartmentalization. Basically, put it away and revisit it when the deployment is complete. They have a mission. Fast forward to this last Iraq deployment and boy oh boy are the sacrifices deeper. Our children are older and understand so much more. Time is understood. War is understood. These things make a big difference in how they deal with it.
My Prince has now been home almost a year from Iraq. The first two weeks he was home it's like a honeymoon all over again. We are happy he is home, safe and in our arms again. We all know the honeymoon doesn't last forever. Eventually the sacrifices start to surface. The time lost is apparent. We need to integrate the family back together. The kids and I had become independent while he was away. The things we had always relied on Russ to do we found a way to get it done ourselves. The man of the house was a 10 year old. He watched over his mama with everything he had. He wanted to make his dad proud and keep mama safe. This is fine until DAD comes home and he still wants to be the man of the house. Our the bitterness a child has for "feeling" abandon by his dad. These are real situations that occur and they are sacrifices both the soldier and his family make. My Prince had many adjustments to make as well. Sudden loud noises made him jump (fear of a rocket launch). Even something as silly as not wearing a gun on his side daily was an adjustment. It took time for him to feel "needed" again in our home. When a problem arises I felt compelled to take care of it, forgetting he could do the same. I didn't give him that chance.
The last 11 months we've had a lot of "family" meetings. I like to call these our "come to Jesus meetings!" After all this time we are finally feeling like our family is moving forward. When Brandon feels a problem, he now runs to his dad for the advice. Brandon can cry on HIS shoulder when he has a heart ache. Alexis doesn't cry at the drop of a pin. I feel relieved to give up the independence and let him take care of US now. This is BIG progress. I didn't think this day would come. My Prince and I have always had a rock solid marriage. Communication has never lacked—> until this last deployment. I would be lying if I told you it was peachy keen. What I have learned from our own situation is patience. It's not one of the characteristics the good Lord gave me. I've learned over the last 11 months to have patience and learn from the situation. I've learned to help others in the same situation. I've also learned gratitude. We are grateful he is home and safe. I'm grateful that our family can recover from this situation. So many families DO NOT. We wonder why the divorce rate is so high? I've learned to look at every veteran around me and always say a huge thank you to them. They have a story. They have made the ultimate sacrifice. I am truly grateful for their service.
Lastly, I love my Prince more today than yesterday. I'm a very proud wife and our children are proud too. Thank YOU for supporting and uplifting my family for so many years. Your support and prayers are always felt.
On the lighter side… If you ask Brandon today which branch of service his dad is in he can now tell you "NAVY!" He has told people for years he's in the Air Force. LOL. I guess "flying" means Air Force.
Happy Veterans Day to all the Men and Women who have served this great country!
XOXOXO- Proud Navy Wife!
16 thoughts on “Time Out For Veterans!”
God bless you and yours, Kimberly! A special thank you to all Veterans AND their families for their sacrifices in order to protect and defend our country's freedoms!
Hugs from Texas,
Lisa
We are so grateful for the many sacrifices you and your family have made and continue to make. We will keep your adjustments in our prayer as times of "intense fellowship" will continue to peel back the layers of the onion of "patience." You and your family are an example to us, for sure.
Many thanks to your husband and to you and your children for your service and sacrifices. I appreciate you sharing your story.
Thanks to your husband, you, and your family for the gift you give this country everyday – a part of your lives is given up for us. Thanks also to you for opening up your life to us, it makes us all a little more understanding of the toll it takes on the whole service family to have a loved one away from home. Sincerely, thank you all!
Thanks to the Prince & all of the other men & women who have made sacrifices so we can enjoy our freedom.
Thanks for sharing the story – I never knew just how much our service men and women sacrifice. I am truly honored.
Kimberly thank you so much for sharing yourself and your family with us. As a wife of a retired Army Lt. Col., I love how you call a spade a spade. I can really relate to what you have shared. It is heartwarming to know that military wives are really the rock of the family during these separations. Being a military wife isn't for sissies!!! We are really such strong women that rise to any occasion when the need presents itself. I never had a career due to our military life, however, I don't regret it as our life in the military was just awesome. Loved the change; I think I'm a gypsy at heart. But now being retired for two years, it gives me such joy reading of your day to day life. I look forward to your daily e-mails…..Cudos to you friend.
Thank you, Kimberly, for sharing this and for being so open and honest. This gives us a clearer and deeper picture of what it means to be a member of the military, and the spouse and family of someone in the military. God bless you!
Holy .. lots for your family to struggle through, as well as each of you individually! This post really opened my eyes to the struggles families of those serving go through. Good for you for posting .. and thanks to those serving and their families ..
YOU have a way w/words; thank you for sharing a small bit of your personal history; but THANK YOU, to RUSS, for a very intensive job that he does daily; the U.S.A is a safer place w/him!
Poignant words – they are important to write and important to read.
Thank you to you and your whole family. May God continue to bless and keep you all.
What a beautiful description – sad, scary, brave and sooooo much love! Continuing to send my best to ALL of you! You and your family are truly blessed….and many thanks to your Prince for all he and his crews have done and continue to do for all of us! Thank you for sharing this all important message.
Thank you for sharing! And THANK YOU to your family for your service!
Thank you so much for sharing your story. As a veteran and the wife of a veteran I can most certainly relate to everything you and your family are going through. I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers.
this was an incredibly touching post. thank you!!!!! i am so grateful to those who serve so selflessly.
jo ann.
i forgot to say *blessings* at the end of my comments. the Lord is in charge of it all and i thank Him both for those who serve and for the sacrifices their families make so that they CAN serve.
in Him, jo ann.
Jo Ann, thank you so much. 🙂 XOXO
Comments are closed.