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This Page Dedicated To:
My Navy Wife Annamae.
Over the years, I've talked a lot about
Navy Wives....how special they are and the price they pay for freedom
too. The funny thing about it, is most Navy Wives don't consider
themselves different from other Wives. They do what they have to do,
bound together not by blood or merely friendship, but with a shared
spirit whose origin is in the very essence of what love truly is. Is
there truly a difference? I think there is. You have to decide for
yourself.
Other Wives get married and look forward
to building equity in a home and putting down family roots. Navy Wives
get married and know they'll live in base housing or rent, and their
roots must be short so they can be transplanted frequently.
Other Wives decorate a home with flair and
personality that will last a lifetime. Navy Wives decorate a home with
flare tempered with the knowledge that no two base houses have the same
size windows or same size rooms. Curtains have to be flexible and
multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle
pieces.
Other Wives have living rooms that are
immaculate and seldom used. Navy Wives have immaculate living
room/dining room combos. The coffee table got a scratch or two moving
from Rota-Spain or Atsugi-Japan,, but it still looks pretty good.
Other Wives say good-bye to their spouse
for a business trip and know they won't see them for a week. They are
lonely, but can survive. Navy Wives say good-bye to their deploying
spouse and know they won't see them for months, or for a remote, a year.
They are lonely, but will survive.
Other Wives, when a washer hose blows off,
call Maytag and then write a check out for getting the hose reconnected.
Navy Wives will cut the water off and fix it themselves.
Other Wives get used to saying "hello" to
friends they see all the time. Navy Wives get used to saying "good-bye"
to friends made the last two years.
Other Wives worry about whether their
child will be class president next year. Navy Wives worry about whether
their child will be accepted in yet another new school next year and
whether that school will be the worst in the city...again..
Other Wives can count on spouse
participation in special events...birthdays, anniversaries, concerts,
football games, graduation, and even the birth of a child. Navy Wives
count on each other: duty comes first, it can be no other way..
Other Wives put up yellow ribbons when the
troops are imperiled across the globe and take them down when the troops
come home. Navy Wives wear yellow ribbons around their hearts and they
never go away..
Other Wives worry about being late for
Mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Navy Wives worry about getting back from
Japan or Italy in time for dad's funeral..
And other Wives are touched by the
television program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in front
of a long, black wall that has names on it. The card simply says "Happy
Birthday, Sweetheart. You would have been sixty today." A Navy Spouse is
the lady with the card. And the wall is the Vietnam
Memorial.
I would never say Navy Wives are better or
worse than other Wives are. But I will say there is a difference. And I
will say that our country asks more of Navy Wives than is asked of other
Wives.
And I will say, without hesitation, that
Navy Wives pay just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty
husbands. Perhaps the price they pay is even higher.
Dying in service to our country isn't near
as hard as loving someone who has died in service to our country, and
having to live without them.
Navy Wives Deserve America's Gratitude for
all they freely give. And if you know one, let them know how much you
appreciate their sacrifices.
Arthur
Unknown
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My
Thanks for the use of Pat's Graphics !
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