Jake in Iraq in 2005
My husband, a captain in the army reserves, is leaving to go, as he says, “blow stuff up” somewhere in the south.
His unit gets to spend four days launching missiles at tanks, firing semiautomatic weapons of every description and tossing grenades like a game of hot potato. Sounds like every dude’s dream weekend.
Every time he goes away on these quickie weekend deployments, I can’t help but wonder when — not if — he’s going to get called up again. We generally refrain from discussing this subject unless we have to, but it’s always looming, however faintly, overhead. He’s already served a year and a half in Iraq, and he deployed for six months a year and a half ago to head a basic training unit at a base in Kentucky. I can’t help but wonder if it’s only a matter of time before his ticket gets punched for Afghanistan.
Jake’s commitment to the army used to trouble me because I couldn’t quite square up how it was conducive to raising a family. But I’ve since had to accept that marriage — or love, for that matter — isn’t necessarily convenient. You take the good with the bad and the inconvenient.
In the meantime, I’ll keep my fingers crossed he doesn’t have to go anywhere too soon….especially since we have a baby on the way. But if he has to go, he has to go. I’m resigned to my fate as — and it still shocks me to say this — an army wife.
Though being an army wife does have it’s privileges: I once got to shoot a semiautomatic AR-15 at a Barbie doll. Disintegrated it.
All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My brother was in Iraq in ’05 too. I spent the entire time avoiding the newspaper. Army wives have my full admiration. It’s not an easy life.
I can definitely relate to your post. Being a military wife is a struggle. My husband is in the National Guard and was in Iraq in ’05 & ’06 (that was one tough year, let me tell ya) and he is currently at a school at Fort Gordon, Georgia while I am at home in Indiana.
Suffice it to say that I have a real love/hate relationship with the military.
it is sometimes kinda sad to watch some episode of Army Wives specially when there is a dead soldier -”-