Holidays And Military Families
November 6th 2006 02:43
As I sit here this November, I once again feel a chill in my bones. November is a tough month because it was the first month in 2004 that I spent without my husband. I was lucky that year, he was still in the states for Thanksgiving and I was able to make the 10 hour drive to Fort Dix, NJ from Michigan and spend the holiday with him.
2005 was a bit different. I felt very seperated from everything in my life and even though I had wonderful family support, I was beginning to feel as if I was imposing on them so it didn't occur to me that I might spend the holidays with them. Before anyone gets upset with my family, this was not their fault but my own craziness that comes from spending a year worrying and feeling alone; I would have been more than welcome with them and I would have realized that if I had been rational at the time.
While I was one of the lucky ones to have family and extended family that would have never allowed me to spend the holiday alone there are many military spouses who don't have the same support I had, they don't have a place to go for the holidays and their family is far away. Money is usually tight for most of them and pride will prevent them from saying anything to anyone.
Most families have more food than people for the holidays and adding one more or even a few more will not make a bit of difference in the big picture.
If you know someone who has a spouse that is away from home for holidays make a point of extending an invitation to them. You will be amazed at how much of a difference you will make in that person's life.
Of course, as you sit down and pray don't forget to include all of our troops in your prayers.
2005 was a bit different. I felt very seperated from everything in my life and even though I had wonderful family support, I was beginning to feel as if I was imposing on them so it didn't occur to me that I might spend the holidays with them. Before anyone gets upset with my family, this was not their fault but my own craziness that comes from spending a year worrying and feeling alone; I would have been more than welcome with them and I would have realized that if I had been rational at the time.
Most families have more food than people for the holidays and adding one more or even a few more will not make a bit of difference in the big picture.
If you know someone who has a spouse that is away from home for holidays make a point of extending an invitation to them. You will be amazed at how much of a difference you will make in that person's life.
Of course, as you sit down and pray don't forget to include all of our troops in your prayers.
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