The following was written earlier this year by the Senior Editor of our True Military Wives Confessions site, Michelle Tranchitella, and we wanted to share it with you this Memorial Day weekend in honor of her family's courage and sacrifice.
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I woke up Wednesday morning with a great
feeling of numbness. In just a few short hours, my husband would
be leaving us once again. He was headed to a war torn country
to do his duty as a Unites States Marine. My daughters and I took
him to base to say our goodbyes, we watched him walk away, tears in
our eyes, sadness on our faces but pride in our hearts.
This is the third trip my husband has
made to Iraq. This is the third time we have had to say goodbye,
the third time I have had to explain to our daughters what was going
on and the third time I have had to explain to myself what all this
craziness was. Unfortunately, many people have forgotten that
we are still saying goodbye. We still sit by the phone waiting
for the phone calls; we still check our email 1000 times a day for that
one line email to let us know our loved one is OK. Life to most
people goes on as normal; I wonder if they realize what my life is like.
It is hard answering questions when they
are asked by small children. It is hard to make them understand
that their father is gone, where he is going and why. My oldest
is a “Daddy’s girl” through and through and the deployments are
especially hard on her. She understands that her dad is in Iraq
but does not understand why. No matter how many times she asks
me why, I cannot explain it to her so that she understands. She
does know that he will come home and that he loves her. I make
sure that both of our children know this, even this time around.
I remember when the war first started; the patriotism shown in this country was astounding. Everywhere one looked there were flags flying, yellow ribbons hanging and pride in our hearts. Every time we turned around, we were seeing something about Iraq. On Wednesday, I asked myself where that was now. Has America forgotten? Have we forgotten that we are still a nation at war?
I do not think we have entirely forgotten. I think we have let the war go by the wayside and we do not tend to think of it as much as we used to. Life gets in the way of many things and I think what goes on in the Middle East is one of these things. Thankfully we are in an election year and the war in Iraq is a very hot topic. There are candidates from each party telling voters what we should do. Some say we should stay for years to come, some say we should withdraw. What people do not realize is these decisions and their decisions affect my family more than the average person can imagine. These decisions determine if my husband will have to leave us yet again or if he will actually be able to stay home for a while and see his daughters grow up.
I often wonder what goes through the politicians’ heads when they come up with their “plan” for Iraq. I wonder if some realize the stress and strain that the military is under now and I wonder why they want to add to that. There are some that seem to have the military AND their families in their best interest and for that, I am thankful. I think the politicians that go along with this mindset of remembering the stress and remembering the families will be the ones that the military and their families are the most thankful for.
I have come to realize that it does not matter what happens five years from now, or even one year from now. We need to remember what is going on today. We must not forget that there are families being torn apart, loved ones being left behind and children growing up without their mom or dad. I wish I could see the American flags flying high again like I did six years ago, or see America come together as one like I know that we can. Instead, life just gets in the way. People go on, they get busy and sidetracked and tend to brush aside the situations that have been going on and on, just like the wars in the Middle East. But everyone does not get the chance to have their life go on; for some, this is their reality.
