Pride

I’ve heard it often, in the months leading up to deployment, in the days after. It’s always, always a civilian, some well-meaning soul who lives in an insulated life where deployments never happen. Because an Army spouse knows better. And it’s infuriated me every single time I’ve heard it. And this is my opportunity to set the record straight.


“You should be proud of him.”

I AM proud of my husband. Underneath the layers of pain, underneath the heartache, is pride. I was proud of him, even as I watched him walk away. There are few men in my life that I look up to and admire, and my husband is one of them. From the soles of his combat boot to the top of his patrol cap covered head, I am proud of all that my husband is, and all that he represents. You cannot do this, go through all that deployment is, without being proud of your spouse. It takes every ounce of all the good emotions, the love, the faith, and yes, the pride, to get through the day.

Do not mistake my tears for a lack of pride. Do not mistake the rough days, when I would sell my soul, everything I am, for the ability to hold him once more, for a lack of pride. Do not mistake the days where I am exhausted from juggling everything, from doing both my job, as the wife, and his job, the one he has when he isn’t a soldier, for a lack of pride. Army wives are amongst some of the proudest women in the world.

~Jennifer