Thank you for your service

So my son’s after-school care program director gave me a Veteran’s Day thank you banner that the kids made for me to give to him.  They gave it to me a few days after Veteran’s Day.  It’s okay, there was no rush.  My husband is a veteran but is no longer Active Duty.

He works with the military and he looks like he is still in the military.  This puts us in a weird in-between status.  I am no longer a navy wife (he used to be a submariner–which was 100x worse because of the lack of facetime) but I pretty much enjoy the same life that military wives live.  Trust me, I know.  I was a military wife, after all 🙂

You know, the life where everything breaks when he isn’t home and the kids struggle in school and everyone misses him.  It’s a fun life.  It’s even more fun this time since we chose it.  We weighed the advantages and disadvantages and made the choice based on our family’s goals.

So back to the “Thank you” banner…I know my husband has a hard time with the “Thank you for your service” comments.  He feels that it takes away from the men and women that are there due to orders and are still active duty.  I respect him for feeling that way.  He has never minimized the respect he has for active duty servicemen and women.

I feel that he put in his time with the Us Navy, then put in time with National Guard, and ultimately went back to working with the military in a different, but vital, role.  To me, he still serves.  I know what he is missing.  I know that he places the well being and future of our family first and foremost.  So when someone tells me to thank my husband for his service I accept the thanks and say that I will.

He misses his family just as much as the guys working with him miss theirs.  His job is equally important.

Apparently, the aftercare director feels the same way.  She looked me in the eye and said, “I talked to him when he was home last and picked up your son.  I know he is now a civilian but he still deserves the thanks.”

I think so too.