I just discovered that a longtime commenter around the Milblogs--Cannoneer #4--has been deployed and has his own blog. His wife blogs with him and in reading his archives, I was reminded of the burdens warfighters' loved ones bear for us. "Cannoneette" describes what happens when her husband's unit gets attacked while they are talking on the phone:
The phone goes dead! God! I’m so scared! What do I do? I prayed, that was the first thing I did. I lit candles, that was the second thing I did. Third I collapsed on a chair and tried very hard to keep the ” bad” things from running rampant in my head, no use there here, is he dead? Is he hurt? God? What do I do if my baby dies?
...This is the 4th time I have gone through this hell! And each time I worry like crazy, then minutes, hours or even weeks later I hear from him. The first time this happened it took almost a week for him to call me back.... After about 30 minutes I calm down and go take a shower to wash all the badness off me. That’s how I cleanse myself of all the bad things I have to deal with from time to time. Each day I light candles and pray for my husband and my sons who are in harms way.
But the amazing part is the parallel she draws--what comforts her when she must repeatedly bear this burden and why she does it willingly.
Go, read another example of sacrifice. Not all the heroics of this war occur on the battlefield.
