I’m a Military Wife Living a Military Life
Posted by Dr. Cason on Monday, August 4th, 2008
I saw him in the fruit and vegetable aisle. Right between the avocados and onions. Mid 30s give or take a few years. He had a cane. Not the temporary kind that will be returned after a few months but the nice permanent kind that has become his new accessory.
His legs looked strong and healthy in his long shorts. The skin pink. I glanced up at the rest of him. He had on a striped shirt and a gentle manner about him. And then I saw it.
Through his crew cut there was a thickened white scar that ran down dead center of his scalp. It started all the way in front meandered over his head and ended at the nape of his neck. I just stood there.
I saw him the entire shopping trip today. In the meat aisle looking at the steaks. And then in the canned goods and finally the frozen food section. At one point he even came right down my aisle and I looked up. Our eyes met. We moved on. I left.
It’s funny sometimes I forget that I am a military wife living a military life.
Then I go to the grocery store and I remember.
Filed in My Life | 9 responses so far
Kat Stephensonon 04 Aug 2008 at 1:34 am 1Sheila – I can imagine how you felt. Someone so young, and injured for life with pain probably. The toll these wars take on our young men (and women too) is unbearable to me.
I have a first cousin, Stephen, who has always been more like a brother than a cousin. He, my brother and I spent a lot of time with my grandmother who raised me. Never a more tender heart and soul had I seen in a young man. He graduated from UT Martin on a military scholarship, and then off to the Army. His first war was Desert Storm. He was one of the first in Kuwait, and one of the last out of Kuwait. He was also the person who lead the refueling throughout the desert before the final strike at a HUGH risk – and was awarded a very high medal for this.
He made his life the Army and is a Colonel now. He has been in Germany, Japan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, etc. He is married with three children like you and your husband.
I have witnessed the beauty and innocence of this young man change with what he has experienced. When he came home from Kuwait, I asked him, “Stephen, was the situation in Kuwait as bad as depicted by the media?” His reply I will never forget, “Kathy, it was, and it is something I would never want to tell you about to haunt you forever.” I realized then this young child had been thrown into manhood much too soon in Kuwait.
Kat Stephensons last blog post..The World Sounds Better for Some Reason
Dr. Casonon 04 Aug 2008 at 4:44 am 2Kat- It’s true something we see everyday is something we are likely to trivialize. Sad but true. It’s not trivial.
Nikkion 04 Aug 2008 at 8:42 am 3I can’t really imagine what that is like due to the fact that I am Canadian and we don’t really fight wars, we get through life being overly nice and hoping to God that no one will pick on us. I don’t know anyone who has ever fought in a war and thus it doesn’t even seem real in my mind. It’s more just like a bad story that Anderson Cooper made up.
Nikkis last blog post..What I Thought I Knew
Lisaon 04 Aug 2008 at 11:32 am 4I am so sad for all of those suffering because of war. This weekend I was camping and someone complained about how the government was screwing up this war. I was just wondering when does war ever go “well”. Someone’s son/father/brother/wife/daughter has to be the one killed or injured….and call me an idealist, but I don’t want it to be anyone.
Lisas last blog post..Excuse me while I play with my new toy….
Guinevere Meadowon 04 Aug 2008 at 12:22 pm 5It’s so easy for those of us who are not in the military to sort of forget about what’s going on. My dad was in the air force when I was a young girl, and while he never fought in a war, there was always the fear that he would be sent over. (This was during the 1st Iraq war.)
Thanks for the reminder that there are people CURRENTLY suffering to protect all of us, whether we agree with our government’s decision or not.
Guinevere Meadows last blog post..I Should Be Sleeping
White Hot Magikon 04 Aug 2008 at 1:04 pm 6Sometimes it really hits home doesn’t it. My sister is a military wife also. Military families make a big sacrifice for the greater good. Thanks.
White Hot Magiks last blog post..Frugal Fridays Find
Dr. Casonon 04 Aug 2008 at 2:31 pm 7Nikki- I’m sure it does seem like that huh? I recently watched Hotel Rwanda and was saddened and amazed at all the horror that happened. I remember the reports at the time but it was so far removed that it seemed unreal. I was like, “Wow how sad.” and then I moved on to thinking about what was for dinner or what movie I wanted to see next. We all do it.
Lisa- I wouldn’t be president for anything. What a responsibility huh? If we don’t step in then we’re lambasted because we allowed these atrocities. If we move in then we’re criticized for meddling. War never goes well.
Guin- So that we can sleep at night. God bless them.
White Hot- I feel proud to be a military wife. It’s scary to think of an uncertain future but deeply satisfying to know that my husband- an ophthalmologist that treats war related injuries on a daily basis) can help those injured men and women. I work hard at being positive and grateful for all the Navy has done for us.
chrison 04 Aug 2008 at 8:54 pm 8We get so caught up in our own lives with our own problems sometimes that we forget that there are plenty of people who live unselfishly so that we may live selfishly.
It’s true that the our military is a porfessional army and not a volunteer army but it’s still a fact that the soldiers chose a profession that focuses on protection and service to others, much like doctors, right?
chriss last blog post..Trust
Dr. Casonon 05 Aug 2008 at 5:23 am 9Chris- And teachers eh?