Do you ever wonder...?

I have a close friend who's husband is an Army Reservist. He is considering going active and making a career out of it, and I have spent many hours discussing this potential switch with his wife. The other day she asked me, what I believe to be, an important question.


"Do you ever wonder if someday Madison will resent you for choosing this life for her?" -Madison being my daughter, and "this life" being that her father is Active Duty in the military.


My response was pretty simple, and really didn't require me to think too much. The answer is YES. ABSOLUTELY. Every single day I worry that my little girl will someday say she hates my husband and I for making her move around, change friends, change schools etc. I worry everyday that I am feeding her the wrong food, disciplining her the wrong way, or letting her get away with too much as well! However, I don't know one mother, military or not, who doesn't question every single decision she makes from the day her child is born. We have to have faith in ourselves that we are doing what is best for our children and ourselves. If active duty military means a stable paycheck and a good career, then we go that way and hope our children understand why it is important for us to live that life. I hope everyday that my daughter will grow up to be proud of her Daddy for the sacrifices he makes. I hope she will understand why it is necessary for people to do the job that he does. I guess my point is that if we avoid making decisions because we are too busy worrying that our children will resent us for them, we'd never make any decisions at all! Do what you believe is in the best interest of your child, and you cannot have regrets. We all make mistakes, and we surely will along the way. But what's important is knowing we made our choices having our hearts & minds set on giving our children a bright and wonderful future.


To any of you who are willing to make these sacrifices and live the life of a military family, I thank you. It takes a strong person to handle the things we go through, and that is why God found the strongest people around and made them into soldiers, their wives, and their families.