Just a Spouse

When I first joined Cadence, the war was in full swing, patriotism was high and I was proud to be an American serving our military overseas. As a Cadence missionary in Germany, I was blessed to have certain base privileges, including a contractor Military base ID. After several trips to the states, I quickly learned that being military has it's privileges. I could get discounts at restaurants and various stores. Airlines would let me go in priority lines, have heavier bags without any fees, and even bump me up to economy plus or business class seating. Wow! This is so cool that our country honors those who serve our country and even those who serve them.

Two and a half years ago, I married into the military family. Little did I know that I was going to now be "just a spouse". I have just completed a month traveling in the states, and I was shocked at how many companies no longer offer military discounts. Over and over I would ask about military perks and I would hand them my ID card. They would look at it, hand it back to me and say, you're just a spouse". That's right! I'm just a spouse. I'm Traveling alone because my husband is deployed to the other side of the world. Just a spouse. During my entire trip, I was only granted a military discount one time, but I was reminded of my "lowly title" over and over.

I don't say all of this because I want to flaunt my perceived rights. They were privileges that were granted to me, and it's the right of every company to do business as they want. However, if you say you support our country and it's military, I believe that should include all the men, women and children who sacrifice their lives as well. The ones who wear the uniform are not the only ones who give up things for their country and I think it's sad that those sacrifices seem to be widely unacknowledged.

Currently, I am sitting at the USO, one of the few support organizations that I have found that still honors not only the active duty member, but their families as well. That means a lot to me today. So the next time you see someone in uniform and you want to thank them for their service, perhaps you can take the time to thank their family as well.