"I Am"

I am the girl standing behind you in line at the grocery store, eyeing the newest Support Our Troops magnet while paging through the latest issue of Modern Bride. The look on my face is complacent and my thoughts are thousands of miles away on some military base I've only been verbally described of over the phone.


I am the young girl in the next car with the windows rolled up and the glassy visage only on the road ahead. The radio is set to one of the local country stations which is currently playing "Letters From Home"... But you can't hear it because you are talking to a family member or a friend on your cell phone. You catch a glance at the Soldiers sticker on the window of my car but you don't know that when the song reaches "my dearest love its almost dawn, I've been layin here all night long, wondering where you might be.." my heart breaks a thousand times.


I am the girl who visits the Military girlfriend or wife website at odd hours of the night to find some kind of comfort for that lonesome feeling that has settled in the pit of my stomach. I am the woman who has fought an inner battle, trying to accept the path the man I love has chosen. I'm the woman who will willingly sacrifice my family, my home, to follow a man clear across the country. I'm the woman who never asked for this but deals with it without complaint.


I am the young woman who swells with pride every time I see my Soldier standing tall in his dress blues. I'm the one who spots a Soldier sticker, license plate, or flag and feels a connection with its owner, hoping that maybe shes not alone in this melancholy, sacrificial situation.


I am the one who hates war but knows that its a necessary thing. I'm the one who supports the troops, regardless of my own opinion of the President. He is the boss of my soldier, because he's the man who our troops are fighting under.


I am the young woman who tries my hardest to go about my everyday life. I am the young woman who tries to concentrate during my classes and do the job I get paid to do. I am the young woman who hates sleeping alone. I am the young woman who closes my eyes and pretends that the man I love is laying right there next to me, his arms wrapped around me. I am the young woman who tries not to miss him, who tries not to cry whenever I hear his name or even the mention of soldiers.I