I received a letter from the Hubby on Monday. In it he casually mentions he was awarded a medal. I dragged the story out of him today, but I’m not sharing it. He wouldn’t want me to, that’s just how he is. As far as he’s concerned, he has a job to do, and he’s doing it. And really, it’s his story to tell not mine. I’m pretty sure it bothers him when I gush too. So I try not to. But it’s hard.

To other people, he’d be considered a hero just because of his job alone. Because he volunteered to wear the uniform. And he is to me too. But he was my hero long before he ever raised his right hand.

He was my hero when…

  • A mean boy at the mall broke the balloon he had gotten for me, and Hubby (then boyfriend) walked over to him, and quietly convinced him it was in his best interest to go get me another one.
  • A guy insulted me, and he walked over and punched him in the face.
  • He worked any crappy job he could get his hands on to keep us taken care of.
  • When I told him I was pregnant and he stayed completely calm and said "ok"
  • He said "I do"
  • He held my hand as I delivered both of our daughters.
  • He drove me to Maryland for my Dad’s funeral and sat and listened while I tried to figure out the confusion in my head of trying to understand why it hurt so much to lose someone that was never there.
  • He did all of the work with our first daughter, because I had no idea what to do with a baby, having never been around one, and being too self conscious to try.
  • He showed me how to change a diaper, give her a bath, and dress her, without once mocking me.
  • He took the position of standing between me, and a charging moose.
  • He puts up with all my craziness.
  • He’s just being himself
  • He makes me laugh in the middle of being mad at him

I can’t give him a medal for all of that, and more. But I wish I could. And I wish he wasn’t so humble, and would realize that in his job or at home, He really is a hero. And I’ve always been and always will be so proud to be called his wife. So if I gush when the Army recognizes his valor, his honor, and his work ethic, it’s not because I am bragging on him. It’s because it makes me damned happy to see someone else recognize what a good man he is. If I try to tell him he just rolls his eyes. But if THEY do, he has to wear it.  And though it drives me nuts that he doesn’t like the praise, that he actually said "I was just doing my job, I didn’t ask for a damned medal" That makes me proud too.

Is it any wonder I feel like half of me is gone? And clearly, it’s the better half.