It's Sunday afternoon. We just got home from church and I can hear Caroline clanking the pots and pans in the kitchen as she prepares the last lunch she'll have to make for me until mid-October. I'm not sure how she'd feel if she knew I were hijacking her blog, but the Army shut down my own blog so this is all I have to work with.
I am Caroline's husband Justin. Most of you who know Caroline don't know me because I surfaced during a transition period in her life. Caroline was ready to go to a master's program in London before I offered her a luxurious, carefree life in Fayetteville, North Carolina. For some reason, she chose me over London, and I am so grateful she did.
Caroline is one of the kindest women I've ever known. I see it more every day and it humbles me that a person like her would choose to spend her life with a man like me. I'm a guy's guy. I watch sports and South Park. I am a combat soldier who genuinely enjoys the risks that my occupation entails. And yet somehow, I have this wonderful woman in my life that dulls my rough edges and coarse exterior.
There are 4 types of people in this world: people who we know, people that we don't know, people that we wish we didn't know, and, most importantly, people that we are grateful to have in our lives. Caroline is without question in the latter category for me. Her brilliance, her kindness, her smile, her quiet beauty grace my life every day.
I have to leave for more combat training tomorrow morning for 10 tough weeks. The only thing that keeps me from gushing with excitement to learn more of my craft is the simple fact that I won't be with my wife. From waking up next to her, I go to waking up in the woods next to a camouflaged man who hasn't bathed in days. That's hardly a good trade. But the training I get will qualify her and I for a better military life, a more comfortable life, and she is worth every hardship that will come over the next few months.
I love my wife more than I ever thought I could love another person. I hope you know Caroline because she has a presence about her that brightens rooms and lives. If you see her over these next few months, take good care of her for me. And remind her how much I love her.
An Ode to My Wife
