Are you Safe Today?

Today is Military Spouse's Day. The radio station I listen to had a bunch of wives in studio this morning. (They have listeners come in every Friday for fun and food and prizes.) The radio guys arranged to call one wife's husband in Iraq, who is a general. She hadn't seen him in a while and the first thing she asked was, "Are you safe today?"

Are you safe today?

Wow. Not, "Hi, Hon, howya doing?" But, "Are you safe today?" I found this very jarring, I wasn't expecting it at all. This wife probably lives one day at a time, and the most important thing is her husband is safe. And with that knowledge, she can go forward. Her question also speaks of experience, a long life as a military wife, developed coping methods. I'm only guessing at the meanings behind her question.

War is horrible and I'm not in favor of it. I'm not good at politics, it's one of those abstract subjects I don't comprehend well. I do better at concrete things, like logic, science, and basic math. So my soapbox on why war is horrible stops here.

I just wish wives, and husbands, and families didn't have to worry about the safety of the soldiers in their lives.