A Navy Wife is no ordinary woman.  Operating for months at a time without the companionship or assistance of her husband, she routinely overcomes challenges that would give the average person a nervous breakdown.

Part Doctor, part Teacher and part Handyman, she can lavish loving care on a sick toddler, help a teenager with his Algebra homework, and track down a faulty circuit breaker - all while holding down a full time job.

With thirty minutes notice, she can serve breakfast, lunch, or dinner to fourteen hungry Sailors, and still somehow balance her family’s meager grocery budget.

She can press a set of dress whites to inspection standards, tie a perfect square knot in a military neckerchief, and pack a seabag in the cold hours before dawn.

For months at a time, she must settle for letters instead of kisses, emails in place of hugs, and long-distance phone calls in lieu of her husband’s touch.

She manages a smile when her Sailor is at sea for the second Anniversary in a row, and accepts the fact that there’s a one-in-three chance that he will have to stand Duty on her Birthday.  She has learned to stand on a pier and wave goodbye without tears, even when her heart is breaking.

To her children, she is Chauffeur, Umpire, Psychologist, Spiritual Advisor, Financial Consultant, part-time Father, Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny.  To her husband, she is Friend, Lover, Partner, Confidant, and Soul-Mate.

She is a patriot.  She is the sort of citizen that all of us should be, but so few of us are.  She lives with sacrifice, because she believes in the rights and ideals that her husband defends.  Although she wears no uniform, she is a part of that defense - a vital link in the chain of Freedom.  Although she wears no medals and will reap no glory on the field of battle, she is a hero in the truest sense of the word.  She is a Navy Wife.

STGC(SW) Jeffery S. Edwards

12/08/03