Why My Husband Rocks

My friend, Michelle, suggested I enter this essay contest called "Why My Husband Rocks." This is what I wrote:

My husband had been gone for a couple months, 2 of our 4 kids were sick, I had finals, I was trying to sell our house so I could move to our new duty station and I was struggling with the decision whether or not to put our elderly dog to sleep when, on the verge of tears, my cell phone “dinged” to let me know I had a new email. It was a message from my husband and all it said was “Just remember to breathe and know that I love you.” How could he know how much I needed him at that very moment? Because my husband is the most caring, romantic, sensitive man I have ever known. Essentially, he’s a total rock star!


It is expected that a wife thinks the world of her husband or what’s the point of being married, right? Well, the same rings true in my marriage. However, my husband is extra special. When I met him, I was a 20-year-old single mother who had overcome an abusive relationship and was raising an infant daughter. He came into my life as a friend but I quickly realized that he was my knight in shining armor, everything that I had ever looked for. Not only did he wholeheartedly fall in love with me, he fell in love with my daughter and has never treated her any different than our other children.

My husband is currently deployed with 1st Medical Battalion serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. He is an FMF Corpsman who takes care of not only injured Marines and Sailors but also Afghan National Army and civilians. This deployment has been rough on both of us, not to mention our four daughters. Despite the hard days that go hand-in-hand with any deployment, my husband makes an effort to make sure the girls and I know he loves us and is always thinking of us.

Before he left, unknown to me, he spent hours on the computer ordering gifts, flowers, etc. in advance to be delivered randomly every month to surprise the girls and I. When we received the first package, we hadn’t heard from him for over a week and it was one of “THOSE” days. It had a note that said “I love you all and I’ll be home soon.” Even in a warzone, he has not forgotten one birthday or our anniversary. He even bought cards for every event before he left stateside to mail at the appropriate time.

It humbles me and warms my heart that while he is doing such an important job, he still makes sure that the girls and I always know that we are his priority and always in his heart. While he is in dangerous situations, saving lives and witnessing the horror of humanity, things that I could never even fathom, he says that knowing the girls and I are at home waiting for him gets him through the darkest of moments.

Not only does he treat me like a princess, he is also an amazing attentive doting father for our daughters. To help the girls deal with this deployment, he took them to Build-a-Bear and made them each a personalized “Daddy” Bear with his voice wishing them each a Good Night and telling them that he loves them. He’s been gone for 9 months and the girls still sleep with their “Daddy” Bears.

Additionally, our 9-year-old sent her favorite Webkinz with him so “Daddy wouldn’t be lonely.” My typically shy wallflower of a husband took that stuffed tiger as an opportunity to stay connected with our children and continue to be the amazing father that he is. “Tigey” has gone on an adventure to Afghanistan with Daddy. My husband poses with Tigey every step of the way of the deployment, even risking teasing from his fellow Marines and Sailors. He often sets “Tigey” up in some silly situations just to make the girls laugh, like taking a picture of “Tigey” trying to crawl into a mailbox in Romania because “he missed his girls.” My husband sends us the pictures periodically, as he has the time and postal access. The pictures give us an idea of what he is experiencing, where he sleeps, where he eats and where he works. Most of all, it helps us stay connected as a family.

I know that we started this family together, he is my partner for life, and one far-off day when this "Crammed with Kids" stage is traded for an "Empty Nest", I still want my husband to be my best friend. Even if I’m left sleep deprived, striped by stretch marks (really, it's bad, I look like a zebra), saggy in places we won't discuss, and feeling generally undesirable, I only have to look into the eyes of my amazingly patient and loving husband to realize he is a gift of grace to me, not only through this stage but, for life.

We have spent 14 of the last 17 months apart and we still have another month to go. He will be home in November and it would be priceless to be able to surprise him with a “Mommy & Daddy” weekend fitting only for a husband who completely and utterly ROCKS MY WORLD!

(We were also asked to submit a photo with the essay. Attached is the one I included.)

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I hope you enjoyed it. I'd really love it if the Contest Judges would Hand Over The Coffee.... along with the Grand Prize!!! LOL