A Firefighter's Wife

HERO ~ A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities ~

SACRIFICE ~ the surrender of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim ~

A typical Sunday night, lounging around watching Army Wives with my husband, only he's got his scanner turned up loudly and I can't hear my show!!  He says 22's are jobbin' as if that is going to make his scanner any less annoying.  He gets up and gets dressed to head to the firehouse because he thinks they will get called to help.  He gives me a kiss and heads out the door.  There is an apartment complex on fire with reports of screaming from inside.  It is when he leaves the house that my anxiety starts to slowly build.  I do some laundry, finish watching my shows, and then get a notification on my phone that they are responding to the fire.  The anxiety builds a little higher.  I start getting text messages from some friends who have heard about the fire asking me if I've heard about it and I tell them yes, my husband is there.  I putz around waiting to hear that my hubby is safe and sound and on his way home, but the call never comes.  I fall asleep sometime after 2:00 am, and when I wake in the morning, I am relieved to see he is sleeping like a baby!  Thank God.

I couldn't even begin to explain the calling my husband has for firefighting.  I would do it no justice, of this I am sure of.  I, myself, don't fully understand what makes a person want to run into a burning building, or what makes a person put their life on the line for a complete stranger.  

It is his job.  It is his passion.  It's in his blood.  

People constantly say "I don't know how you do it".  The worrying.  The time he is away from home.  The "up and leave" at any time of any day.  The danger. 

The answer is: He's my husband, so it's my job.  He's my passion, and  I fully support him.  

Being a Firefighter's wife isn't an easy job.  It requires selflessness, sacrifice, composure, tolerance, empathy and mercy.  It is a lot of time spent alone, a lot of rearranged plans, a lot of waiting around and a lot of apprehension.  It's a lot of navy blue T-shirts with fire department logos on them.  It's birthdays celebrated at the firehouse.  It's way too many conversations about accidents, hostage situations, brush fires, house fires, car fires and wires.  It's fun Superbowl parties, holiday parties with fireworks, and weddings filled with rowdy firefighters.  It's meeting friends you will have for a lifetime.  It's a shared bond. It's a lifestyle. 

My husband is a Volunteer Firefighter.  He is strong, courageous, fearless, brave, adventurous, dependable, and steadfast.  I am a Volunteer Firefighter's wife, and I fully support my husband, through the good times and bad because that is what I want to do.