Sacrifice

The Pte. and 3 other soldiers were asked who would like to volunteer to do the next portion of their training in a neighbouring province instead of at the base down the road. No one volunteered so the instructors were going to "voluntold" someone. When The Pte. called me last night and told me about this, he also told me that he explained to the instructors that he didn't volunteer because of me and Elodie and our current close proximity. The instructors seemed to understand this and The Pte. was under the impression that he would be finishing out his training locally.

I should be thrilled about this right? Well, I wasn't. Something just didn't sit right with me about this. As a brand-new Army Wife I know that I will be required to make many sacrifices so that my husband can pursue his career with the Canadian Forces. I am ready and willing to do this because I see how happy he is, how much he is excelling, and how proud he is of himself. Because of this, I think it is important to volunteer/accept any reasonable offer that comes his way. Elodie and I cannot become an excuse for him to not do everything he needs to do to excel at his chosen career.

So what did I do? I explained to him my train of thought and suggested he talk to the instructors today in order to volunteer to finish out his training on another base. The Pro's: He will get a new set of instructors, get to train on an amazing base, and get to spend some time with his brother who is stationned there. The Con's: We won't be able to see much of him (it's about a 6 hour drive one way). It's a sacrifice that I am willing to make though. Sad as it will be to be apart so long, I see it as an opportunity to acclimate ourselves to his being away before he (potentially) heads to Alberta for two months. Baby steps instead of cold turkey is the way that I see it.

I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet today so I'm not sure if the instructors took him up on that offer or voluntold someone else to go. Either way, he will have it in his mind that I support his decisions to improve his career - even if it means getting left behind.

-The Mrs.