I was inspired growing up by lots of great role models. My mother, my father, my grandparents, my Bible teacher in high school, my tennis coach. I could go on and on but the person who still inspires me every day of my life is the man I married almost 58 years ago.
When I married Ted, we took vows that for better or worse we would love each other. I can say that most of it has been ” the better”. “The worse” knocked on the door, but we seldom opened it.
Ted inspires me in so many ways:
He inspires me to be a good wife.
He inspires me to be patient (I have a real problem with this one).
He inspires me to be a good mother.
He inspires me to be honorable.
He inspires me to be kind.
He inspires me to be proud.
He inspires me to see the best in people.
I can’t begin to get inside the head of my inspiration when it comes to what he went through in Vietnam. I don’t think I want to, but I do know he carries a footlocker full of boxes with him every day. Some days the boxes stay closed. Some days one box will open, and I see a little of what is inside. Other days a box may open, and I have no idea what is inside the box, but I know it is open. I can only imagine what these boxes are—maybe anger, fear, sadness, pride, love, grief, loss, anxiety, honor and I know there is one named Joy. As a military wife you also have boxes – fear, anxiety, respect, pride, and on and on.
I am proud to have Ted as an inspiration, and I will carry one end of the footlocker with all his boxes and mine for as long as I live. That footlocker is called “LOVE”.
