This morning I read an article titled "Adaptability: A Necessary Quality For the Firefighter Spouse" by Anne Gagliano. Anne is a firefighter's wife and in her article she talks about how being adaptable has enabled her marriage to be successful. Its a great article and I highly recommend reading it. After reading the article it got me thinking about my wife, our marriage and what she means to me. With that being said, I want to dedicate this post to my beautiful and awesome wife Samantha. This ones for you Sam!!
Firefighting is a crazy job, our hours are hectic and many times our families are left to fend for themselves as we head off to work for 24 hours at a time. Volunteer firefighter's families experience similar frustration as it seems like the pager goes off at the most inopportune time...during dinner, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Needless to say this job can be stressful on a family. Thats why its important to have strong family support and a strong relationship.
When I go off to work each day my most important goal is to get back home the next day and see my wife. I have a big family, a lot of friends all of which I care about very much but at the end of the day the driving factor for me is my wife. I am very lucky in the fact that I have a very awesome wife. She is truly my best friend and she has stood by me and supported me through my toughest times. In her defense though, I don't think she truly understood what she was getting into when I joined the fire department. I started as a paid on call firefighter so I was on call every third night. It seems like the pager would always go off at the most inopportune time. While I am sure my wife was frustrated most of those times, she new it was something I loved and she supported me. Now I am a career firefighter every third day I am gone for 24 hours at a time. I know its hard on my wife but again, she knows how much I love the job so she supports me. I am sure there are times she worries about me while I am at work or is afraid that I might not come home but she is strong and doesn't let that concern show. She is an amazing women and an amazing wife and an amazing friend.
The article than Anne wrote talks about adaptability and the need for firefighter's spouses to exhibit that quality. I think it is also important for the firefighter to be adaptable as well. I am not talking about on the fire ground or in the fire house, I am talking about at home and with the family. Once I became a firefighter, I was instantly in love with the job. I wanted to spend every opportunity I could at the fire house. Unfortunately I focused on being a firefighter too much and ended up putting the fire department before my wife. I wasn't being adaptable. I was expecting her to adapt to the department and my needs but I wasn't willing to adapt to her needs and wants. That absolutely wasn't fair to her. She deserved much more than that from me. It took time and hardship but eventually I realized what my true priorities were in my life. Once I refocused my life and reset my priorities things definitely got better. My wife still has to be adaptable but I am trying to be more adaptable as well. Despite my hectic schedule I try and prioritize my time at home with my wife.
What it really comes down to is this. We all have people in our lives that support us. When we go off to work for a day, they carry on with their lives. They take the kids to school or to games while we are gone. In my eyes, my wife is truly my biggest hero. She doesn't complain when I have to work weekends or holidays or if I have to work overtime or whatever the situation may be. She listens to me yap on and on about different fire stuff even though most times I think she could care less. She is my test audience for my presentations and provides me feedback to help make me better. She is truly awesome and the best wife a guy could ask for. Her support is amazing and without her I would be lost. I think every firefighter should be lucky enough to have a support system like I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment