My Old Battle Buddy

Missing one friend.

By Anita Tedaldi

As I write this article I can’t help but think about how much I miss my friend Kate.

Kate and I shared most of our husbands’ deployments, because they were on the same rotations. For almost two years it was Kate, me and our kids. When our husbands left, we toughed it out together and moved to practical solutions: excessive sweets and romantic comedies. Once, I even called her really late at night, and told her that there was a spider as big as a car coming toward my bedroom and that I was just too afraid to kill it. She quickly walked me through Spider Elimination 101, and willed me to take a shoe and kill it so she could go back to bed. She was there for me, even in the middle of the night, to fill the void left by an absentee husband.

When they came back from deployment we shared our experiences of re-adjustment, and laughed at our common problem with desert gear all over the house for weeks.

We shared almost everything about each other’s lives. I miss my dear friend, my battle buddy, the one who was there for me so many times when I was down and felt that I couldn’t move forward.

I also miss the many friends I made over the years in the military community. Their faces and names may change, but their presence was and is constant support.

As military wives we share an unparalleled bond. At times, we may disagree on things, but for the most part we can be great friends, a lifeline for one another no matter where we are. So many things change around us, our location, our surroundings, our homes, the climate, the accents around us, but our ability to grow close to other military wives is always there.

Which reminds me - I am going to call my friend Kate right now just to tell her that I miss our ‘fun’ days. I am certain there will be many more ahead and hopefully many more friends to share them with.