This week's 55 theme: Remembrance

With reference to Veterans' Day, which was yesterday, the theme for this week is Remembrance: defined by www.dictionary.com as

'The act or process of remembering.
The state of being remembered: holds him in fond rememberance.
Something serving to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or event; a memorial.
The length of time over which one's memory extends.
Something remembered; a reminiscence.
A souvenir.
A greeting or token expressive of affection.

OK most of this definition is blah blah. While most of the stories have been to do with war, I thought of mine as being to do with service. Public service isn't more valuable simply because it's often lauded. This is my tribute to the women behind the men, often forgotten, or derided because they function as trophy ideals of wifehood according to the norms of the day. This is one equation in which the gain isn't always proportional to the cost. Sometimes being A wife is more important and meaningful than being the President's wife. I guess it depends on what one is looking for. Marriage is not easy by any means. But then, the grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?

She was enamoured by the idea of being married to a servant of the nation, one with ideals, a desire for change, and most importantly, solutions. He was never around; she understood. She tolerated his reticence and absentmindedness at home, comforting herself with the hope that she had sacrificed her life for her country’s sake.

Fine-tuned:

She was enamoured with the idea of being married to an idealistic servant of the nation. Yet she'd been warned of the sacrifice involved, of silence, of separation, of secrets. She'd wait for him to come home daily, his energy sapped by less deserving people.

She couldn't imagine giving a bigger sacrifice for her country.