One Woman's Sacrifice 

As women we give up so much for our roles in life.  Mothers, careers, wives, family, friends.  It only seems natural to put the needs of others before our own.  We are naturally born to nuture.  I'm already seeing that characteristic in my 10 year old daughter.

This is not to say that men don't sacrifice either.  But for arguments sake...I must insist that women pay the ultimate price.  At least I did.  My husband was in the military for 26 years.  We were married for 20 of those years.  Two kids & several moves later here we are getting a divorce.  Since we moved to Ohio to be near his family...I sacrificed the support of being near my family.  Of course there are friends...but you can only ask so much from them.

All my sacrifices.  Let me count the ways.  I gave up two very lucrative careers in financial services to move for his career.  Fortunately, those learned skills were transferrable.  I gave up quality time with my family so we could move to be close to his family.  I am still trying to mend the bond with my family.  But I don't know if I'll ever be the same.  We moved at least 7 times which meant leaving friends & disrupting the routine that our kids needed.  Kids are resilient I always used to say.  Relocation is stressful enough on a marriage without all the other problems that come with it. 

Always the supportive wife.  I never argued with his choice to relocate.  He brought home the bacon so we had to go.  I'm not ungrateful...I just wish I didn't give up so much for him.  He has a successful career, a retirement pension, medical insurance, & financial security.  I work part time, no college degree, no family nearby, no insurance, and no place to go.  And to top it off he gets to keep the house.  Its like the icing on the cake.  But I was the one that went through the blender.