Coincidence? I wonder...

Right now the Rose Festival is going on here in beautiful downtown Portland, Oregon. My office is right next to the park where it's taking place, so I'm looking down from my office window at some of the goings-on. Right across the street is a parking lot that is being rented out by vendors for booths during the festival. For the moment, there are only three large booths- an Army recruiting station, a Navy recruiting station, and right in between them (yes, seriously!) a relationship counseling booth! Their banner states "Something CAN be done." Coincidence? I doubt it. I can tell you from personal experience that military life is absolute murder on marriages. When I was in the Marine Corps they used to tell me, "If the Corps wanted you to have a wife, it would have issued you one!" It was said humorously- at least in most cases- but in the military, family does not come first- duty does. If your command says you're going overseas for a year and your family can't come, you are going and your family isn't, end of story. In the civilian world, you put your family first and that's respected; in the military, you don't have that option. That's brutal on marriage and family. I have the utmost respect for our servicemen and women and their families and I am sorry that they have to go through those long separations. I hope they all come home safely and soon to the families who love and miss them.