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In the words of Elizabeth Taylor, “I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife.”

It is an atypical life I lead, being the wife of a firefighter. I am not the normal suburban housewife, that’s for sure.

In my world I am “married” 2/3 to 1/2, of the time depending on how many extra shifts my husband works. The rest of the time I am by my lonesome, left to lounge on my own. Independence is a must. But, for an only child, this is not such a bad set up. I have “my” time and the whole house, including a king size bed, to myself. Then other days I get to “play house!” Honestly, I would not know how to live any other way- I guess because as a married couple, we haven’t known any other way.

Military wives have different woes, not seeing their spouse for months at a time. I can only imagine the angst felt by that long separation. On the other hand, being the wife of a firefighter is an ongoing daily adjustment. One night they are there, the next they are not. Self-sufficiency is a necessity. Even if you are planning to have a “married day,” that phone call comes at any moment to tell you he is staying at the station. Insert self sufficiency here: He was supposed to by the dog food…..! If I could not load up a 40 pound bag of dog food myself, I would be out of luck with two hungry dogs!

Anyway, hubby was recently presented with the honor of "Firefighter of the Year." My initial thought: "That's so great!" My realistic reasoning: "If I am going to take the backseat to a dern firetruck, at least I know that he is excelling and showing such effort at the job he loves!"