BoldUlysses.com

NPR has been doing a series the past couple of mornings on the war and its effects. Yesterday they reported on a young veteran of the war and the difficulty he’s been having in finding employment back here in the U.S., and how that was representative of the plight of many young veterans. The report was substantive enough and I was duly concerned that many prospective employers in our country don’t recognize the skill sets of these veterans for what they are and for what they can bring to their jobs, but instead operate prejudicially, making individuals (veterans) suffer for an institution’s (the Bush administration’s) perceived bad decisions.

Okay, fine.

This morning, however, as part of their series, they reported on mothers in the military; specifically, how difficult it is for mothers who have been in combat (COMBAT) to readjust to peaceful life and their kids and families. I was incensed. What the heck are we doing sending mothers into active service in the military, let alone combat? I mean, beyond on the garbage on television and the cultural ailments at large, as an example of just how far we’ve fallen as a civilization, this has to be close to the nadir.

It’s not a question of competency or proficiency, it’s a question of the nature of the God-designed relationship between men and women. The oft-cited litmus test goes like this: A husband and wife are on a date at a nice restaurant. The wife happens to have a black belt in karate and is an expert in self-defense, whereas the husband leads a more sedentary, laid-back lifestyle. Leaving the restaurant a mugger emerges from the bushes and runs at the couple. Who should defend who? Clearly the wife is more qualified, but there is just something fundamentally out of order about a woman jumping in front of a man to defend him. Scale that viewpoint up to the present situation in the military, add kids–KIDS–in the mix, and you have the current disgrace.

Now, throughout the ages, in times of extreme duress women have been involved in the military as medics or translators or other non-combat positions, which is fine–so long as there are no kids at home who need their mother present more than anything. There’s no substitute for that in the early years of a child’s life, and all throughout, really.

Call me a dinosaur, call me sexist, call me what you will. Not only is this representative of the Biblical take on male-female dynamics, there are a majority of women out there who feel this way as well, and I stand with them.

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The website is coming along and will be up in the next few days, with, as promised, a redirect at the top so our (five) loyal readers can update their bookmarks. Diane has been leading a ladies’ small group on Monday evenings, and the window she’s away gives me more time to work on it. Besides that and more than that, I’m excited for her. They’re going through the Truth Project and the women who attend are very engaged and eager to absorb the material. Diane is building friendships with them too.

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This past Sunday was our one-year anniversary. We observed it on Friday and had a special at-home dinner consisting of the very same meal we had catered on our wedding. It brought back a lot of memories and was beyond special. Luke spent the night with Diane’s parents and enjoyed himself there, and it afforded us the opportunity to sleep in a little bit (until 7:30, haha) and to spend some time together in the morning. Having only one child for the night seemed incredibly easy compared with the two we normally chase around, and we had a chance to spend some more Penelope-focused time as well.

With apologies to every other male on the planet, I am married to the most lovely, thoughtful, wonderful, intelligent woman in the world. I got her. It’s over. Go home :)