"Bright Morning Stars"

This post is different than my other posts. While I will incorporate music, I actually want to talk about a television show I watch.

I have been watching "Army Wives" since the show premiered five years ago. I was a senior in high school and from the beginning I was hooked. I was curious to see how the spun the tale of being in the army, considering I have family members who serve or have served in the past. For the most part (yes, it is a television show so they add stuff for drama) it seems to be what I would picture military life like for the spouses (non-military) back home.

Last night was the fourth episode of the 5th season. And it was hands down one of the best things I have ever seen on television. One of the main wives, Denise Sherwood, is told that her son Jeremy was Killed in Action. To make matters worse, his fiancee Tonya here's the news at the exact same time--for they were at a wedding shower for Jeremy and Tonya. Throughout the episode, we see how Denise's friends and family cope and lean on each other during this extremely difficult time. We see how Frank, Jeremy's father who is also deployed, comes home with his son's body and has the difficult task of trying to keep it together for the military, for his wife, and for his family. We see other families trying to grasp the awfulness and come to terms with the fact with the fact that they could lose a loved one at any time due to war.

I have only been to one military funeral in my life, and that was my great-grandfathers. It was different automatically because he was not killed in action but rather lived a full long life and passed away at a ripe old age. This episode was hard to watch with my cousin deploying in a month--I pray every day and night that nothing happens to him but we are not guaranteed that. Last night's episode snapped me back into reality, believe it or not, to how fragile life can be. And how it doesn't matter if you're just about to get married, or if you've just had a baby, or if you've just lost a loved one. Life doesn't work out like we plan sometimes, and that's the hardest thing to face.

I've heard people saying all across the internet this morning that it was not a good show and that the writers should have been more respectful to the military and the spouses who do face these tragic circumstances. Honestly, I think it was very well acted and written and beautifully done. While it wasn't the easiest thing to see and definitely had me crying the whole time, to me (even though I have always been a fan) for the first time the show actually brought a sense of reality to it. These five women have all been on post together for five years--they've made several comments how that doesn't usually happen yet it doesn't seem like any of them are going anywhere anytime soon. So to have something so realistic, where someone who was just beginning life is cut down and loses his life, it definitely made me see how hard and noble and heartbreakingly beautiful being in the army can be sometimes.

I wanted to thank everyone, especially my Uncle Ed, my Aunt Renea, and my cousin Ben for serving currently in the military. I am so honored to have you in my life and I am so grateful for you to be willing to fight for our country. Thank you to my mom who was int the army, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather who all came back safely. Thank you for your service and showing me how awesome serving in our military can be.

At the end of the episode, there is a song played "Bright Morning Stars" and it's beautiful. There is a little bit of music throughout the episode, but at the end when Denise and Frank are standing by their son, the haunting words of this song just bring it all the more to focus how life in the military works--sometimes you lose loved ones and sometimes you have to experience the loss. I'm grateful I haven't lost anyone. Thank you, Army Wives, for putting together such a brilliant show.