I AM

"I AM THANKFUL. This has not always been an easy walk for me.
I AM DISAPPOINTED. We have missed family gatherings, weddings, dinner engagements, birthday parties and holidays because of shift schedules and overtime.
I AM PATIENT. There have been dinners at the firehouse waiting for daddy to return from a call while the kids get cranky and the food gets cold.
I AM NERVOUS. I awake at 3am hearing creaks in the house and don't have the comfort of my husband beside me.
I AM TIRED. The house is full of sick kids and there is no relief in site because daddy is on a 72 hour shift.
I AM JEALOUS. Jealous of the wives whose husbands gget home at 5pm and hold them at the end of the day.
I AM WORRIED. Worried that he might not come home one day. This I try to tuck away.
I AM INCOMPETENT. THere was a time when I cosidered myself moderately intelligent. I now struggle to remember where I left my car keys, the diaper bay, and occasionally the baby.
I AM DOUBTING. I am doubting I am the kind of wife and mother he needs me to be.
I AM TRUSTING. Trusting that my husband will come home again.
I AM CONFIDENT, I AM EMBARRASSED, I AM LONELY, I AM SURPRISED, I AM OVERWORKED, I AM UNDERPAID
I AM.......The Fireman's Wife. "

This is an excerpt from a book called The Fireman's Wife by Susan Ferran. I haven't read it but I think it might be something I can relate to. Heck most moms/ wives, in general, probably can. I do however have an I Am to add:

I AM PROUD. Proud to know that my husband could be the difference between life and death for someone. Everytime he calls to tell me that he was able to save a child from drowning or a puppy from under the bed in a burning house (puppies are a part of the family too) or to tell me that he was inches away from being crushed by an a.c. unit (he probably shouldn't tell me things like that) I am able to appreciate and understand the risks that he takes everyday and I am so proud that I get to go to bed with my own personal HERO.