February 18, 2010
Trust
I just sent the following email to Soldier:
I was checking out some of the features on my new cell phone. Apparently you can like “set as secret” phone numbers and contacts. So that if someone looks at your contacts or your incoming/outgoing calls, they can’t see people/numbers you have hidden. NICE. Unless you’re a spy or an undercover cop with informants why would you ever need this function for a legitimate purpose?? For most people it would either be hiding things from parents or from a partner/spouse.
Oh and it also has that creepy stalker function that let’s you locate via GPS all the people on your plan if they have a similar phone. It’s called “Sprint Family Locator” but the service costs extra. So when you get back, we’ll get you a phone like this, set up the service, and then we can sit around all day creepy checking where the other one is.
It’s just heartwarming how Samsung and Sprint are promoting familial trust, harmony and closeness. I’d love to see an ad campaign highlighting these features. LOL
I wrote this in a joking manner, but trust actually is a serious issue. I’ve had a lot of people ask me questions about how he and I can trust each other when he is gone so much. I find the question to be kind of rude, but I can understand why people think of it. Military divorce rates aren’t great. It is a lot of time to spend away from the person you love and it can get really lonely.
I don’t want to speak for or judge anyone who has a trust crisis in a marriage…only the people involved really know what goes on. I guess I just look at it like this – I made a promise to him when I married him and I intend to keep my promise. It’s that simple. He once told me about a discussion he had with a younger soldier and an officer. He told the younger guy that he didn’t really like serving with guys that he knows cheat on their wives. The young guy didn’t understand and asked him to explain. Soldier replied with something along these lines, “If one of my teammates is going to be dishonest and untrue to the one person that he promised to love and cherish above all others…how could I ever trust that such a person is really going to be watching my back in a bad situation?” The officer who overheard told both the young guy and Soldier that he agreed with this 100%. He also used what Soldier said in a briefing about marriage and fidelity that he gave to the group.
Soldier has put an ENORMOUS amount of trust in me. I control all our finances. I can buy and sell things and open lines of credit in his name. I can even make medical decisions for him if he’s hurt or incapacitated…including turning off life support. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would abuse the trust he has placed in me. I consider it an honor that he thinks so much of me and loves me so much that he trusts me with these kinds of things. With what he said to that younger soldier (and I know he believes it completely) and his placing so much trust and faith in me…I trust him as well. He would never do anything to hurt or shame me any more than I would do it to him.
So the email I sent him was intended to be funny…but I guess it’s ultimately kind of sad that such functions are available. I guess I can only be glad that I know I will never have a need to use them and neither will he.
