Unfulfilled dreams

Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Tinh (teacher at Linh Dam Secondary School, Hoang Mai District, Hanoi ) whose husband is a soldier named Hoang Duy Hung, currently working at Thuyen Chai Island (Truong Sa Archipelago) shared that any girl, when accepting to love and agree to marry a soldier, can imagine a part of her life without her husband...

However, it was not until she became a wife that she fully understood the hardships of being a soldier's wife.

Ms. Tinh said that she and her husband have been married for nearly 5 years but have very little time together. Although the wife's loss is great, she said she loves her children more because up to now, the oldest child is over 3 years old, the youngest is just 11 months old but they rarely get to see their father in person. Father and child only talk through the phone screen, missing sentences due to weak signal.

“We have to watch the time and the weather so that the husband and wife can communicate and talk to each other, the father can talk to the child,” Ms. Tinh said.

“Every year, my husband has a total of 25 days of leave, but he has to divide it into several times. Because of the nature of his job as a teacher, he has summer vacations, so I always wish for him to come home during those times so that we and our children can be together more. However, in the past 5 years, my wish has never come true. During the year, if he has the chance, he only takes the opportunity to come home to his wife and children for a few short days before returning to his duties,” Ms. Tinh said.

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Ms. Tinh connected and chatted online, sending her best wishes to her husband who is on duty on a remote island. Photo: Thanh Hung.

Ms. Tinh said that she and her husband dated for over a year before getting married. After the wedding, her husband's leave ended and she was left alone, feeling sad and anxious.

From the days of pregnancy to the day of giving birth, Ms. Tinh relied on the support and care of both families. Because her husband had to stay at the unit to fulfill his assigned duties. When she was sick, Ms. Tinh also overcame her feelings of sadness to overcome it herself.

“When my child was sick, I had to take him to the doctor and take care of him. I thought I wouldn’t make it. But thanks to my husband’s phone calls of concern, encouragement, and news of his safety and excellent completion of all tasks, my sadness was dispelled.”

She understands that only when the home front is strong can those on the front lines work with peace of mind. Ms. Tinh hopes that this summer, her family can reunite.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (teacher at La Phu Secondary School, Hoai Duc District, Hanoi), whose husband is Colonel Vuong Nam Thai (working at Da Lon Island in Truong Sa Archipelago) is also full of determination.

Married for 20 years, the husband was only home for about 2 years, the rest of the time he was away on business trips. Since getting married, only about 6-7 years, he has been able to celebrate Tet with his family.

This year, her husband did not return home and spent Tet far away. “I am sad and miss my husband, but my husband and I often call and text each other to encourage each other so that my husband can work with peace of mind.”

Not only this year, Ms. Huyen always tries her best so that her husband does not have to worry about both sides of the family and the mother and child at home so that he can concentrate on his work and complete the tasks assigned by the state.

Living with her mother-in-law, Ms. Huyen takes care of both her children and her 80-year-old mother.

Her husband is away on a business trip, so Ms. Huyen takes care of everything herself, but both her parents' and grandparents' work is always taken care of.

With a meager teacher's salary and many difficulties, in addition to her work at school, Ms. Huyen also does other jobs to earn extra money to cover living expenses.

“Before, the whole family lived in a dilapidated house. It was only last year that my husband and I saved enough to renovate the house. While building the house, I tried to manage everything myself so that my husband could work with peace of mind,” Ms. Huyen said emotionally.

Proud to have a husband who is an island soldier

Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Tinh said that after days apart, every time they took a short leave, as if to make up for being away from home when his wife and children were sick, her husband would do all the housework, from washing clothes and baby diapers to going to the market, cooking, taking the children to school...

“My husband understands the hardships of his wife and children, so when he comes home to his family, he often comforts and encourages me, and also confides in me to seek sympathy and support from my parents and siblings on both sides. Looking at moments like that, I feel lucky and happy. I am proud of my friends, colleagues and neighbors for having a husband who is a soldier on the sea and islands.”

Besides the encouragement from her husband, Ms. Tinh said she was also fortunate to receive help from both sides of her family, friends and colleagues. In particular, her mother-in-law is also a soldier, so she understands and loves her daughter-in-law very much.

“Although it is hard, I always feel happy and proud to be a soldier’s wife. I always tell myself that I have to be strong in the rear, live well and beautifully so that my husband can rest assured to complete his mission far away.

I understand that in the distant, sacred place of the country, there are not only my husband but also many other comrades. Therefore, like many wives and mothers in the rear, I will always try my best, just hoping that my husband will always stay healthy, keep his gun steady to protect the sovereignty of the Fatherland", Ms. Tinh shared.

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Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen. Photo: Thanh Hung.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen also confided that she always feels honored and proud to have her husband working on a remote island.

"I always encourage him to be confident in completing his tasks well, without having to worry about anything at home, because he has his wife and children as a solid support."

What makes Ms. Huyen happier is that her eldest child is a second-year university student this year, and her second child is in 8th grade. They are both very good and try hard to study, so that their father can work with peace of mind.

Their eldest child is a university student with good academic performance, winning a full scholarship for all four years. The second child is always an excellent student and is always sent by the school to represent the students at events honoring good students.

“I always tell my children that their father is away on a business trip, and only their mother and children are at home. Therefore, they should try to be good and study well so that their father, who is far away, can still see them trying to work with confidence and not worry about anything. The children are very self-disciplined. In addition to studying in class, in their free time at home, the two children help their mother with everything at home so that I can complete my school duties well,” Ms. Huyen shared.

However, with the youthful and exemplary lifestyle of teachers, they have always tried their best with many hardships and worries, worthy of being "good at school work and good at housework".

With extraordinary willpower and exemplary lifestyles, these wives and mothers deserve to be respected and praised for being "good at school and good at housework".