Me and my wife were arguing today about who our kids’ biggest fan is. I think it’s me and she says it her. In all likelihood, it is a tie between us, but it will be a fight for the rest of our children’s lives and if you ask me it is a necessary one so my children know their parents believe in them

This got me thinking about how when someone knows they have someone in their corner cheering for them, they tend to try harder and have the ability to get up and try again. I started thinking about the low points in my life, the points where I thought about or almost ended it all. These points were points where I was convinced that nobody loved me and that I had no fans of my life. I remembered specifically early on in our marriage the time I was going to end it all for reasons that seem so stupid now, I was alone at home because my wife had taken off mad at me over something dumb I had done out of ignorance and I was sure she was gone and nobody cared about my life anymore. Lucky for me, I was saved by a disobedient dog.

The other times I was at my lowest were times I lost people I saw as my closest fans and times I felt like my wife wasn’t there for me. Of course, I was completely wrong, and my wife was always behind me, and she has had to learn that someone like me who has PTSD I always need to feel like I have a fan of my life. It’s hard on her, too. She gets spent emotionally with having to always make sure she lets me know I am loved. I have also learned I have to always let her know she is loved.

I find that when a person knows somebody is a fan of their life, they tend to try and make it a better life so their fans get to join in what they see. If nothing else, I want to find a way to show all my brothers and sisters in arms that they have fans that love them and are still clapping for them whether they win all the time or get up from a loss to fight another day.

For those near a veteran or a trauma survivor. Let them know you are there and you are a fan of them. You want to see them succeed and when they fail you want to help him get up and watch them try again.

It is hard to live with PTSD and survive trauma, but I recognize it is just as hard to love those people. Please keep loving them. How many of them are here because of you being a fan of them and who are you the biggest fan of?

Thank You Bethany for being my biggest fan and truly the only reason I am still here and the biggest reason I fight the next day.