Strength in Tears Published March 30, 2019 By Nathan Kobylinski 92nd Aeromedical Squadron FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- When it comes to who inspires me, I don’t have to look further than my best friend, my wife. Many people would see that as cliché because we are always together but I view it as a front row ticket to inspiration. There are many reasons as to why she inspires me on a daily basis but the most recent events that have occurred in our lives that shook our world showed me how inspirational my wife truly is. On November 3rd 2018 my wife lost her original best friend, her mother. Nothing could have prepared us for this news out of nowhere. That phone call will never be forgotten as every emotion struck us both. From that first tear, she showed her strength. As we are here a little over five months later, the pain is still real but I have seen something in my wife. Someone who is not afraid to remember the good times, someone not afraid to talk about her mother and someone not afraid to cry and feel that pain. It takes strength to not bottle up emotion, to not just push it aside but instead embrace it. Those tears show that her mother meant the world to her and made a lasting impression that will not be forgotten. She lives every day for her mother, to make her proud as she is watched over from above and I couldn’t be more proud. Another reason she inspires me is her overall caring of others despite her pain. Her father recently lost a cousin who my wife didn’t know too well but without thinking my wife’s first question was “what can we do to help”. She knew the pain and uncertainty that came with news like that and her first instinct was to reach out and help. Each day has its own struggles with some days being harder than others but my wife strives forward to be the best she can be. She is caring, forgiving and loving despite the curveballs life has thrown recently. Every day I smile and I’m thankful that she is my wife and that I get to do this journey with her as she inspires me to strive for more and get everything I can out of life. When a moment or day gets too tough or a memory of her mom comes around and she cries, I know that there is strength in those tears.