Power of Attorney

Each time the man in blue sails away for a couple of months, I get a new Power of Attorney (POA) to handle matters at home, if necessary. I've always filed it away in the safe, never once thinking I would need to use it but thankful for it, nonetheless.

Until this past week.

His patrol was extended, and his leave was cancelled. You see, I was supposed to meet him in another port and jet away to some friends' weddings back east-- one at which he was supposed to be best man. Despite that bad news that I would now be attending these nuptials solo, I now had to deal with his plane tickets and modify all our reservations. When I called the travel insurance company to file a claim, I introduced my self as Mrs. [Husband's Name]. The polite operator hesitated to talk to me about my husband's ticket insurance until I explained that I was a military wife. She asked if I had a POA; I replied in the affirmative and she continued. After fifteen minutes of instructions, claims forms, and extraneous paperwork later, she recommended that I include the POA with the signed claimed form.

After fumbling for the safe's keys, scanning, signing, and listening to really bad hold music for multiple reservation lines, I finally had everything back in order for me to attend our friends' weddings. Whereas I could never imagine filling his shoes as best man, I am happy to "wear the pants" that the POA enables me to do so that my man in blue can concentrate on why he is out there for us.