Readiness takes many forms. Joe Rose got married. Chris Muncy had a new furnace installed. Rees Walther bought computer software so his wife could manage the family finances. As the United States creeps closer to war with Iraq, thousands of National Guard and Reserve members are organizing their personal lives, knowing they could be called to active duty at any time and with little warning.

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Walther, 31, of Boise, Idaho, a seventh-grade teacher and National Guard intelligence specialist, said the first time he was deployed abroad, he left without explaining to his wife his methods for paying the bills. Now, she has taken charge of the family finances, and they bought computer software to help manage the process.

"It really is tough for the families, and it's tougher on the guardsmen than they let on," he said.

Walther missed his daughter's first birthday and her first steps because he was in Texas training.

"You miss out on a lot of those little things," he said.

In suburban Cleveland, Russell and Trish Galeti's son, 21-year-old Russell Jr., said he could be called up on as little as 72 hours notice.

"I didn't realize it would be like that," Trish said quietly, shaking her head.

But she supports his decision to join the National Guard.

"When they have the love for it, the passion for it, you want them to go for it and you want them to get it because you want them to be happy," she said.

» Reserves Get Ready for War in Iraq