as a new military wife.

I am an Air Force wife. Wow. Sometimes that fact is still surreal for me. It's been over a year since Jeff and I made the decision together for him to enter military life. And now here we are living it! Of course, "here" wound up being in South Dakota, lol! And we're quite enjoying the change of scenery. It really is like a new beginning to an extent. (Don't worry you Florida friends and family-we still love you.) It has come with it's fair share of trials and stressors. I can only assume that is normal no matter where we move to.

Upon arriving to our first base, it was my intention to be involved in whatever I may consider a good influence. So, my first effort at putting words into actions was to meet our neighbor. It's sort of funny what motivated me to go over and say hi. We had let Honey out in the back yard and their dog sparked a quick interest in possibly making a new canine friend. So much so that he proceeded to dig under the fence into the next unit's back yard in effort to get closer. I wasn't sure if they realized he was stuck in the next yard (still attached to his lead in his own yard-which was funny because he couldn't get any further so he just laid down, obviously still wanting to get closer to Honey and play) and so I decided to give the neighbors a heads up. I'm so glad I did because she has become my first friend in SD, introducing me to others whom I hope will turn out to be great company as well! I attended my first Bunco game (to which she invited me) and we've even refinished a piece of furniture (which turned out looking great for her son's room). Unfortunately, her hubby received orders which will take their family to Italy in a few short weeks:( I'm not going to lie, I'm totally bummed. But it just goes to show that it's true what they say about stepping out of one's comfort zone...it can often lead to great things! And that's sort of a small accomplishment for me. I'm not a recluse, but I'm not exactly an extrovert, either.

And with this new found friendship I've been able to dig a little deeper into what military life is like for us wives. I'm able to genuinely appreciate how matter-of-fact she is about life in the Air Force. Whether we've discussed protocol, deployments, marriage, kids, moving, friends, family, etc. She's had a decent amount of time to experience all of it. She has never come across bitter or reluctant. Perhaps nervous about moving to Italy-but hey, who wouldn't be? Already I've met people who react to change with bad attitudes. I just think to myself: "this is going to be a long haul for you, and I don't want to hear you complain anymore." Anyway, she's the kind of person I know I'd want advice from and have level headed conversations with. It doesn't do well to listen to those who will speculate on how Air Force life will be when they themselves have had no experience in it.

I found something she posted about military wives. I thought it was interesting, even if my husband is too new to have made any deployments yet.

 

I can honestly say I found the "Not A Military Wife?" section most interesting. Probably because a lot of these things were said or asked to me while Jeff was just in BMT and Tech school. Forgive me to those of you who are guilty for inquiring such things like "Do you miss him?" But so many times I wanted to respond with, "No. I hope he never comes home!", just so you'd realize how stupid that question was. Of course I realize he could be deployed-I also realize any of us could be in car accidents or eat a bowl of cereal every morning...and what exactly do you plan on doing or saying if he isn't home for Christmas? Going to go retrieve him for me? The point is, the thoughts are already there-you don't need to voice them. Fortunately for me so far, Jeff was never any farther away than a quick plane ride, and he's never been in a combat zone or anything of the sort. But boy did it irk me when people didn't think before they spoke. I was on the receiving end of most of the statements in that list. If my husband had been deployed during that time, I probably would've smacked every one of you!

With that off my chest, I'm learning more and more every week it seems. In fact, I've recently found out that Jeff could be deploying as early as January. It's one of those highly unlikely type time frames considering he still has to complete his CDCs before he can deploy. However, the CDCs (Career Development Course, I think?) only take a maximum of 6 months to complete. He's allowed to work at his own pace so most likely he'll finish early. In a nutshell, if he deploys in January for whatever reason, I encourage my supporters to refer back to this Salute to Military Wives, lol.

And onward I go as the newbie and constantly learning military wife...