YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MILITARY WIFE IF...

...you can unpack a house and have everything in place in 48 hours....
...you string concertina wire to keep the neighbor's kids out of your flower beds
...your husband's work and dress clothes cost more than yours do
....you've changed more oil and mowed more lawns than your husband because he's never there to do it himself
....you use a crook-neck flashlight with a red lens during power outages because it's the only one you can ever find in the house
....your children say "hooah" or "roger that" instead of "ok"
....your husband does a route recon and takes a GPS for a trip to the mall
....you only write in pencil because EVERYTHING is subject to change
....you need a translator to talk to your civilian friends, because they have no idea what DFAS, AER, TDY, ACS, NPD, PCS, and ETS mean
....you have a larger selection of curtains than Wal-Mart does
....you can remember where you kept the Scotch tape in your last house, but unfortunately, not in this one
....you mark time in duty stations, not years
....you refer to friends not only by name but by the state that they live in
. ...you know that "back home" doesn't mean at the house you live in now
....you tear up when you hear "Proud to Be An American," even though you've heard it 50 times by now
....you know that a 2 month separation IS short, no matter what your civilian friends say
....you ALWAYS know when payday is and get ticked off if there are more than 2 weekends during that pay period
....you know better than to go to the PX or commissary between 11:30 and 1:30 unless it's a life or death emergency
....you show your military ID to the greeter at Wal-Mart
....you know that any reference to "sand" or a "box" has nothing to do with your kid's backyard toys
....you know that "Ft. Puke" is a completely accurate description of any military base you are currently at
....you find yourself explaining your husband's LES to him
....you don't have to think about what time 21:30 is....you've ever been referred to as "Household 6"
....you're the TC, not a backseat driver
....you start ripping open MREs and looking for the M&Ms when you run out of Halloween candy
....you can't remember the last time you saw a doctor who wasn't wearing ACUs
....you've ever had a pet named Scout, Ranger or Sergeant
....the local dry cleaner knows you by your first name
....it only cost you $25 to have a child
....you find that a large number of your clothes and household items are olive drab or loam, even though you never planned it that way
....you pick apart uniforms on TV and in the movies, even though you used to yell at your husband for doing the same thing
....you know what "pogey bait" is and which kinds everyone in your husband's platoon prefers
....you wish you could go to CIF to DX your old stuff like your husband can
....you've learned to sleep through the sounds of tanks, planes, helicopters and artillery simulators
. ...you give your kids a hand receipt when they take your Tupperware to school
....you can hate military life but be terrified to leave it all in the same breath
....you defend your lifestyle no matter how bad things get because you know there's no other life for you! AND WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD!

Question for those with children

This is for anyone who as children 10 to 14 and has gone through deployment. How did you as a parent deal with your child during the second deployment? was your child different this time from the first time? Our daughter is 12 and yes there is the dealing with the girl and the pre-teen, but she the other day just did a 180 on me and will have nothing to do with me. I am the bad guy when it comes to school and everything else. She runs to dad now. something she never did before. I am just at a loss as how to turn her around. dad will be in the field for 2 weeks so and then go most of the summer before deployment in the fall. any advice you can give on pre-teens and girls would be great!

out of no where

Lastnight after the kids went to bed out of no where dh asks if I would leave if he lost a body part or had something else wrong. all I could say was that is a stupid question. One of the guys he works with was hurt pretty badly and one day they talked about his time in Walter Reed. All the stories of wives just walking out. Dh never talks about stuff like this. So I was a little taken back. I could not, would not leave if something were to happen. I told him that there are 3 things that can happen 1.you come how safe and sound 2. you are hurt 3. death. I much rather deal with 1 and 2 out of the 3.

Just another Tuesday

L came over for coffee Monday and said that they are going to be heading out sometime in July. I dont blame them but WTF do I do now! So I thought okay I will just set the house up for the winter have someone come in and make sure all is working and see if we can stay with my brother and sister-in-law in the fall for the school year. Okay that is just nuts I cant leave my house for 9 months, move the kids to a new school just for 1 year. It really makes me made that none of our family gets the stress of deployment muchless even tries to understand it and asks can they help or even come up here for a visit. But that will never happen in 17 years family has only come to visit, 7 times. See I have this weird thing that during a deployment I CAN NOT leave the state because something might happen. I have many other daily little strange things that I do when dh is deployed. I told the kids that we would fly down to see family this coming christmas because last time dad was gone no one came to for christmas and it was the worst day. All 3 of our wonderful children were just rotten on christmas. And of cousr the dark of the long winter does not help. I love alaska but I only like may through september. I can deal with the cold but the dark can get to be to much when it is just the kids and me.
I guess only time will tell as the end of summer comes around and dh leaves. I am really hoping that he is put on rear-d, even thought the chance of that is none. So I hope that he gets moved back to the talk and wont be out doing missions. Lets just hope that the next 6 months drag by ever so slowly!!

not really a love story

Okay so we dont have that great love story. We met in 1989. DH joined the army so that we could get married. In 1991 he went of to basic and left me in tears. 5 months later we were married and 2 weeks later he was headed for germany then the middle east.. I didnt see him for 9 months. Our love has been tested and tested time and time again in the last 17 years. After trying for a few years we had our beautiful daughter in 96. He was promoted and left for korea when she was 3 months. In 98 he was promoted and our little boy was born. Yes he left again when our son was 3 months for Bosnia. Our 3rd little one was born in 03. We never thought about having more children so he is what we call "dad just got off the 24 months drill trail". When he was 3 months dad left once again for training for deployment to middle east and yes promoted again. Okay so there is something about us having kids and him leaving and gettting promoted. No more kids! I love my husband dearly. He is my best friend.

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Feeling a little down today

I just do not have a good feeling about this deployment. The last time DH went I was scarred and worried every second of the day, yet I knew that he was coming home. This time I have a fear so deep that I cant stand to have him out of my sight when he is at home. I have to call him way to many times during that day. I try, oh how I try to not think about the WHAT IF's, but it is always there. Now that L wont be here I dont want to either but have to. I dont know how I am going to get through this with out her. We dont live on post and the few people around us are not military. Selling our home, oh now I wish we would have stayed on post. I know when the time comes for DH to leave the kids and I will get through it all once again we always do. Even with the price we pay we have come out okay.

I just wish this uneasy feeling would go away!!

WarTime Prayer

Dear Lord, Lest I
continue My complacent
way, Help me to remember that
somewhere, somehow
out there A man died for me today. As long as
there be war, I then must ask and answer
Am I worth dying for?

Eleanor Roosevelt