Raise Your Right Hand...

There is something seriously wrong with the world we live in when a NASA astronaut drives hours with a diaper on in order to kidnap the "other woman" in a love triangle... and a New York Cabbie gives back a bag of diamonds that were left in his car after he was only given a 30 cent tip! Lord help us all!

ANYWAY...

My sister-in-law has found herself in a new position. It seems she no longer has a name. She is a military wife like me and has recently taken the name "XO Wife" and she will soon be "CO Wife" Now, these are very important positions, but she is having to get used to people stopping conversations when she walks into the room and when she is introduced to children as "your daddy's boss's wife." She is also having a lot of fun with the drama that comes along with being a military spouse in a military squadron. After talking to her on the phone the other day, I started to think of my last position in the military spouse world. I am going to only say this once and some of you military wives out there may disagree with me, but I don't care... this is my blog. :) I do not think that young wives should hold "important" roles. That being said, let me explain. When my husband was a Captain, I became the president of the OWC (officer wives' club). I did not know what I was doing, but I surely thought I knew it all. Drama ensued with other wives-as it usually does when more than one woman gets involved with something-and this became the worst year of my life! I was overrun by the higher-ups (my husband's bosses wives) and I dug my heels in with a lot of petty things that looking back, really did not matter. I mean really, it is a big deal what color napkins are at the Valentine's meeting? Today, I could care less, but back then something came over me and I fought for pink when they wanted red. UGH! I do feel that young wives need to be involved with the squadron/base/wing/office and so on... but on the level that they know. Leave the other stuff to the higher-ups who have been married to the military for more than single digits and have endured deployment after deployment. Leave it to the higher-ups who do not know what it is like to spend a birthday or a Valentine's day with their husband and Christmases have been moved to December 15th because their loved one is on their way to the great sandbox and will be gone by December 16th. Leave it to the wives who have listened without judgement to their husbands thoughts/complaints/accomplishments and so forth about his job and have learned that what ever their husband tells them at home, STAYS at home.

Now, when we moved from that base where I had the worst year of my life, I told my husband that I was going to take a pause from the military wife world. He was fine with that and I asked him to tell me when he needed me to step back into things. My time is coming-and some may say that my time has come again.... but I am just ignoring them. Instead, I am enjoying listening to my sister-in-law and am happy I am not yet back in the trenches with the other wives.

My sister-in-law is doing a fabulous job and she should... she has been around long enough to have learned a thing or two. When my number is up and I am called back to duty (serious eye rolling going on here) I will be comfortable with the fact that I may have learned a thing or two as well, and I will be sure to go with the flow on napkin color and so forth... so help me God.