Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Choose Wisely- Navy Edition

It's almost noon and My Sailor is still in bed. He's gotten more sleep than I have today, but that's pretty rare. It doesn't happen all that often.

I see lots of 'jokes' online about military spouses/girlfriends. Some are legitamately funny, but I really hate how so many of them seem to de-value the lives of those who aren't in the military lifestyle. Take this little gem for example:

Source - Anonymous facebook page


 

I guess I'm a weirdo, but I really don't find this funny - or things that demean the civilian experience by attempting to compare it to the military experience.

Might as well compare a fry cook to a truck driver. Both are essential peices of the puzzle of society with their own unique lifestyle challenges. They really are two different worlds, and we (military spouses) don't bridge that gap by "my life is harder than yours" contests.

So, Military wives/Girlfriends/boyfriends - this is for you.

 Don't compare your journey to anyone elses. No good can come of it. Your journey and your pain is unique, beautiful, and heart--wrenching. Just as the journey of any civilian is beautiful and unique, beautiful, and heart wrenching in its own way.

It's perfectly valid for people to miss their spouse/lover after a few hours or a day or so. By invalidating their emotions, you make it easier for them invalidate yours as well with statements like, "Well, you signed up for it." We military spouses can either build a bridge, or perpuate a stereotype. The choice is yours. Choose wisely, for my sake.

That said, the results from the latest Advancement Test is out! And we're not advancing. Again.

 Now, this is the first time in my life I've ever relied on someone else's income to make ends meet. Before we bought the house, I've always been able to CYA with my own income, so relying on someone else's income as well makes me a bit nervous. It's something I'm working on.

With neither of us seeing raises in over a year, and our expenses about to increase significantly (raising kids isn't inexpensive), 2014 is bound to be interesting. But we're rearranging some things, so we'll see how it goes. We've been great at keeping our credit card debt down, and our last trip-without-kids is going to be a pretty big bash, but we already have plans in motion to pay that off immediately.

Finally - we still don't know about Thanksgiving, so we'll see how things go. We have heard he has Friday off, which I do too, so we'll see how things pan out. We'll have to pick and choose how much work vs fun to have with whatever time we have.

In the end, civilian or military, isn't that all any of us can really do?
 


1 comment:

  1. Well said. Everyone life is there own and the more comparing and "trying to keep up with the Jones' " they do, the more unhappy they tend to be. You love life and express your gratitude every single day...you are simply amazing.

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