10.21.06
Isn’t It Funny…..
Do you have friends with straight hair – really straight hair – and they want a perm? And then you know others who have naturally curly hair – and they straighten it every morning!! I know tall people who wish they were shorter and short people who would kill to be taller….. Isn’t that the way of it?!
When you’re in the military (especially if you live on post or base) you don’t really notice that you aren’t like everyone else. But you know that your life is different. You have civilian friends who grew up in one town, are living there, and will someday be buried there – and you haven’t lived in the same town for more than 2 years at a time! There’s no "roots" where you come from. When people ask my children "where are you from" – my son answers "Germany" – and, of course, people then expect him to be German. (Which I guess, technically he is – because everyone born in Germany retains dual citizenship until they are 18 and then they have to choose). But my baby (now 17) is not German. And my daughter will respond by saying she’s from Kentucky. And true, she was born there on a military post, but we’re not Kentuckians.
As a SAHM, my life had many simularities to other SAHMs, except that a lot of Dad’s aren’t gone 8 months out of the year – and they aren’t usually in a combat zone. DH recently retired from the military and has a civilian type job – with regular hours, and it’s funny how much he likes it, because, as he says, even on bad days – no one is shooting at him!
But, even though, I guess, we were kind of unique compared to other families I know, we just want to be "normal". I’m trying to let our ‘military service days’ rest (with proud memories) and fit in to our "normal" neighborhood and lifestyle. The ironic part – there’s someone out there, sick of "normal" looking for something "unique" – who knows, he/she may even join the Army! That’s what I did, when I was looking to be unique, back when I was normal.
traci said,
October 21, 2006 at 8:50 am
you are so right about trying to be normal when your unique and vice versa. it sounds like you have a wonderful life. thank you and your husband for all you do for our country!!