what it's like to be an Air Force wife (for me!)

About two years ago, Mark began talking about joining the military. And, as many of you know, I was totally against it. Hello, I didn't want him deployed, and I certainly didn't want to move to far-away land. But, obviously, things changed; he signed the contracts, and here we are!

And I'm an Air Force wife!

At first, it was a gigantic adjustment -- he left two weeks into our marriage, and he was gone for seven months. But I had college and family to keep me busy, and I visited him three times. But before we knew it, we had orders to our very first base!

So we completed our first move - 12 hours from home - moved on base, and ta da! Here we are today. But what is it really like to be a military wife? Well, besides getting discounts at a few (very few..) places, being told "Thank you!" on Veteran's Day and the 4th of July, and getting pitiful looks from civilians back home, being a military wife is.. just like being a regular wife!

Kinda sorta.

Mark has PT three times a week, which is where he does special physical activity to stay fit, and he works 730-4pm. He's on-call every so often, but really not more than a typical civilian job would require.


Most people like to ask when he'll be deployed to Iraq :) And, really, we don't know. Well, we do know his deployment band, but I'd rather not announce it on my blog. I will say that his job deploys for six months at a time, and we're dreading the day when he gets his orders.

Like, really dreading.

He loves his job, and we love our base. We've nothing to complain about, and my life is just like yours -- except my husband wears a cute uniform to work, and he works on a military base. We've no idea how long we'll be at this base or where we might move years from now.

So what's it like to be an Air Force wife, to me? Well, it means that my entire life is up in the air. I've no idea where we'll be living or when my husband will be with me. Our lives are completely uncertain but not too much different than civilian life. I seriously cannot believe that I'm a military wife. In fact, I don't really even think of myself as one -- perhaps I will when he finally deploys.

But, of course, this is my experience, and each military wife has her own story. Nearly all of my readers have no affiliation with any military branch, so I thought you might be curious. Maybe. Or not.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to polish my husband's combat boots, wash his ABUs, and get his super huge gun ready for tomorrow.

Just kidding. Heh.