Military

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #9

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If you could be a fugitive from the law for whatever reason, what would your crime be? (from It’s a Hooah Life)

Sneaking into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and/or the Udvar-Hazy Center after hours to climb in all the cockpits and make airplane noises.  I suspect my husband would be right there with me.

How long do you think you will be a military family? (from Julie the Army Wife)

At least fifteen more years.  The length of my husband’s post-winging aviation commitment is such that by the time we would even have the option to consider leaving the Navy, he might as well stay in for the full twenty.

Even after he retires, I suspect we will still consider ourselves “a military family,” if one in a slightly different part of the community.

What’s your favorite recipe? (from Keep Calm and Soldier On)

Aaaaugh, tough one!  I have so many I like to prepare at different times of the year, for different holidays, for different moods.  We’ll just reach into the hat and pull out a single specimen: my decadent macaroni and goat cheese.  That deserves a post of its own; someday, it will get one.

What would you want your last five words to be when you leave this life? (from My Goal is Simple)

This question would be much easier to answer if it were about what I do not want my parting words to be.  I have a ton of those:

  • “Look what I can do!”
  • “Hey, what’s coming this way?”
  • “You sure it’s this button?”
  • “I have it under control.”
  • “Ground’s coming up awful quick…”

As for what I would not mind claiming as my last words… something akin to, “Family, I love you all,” wouldn’t be such an awful legacy.

Where do you hope to retire? (from Pennies from Heaven)

We are Virginians, born and raised, so we have always envisioned ourselves returning to the Old Dominion once our place of residence was subject to our own whim rather than the Navy’s.  An air park — it would be terribly convenient if our property had sufficient hangar space for the construction of our kit plane — somewhere in Virginia would be just about ideal.  Ooh, or a house on the water where we could tie up a seaplane.  We get a great deal of pleasure from imagining our dream home for “someday, after the Navy.”

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

Flying, Not Enough Flying, and Not Being a Teenager

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How on earth did it get to be mid-August?  The wall-to-wall flight and duty schedule my husband’s been on might have something to do with it.  At least he’s not hurting for flight hours this month.  We would, no doubt, both be a little more sanguine about the whole thing if fewer of those hours ate up our weekends, but such is life when there are aircraft carriers at sea who demand their COD hits with the clamorous fervor of a infant seeking a pacifier.  “Want it now!  Want it RIGHT NOW!”

My current level of flight time leaves much to be desired, although attempts were made to rectify my sad ground-bound state last week.  Alas, Mother Nature foiled my first bid for a Mission Observer proficiency hop with a grumbling sky and a worrisome number of lightning strikes in the vicinity.  The weather at the airport was such that we probably could have taken off safely, but returning at the end of our flight would have been iffy.  Our Mission Pilot decided that he didn’t fancy explaining to our superiors precisely why we thought it was a good idea to take off only to divert for weather and get ourselves stranded at another airport, so we stayed firmly planted on the ground.

No problem, we just rescheduled for a couple days hence… only to be stymied by another group signing the plane out from under us.  Here’s hoping for better luck this week.  I would dearly love to take advantage of the funding CAP always seems to have available for flying as the end of the fiscal year draws closer, especially consider how long it has been since I stretched my MO muscles.  Those skills are perishable; I hope I haven’t completely forgotten my G1000 tricks.

I have not made much progress in transitioning from the right seat to the left (translation: I have not yet begun working towards my private pilot certificate).  A while back, though, my husband and I visited a few local flight schools to get a feel for the various operations and instructors.  At one of the schools, we were chatting with an older gentleman about the process, how many hours would be needed, the rates for aircraft rental and instruction, and so on and so forth.  When he reached the part of the spiel about solo flight, though, he looked at me kind of funny.

“You know, you have to be at least sixteen years old to solo.”

I was a little taken aback — after all, I was there with my husband, wedding rings clearly visible.  Boy, I thought, this guy must think my husband is one hell of a cradle robber! I assured the gentleman that I was, in fact, a full decade safely past that particular minimum.

I’ve often been told I look young for my age, but to have someone wonder if maybe — just maybe — I might be fifteen? Everyone says I’ll appreciate it later, but I’m not quite convinced that I have reached the point at which it is flattering to have one’s age underestimated by ten or more years.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #8

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Missed out on #7, shame on me.  Here’s to getting back on the wagon with #8, though.

What is ONE thing you’d like civilians to understand about being a military family?

Just because military folks dress a lot alike and have awfully similar haircuts doesn’t mean they all think the same way.  The military is far from monolithic; please do not mistake the uniform for a signifier of uniform thought and lockstep personalities.

What is your favorite mistake?

The mistake that turned out best in my recent memory wasn’t anything life-altering or deep.  We were in an unfamiliar town looking for a place to snag lunch, and we displayed poor enough judgment to trust our GPS to take us to something random in the “food” category.  The place whose name had sounded so intriguing when we selected it from the list turned out to be in such a sketchtastic area that we didn’t even get out of the car for a closer look.  Our efforts to get back on the highway from there led us to a much nicer shopping center containing — lo and behold — a Red Robin.  We hadn’t been to one in years.

Any mistake that leads to heavenly onion rings has to be a good one, right?

What indulgence could you give up for a year?

I could live without our occasional afternoon respites at a local coffee shop — I make pretty tasty caffeinated beverages right here at home — but I’d be sad about it.

If you could be a winged animal, what would you be?

Have I mentioned that I’m a bit of a dragon freak?  You should see all the draconically-themed novels on my recently erected bookshelves.

A green dragon basking in the sun

I drew this green Pernese dragon basking in the sun when I was in high school.

What is one question you’d like to see asked in a future MFF?

“What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party?”

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #6

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What is your spouse’s best feature?

I am sure I will not be the only MilSpouse Friday Fill-In respondent to answer this question with some variation on, “It’s so hard to pick just one!”  I wouldn’t have married my husband if I didn’t think he had a staggering number of “best features,” but different aspects of why he is such a great guy jump out at me on different days.

One aspect of my husband’s personality that jumps out at me on quite a few days is his enthusiasm.  His excitement over whatever topic has captured his interest — from flying to motorsports to a particularly delicious meal — is contagious.  His obvious delight in sharing all these things never fails to cheer me up.

Mild, Medium or Hot sauce?

I like the comfortable range between medium and hot, especially if a flavor like bourbon is involved.  I can handle the heat and I do enjoy it, but I’ll choose a milder sauce with more flavor over a one-trick-pony ultra-hot bottle.

What is the worst uniform you had to wear for a job?

The only “uniform” I have ever had to wear for a job (unless we’re counting Civil Air Patrol volunteering) is a set of techie blacks.  In theatre, the people working backstage wear black clothing to reduce their visibility when they are skulking around out of the spotlight.  Of course, when I was getting paid to be backstage, I was working wardrobe and pretty much kept to the green room, where it did not matter one whit whether I blended into the shadows.

My high school theatre group (in which I met the love of my life, as it so happens) had a joke: “If you paint it black, no one can see it.  If you paint it plaid, no one will want to see it.”

You have invisible powers… where is the first place you would go?

To the bathroom, where I would check in the mirror to make sure I was truly invisible.

Can I have force fields, too?  The daughter in The Incredibles was pretty cool.

What’s left on your “to do” list for this summer?

Oh, too much to enumerate here.  A random sampling:

  • Finish my Technician rating in Civil Air Patrol so I can get promoted — gotta get those sweet silver bars on my shoulders 😉
  • Choose a flight instructor and begin working toward my private pilot certificate
  • Get a head start on knitting gifts for the winter holidays (hope everyone wants to unwrap cute coordinated dishcloth sets, ’cause that’s what they’re all getting)

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #5

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Besides the horizontal mambo, what do you miss most when your spouse is deployed?

We do not yet have our first full deployment under our belt, but that does not mean we have not had our share of separation for this training or that detachment.  When my husband is away on det, the thing I miss the most is laughing together over random silly things that pop up throughout the day.  My husband’s job is such that even while he is deployed, we are likely to have good, consistent communication peppered with opportunities to Skype, but it’s not the same.  It breaks my heart when we cannot share those “you had to be there” moments.

What do you miss least?

When my husband is away, I do not miss having to plan my life around the flight schedule one bit.  When he’s home and has a 0600 brief, that means I’m dragging my somnolent behind out of bed at an ungodly hour, too.  When he isn’t scheduled to land until 2100, my dinner plans are thrown out the window just as much as his are.  When it’s just me, I don’t have to wait until the late afternoon to find out what time I’m getting up the next day, and it is possible to get into something resembling a regular routine and sleep schedule.

You only get three crayons to finish your picture… which three do you choose and why?

Green, brown, and blue, because I can finish drawing my sweet picture of a dragon launching skyward.

Seriously.

I love dragons.  I have since I was a wee kidlet.  I have a fair few in the house, and I do actually draw them when I get the notion–with crayons, even.  Colored pencils and oil pastels add some variety.  (Hey, you can’t say I didn’t warn you I was a nerd.  It’s right up there in the blog header.)

If you could have your own fragrance, what would it be called?

Cross-Country Planning: The familiar paper scent of shuffled sectionals, a tricky morning breeze, and the slick metallic tang of aviation, grounded by a mug of black tea.

If the shoes make the man (or woman), what do your shoes say about you right now?

“You don’t exist!  Nyah-nyah!”

It’s summer and I’m indoors, so my shoes are not on my feet.  A pair of ratty fake-enstock sandals sandals are hiding out under the coffee table in case I lose my mind and decide to venture out in the heat (or until such time as one of the four-legged members of the household decide they would make excellent cat toys).

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!