Military

When Shared Interests Become a Wedge

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SpouseBUZZSometimes, I wonder if my life wouldn’t be easier if I didn’t have so much in common with my husband. Sure, most of the time it’s great that we both love science fiction, have a blast cooking together, get a kick out of LEGO models of the Space Shuttle, enjoy trips to the shooting range, and share a love for the exhilaration of flight. Our common interests brought us together and continue to baffle my mother-in-law, who halfway suspected I was just pretending to like all of “that stuff” for her son’s sake while we were dating.

Fat Albert

I would love to experience an air show from inside this famous C-130. To date, no one has offered me the chance.

When two people enjoy the same things, it’s fantastic when they get to partake of their passions together. When one person gets to do something totally awesome related to one of those shared interests and the other person emphatically does not… well, let’s just say it’s not all Skittles and beer.

In this SpouseBUZZ post, I tell the story of one time — not the first nor last time — I wished that I could either switch places with Sampson or magically quash the fascination of mine that led to an acute case of envious rage.

You may note that I’m a little late in pointing you to this post. When it first went live, there were some technical hiccups that resulted in people’s comments not showing up for several days. I wanted to wait ’til that was resolved before sharing the link here, and then life got busy. Everything should be working now, though, so I’d love it if you could drop by and tell me what you think. Ever wished you could step into your spouse’s shoes for the day? Have you run into trouble that would have been avoided if you didn’t have so darn much in common with your beloved? Tell me I’m not alone at The Mixed Blessing of Shared Interests on SpouseBUZZ.

Over the Horizon

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Sampson has once again departed for the traveling rock-and-roll show that is a COD deployment. That means that the next several months here on the Nth homefront will include drinking a fair amount of this…

Any Porter in a Storm

…kneading and braiding and baking and eating this…

Four-stranded Challah

…all by myself, and being kept company by a pair of inscrutable creatures who think that this…

Sleeping Nose to... Tail

…is a completely acceptable way to sleep in polite society — or what passes for polite society, when it’s just me and I have few compelling reasons to change out of my sweet mesh USNA shorts and, like, actually interact with other human beings. Ah, decadence.

MilSpouse (First) Friday Fill-In #68

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After a holiday/New Year/life-jut-got-busy hiatus, the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In has returned in a new monthly incarnation. Wife of a Sailor (hi, LTJG Wifey!) will post questions on Thursday for us to answer on the first Friday of the month. Checking in with the greater milspouse blogosphere with this meme sounds like a good way to kick off a new month to me. Happy February, y’all!

What is your favorite winter memory?  

My little brother and I built some pretty epic snow forts during the notable (read: snow-heavy) winters of our childhood. We grew up in the DC area, which gets snow just often enough that the local governments have plows, but not often enough that people really know how to handle more than a couple inches. That made the rare occasions we got a foot or more of snow nigh-magical for us kids: schools were closed, our seldom-used snow boots were at the ready, and we could exhaust ourselves in our transformed neighborhood secure in the knowledge that hot cocoa awaited us when sledding and snowball arsenal-building was done for the day.

What is your current favorite TV show?

I always get a chuckle out of “The Big Bang Theory,” probably because I recognize (and perhaps bear some resemblance to) the quirks of so many characters.

Coast Guard AlaskaWe’ve also been enjoying “Coast Guard Alaska.” How could we not? It combines military aviation (my husband’s career) with search and rescue (the focus of my volunteer work). Also, there’s always a chance that we’re going to see someone we know; military aviation is a small world. We do roll our eyes a bit when the show tries a little too hard to find the human interest angle; a scene where they showed a bunch of officers getting together for dinner seemed staged and forced. The show is at its best when it displays professionals doing a demanding, often dangerous job with the calm confidence that every member of the aircrew knows his or her role and will get it done. That’s how I would like to be in the cockpit when I fly with the Civil Air Patrol.

What was your favorite thing that happened in January?

January turned out to be a pretty good month despite the fact that Sampson was gone for most of it. SpouseBUZZ LIVE Eglin was a definite highlight. It was wonderful to finally put faces to the familiar names of my fellow bloggers, and to find out that they’re awesome in person, to boot.

What is the best sound in the world to you?

Nothing fills my heart to overflowing like the sound of my family — my folks, Sampson’s folks, our siblings, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, assorted cousins — gathered together and laughing.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned as a MilSpouse (or significant other)?

Though the Navy may play a significant role in my life, and no matter how much I love (well, most of the time) being a part of the military community, my role as a supportive spouse is not central to the Navy. I have other roles that are about me and my passions where my contributions are key; it’s far better to look there for a sense of accomplishment — and yes, recognition for that accomplishment — than to resent always being a mere appendage to my husband in the context of his military career.

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

The “Gotcha” Question

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SpouseBUZZThere are some people for whom conversation is a dance, a cooperative venture whose purpose is mutual enlightenment. And then there are those for whom conversation is a competitive sport, the goal of which is to score points on the other player using words as a fencer’s foil.

Sure, they look calm now, but that's only because the fiendish simulator instructor hasn't yet begun to fight.

A few years back, I was ensnared at a squadron get-together by one of the latter sort, one of Sampson’s instructors. He saw fit to turn a “Gotcha!” tactic — which no doubt works wonders on his students — on an unsuspecting Navy wife.

So, who won that exchange of words? Check out my latest on SpouseBUZZ to see how it played out: Will I Ever be an Expert on Military Life?

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #61

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The discussion continues on my latest SpouseBUZZ post: “Military Women and Military Wives: Enemies or Allies?” The comments section hasn’t completely generated into name-calling, which I’ll call a success, but I’m still far more interested in hearing possible solutions than more excuses for why two groups of adult women can’t be civil to one another. Got something to say? I’d love to see your voice added to the conversation.

All right, with “shameless plug” checked off my to-do list, it’s time for the…

A word that always makes me laugh is SCUBA. But that’s likely attributable to watching too much Venture Brothers.

If you looked in my refrigerator right now, the oldest thing you’d find would be mustard, probably.

CAP 70th AnniversaryIf I were written about in the newspaper today, on the front page, the headline would say “Local Civil Air Patrol Squadron Plans 70th Anniversary Gala.” But that would be an exaggeration; what with budgetary constraints and all, it’ll probably be more of a squadron pot-luck than an actual gala.  Still, it just dawned on me that I’ve got less than seven weeks to help put some plans together. Meep.

The last movie I saw was The Lion King 3D. Yes, I dragged Sampson, patient soul that he is, to a theater full of kids to relive my own childhood love of one of the few animated Disney films with no frilly princesses. Afterwards, I rewarded his indulgence of my desire by bursting into “Be Prepared” or “Hakuna Matata” at opportune moments throughout the next week. (You’re welcome, sweetheart!)

As we were getting into the car after the movie, I mentioned that I didn’t think that 3D added much to the movie. Sampson immediately responded, “Of course it did! It added three bucks to each ticket.” I stand corrected.

The best thing that happened to me in the last few weeks was getting to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, in Annapolis with my husband, his folks, and a congregation full of other Jews who are connected to the military. There aren’t that many of us, so we often feel like a minority within a minority: Sampson is always one of the only Jews in his Navy squadron, and we’re one of the few military families at our local synagogue. It is as refreshing as a crisp autumn breeze to spend time with people who understand both Yiddishkeit and the military life.

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