MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #3

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What is your favorite household chore?

Cooking!  Even though I love to cook, the daily grind nature of the task (“You mean you’re hungry again?  We just ate yesterday!”) makes it a chore.  Even when it’s not so much fun cudgeling my brain for ideas to get ourselves out of the latest what’s-for-dinner rut, I’d still rather cook than attack any other routine household maintenance items.

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Ooh, toughie.  I had quite an enjoyable childhood (thanks, Mom and Dad), so picking out my one true favorite would be nigh impossible.  Many of my good memories involve playing with my little brother.  I’m the eldest by four and a half years, which I think was perfect: we weren’t so close in age that we were always in competition with each other, but neither were we so far apart that we had nothing in common.  We created elaborate stories around our LEGO sets, dreamed up incredibly detailed backgrounds for video game characters (Sonic the Hedgehog and Ecco the Dolphin, in particular), and built snow forts complete with snowball caches that never quite got used and an escape route that involved a sled positioned precariously atop a hill behind the fort.

Our parents always told us that siblings are quite possibly the people you have in your life the longest, so it was important to cultivate that brotherly/sisterly relationship.  I’m glad we did, ’cause that means I have a baby bro (who is actually an adult with a job and a girlfriend and all that good stuff) with whom I share all kinds of childhood memories.  We’ll remember together.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

I can’t point to one moment in my life and say, “That one, that there was the time I most wished I could melt into a puddle and disappear on the spot.”  One thing sure to get my cheeks flaming and the tears of shame pricking my eyes is saying something factually wrong in front of someone whose intelligence or expertise on a subject I respect.  I hate-hate-hate being wrong, or even mildly mistaken.  I’m supposed to be the smart kid!

What uniform of your spouse’s is your favorite?

I’m fond of summer whites, which is a uniform my husband hates.  It was the first Navy uniform I ever saw him wearing.  He had just finished up Plebe Summer at the Naval Academy, and when I first caught sight of the boyfriend I had last seen wearing a T-shirt and shorts in the days just following his high school graduation, I’m sure my jaw hit the floor.  He looked stunning.  I’ve loved summer whites ever since, but I rarely get to see them.

My husband’s favorite uniform is definitely the flight suit.  He would wear his “fireproof pajamas” to any event — change of command, parade, wedding, you name it — calling for a uniform if he could.

What canceled TV show do you miss the most?

Firefly.  My husband and I both are dyed-in-the-wool Browncoats, and we daily mourn the fact that Joss Whedon’s brilliant, witty space Western was cut off before its plot had the chance to develop into its full-fledged glory.  Though it lasted less than one season on the air, the characters immediately became favorites.  One of our cats is named after Serenity crewman/tough guy Jayne Cobb’s “very favorite gun.”

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 #2

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Tell us about your dream job… one that you could do regardless of pay.

I’d be an astronaut in a heartbeat.  Alas, it is unlikely that anyone will walk up to me and hand me an application.

What is your most prized material possession (kids and pets don’t count!)?

I live on my computer.  *pets her MacBook*  My wedding and engagement rings are pretty special, too.

What has been your favorite duty station and why?

I love where we are (Virginia) right now.  We’re close to family, and we’re most emphatically not in South Texas anymore.

What is your least favorite household chore?

I’m not crazy about cleaning bathrooms, but I really hate mopping.  Luckily, my husband doesn’t mind mopping, so I have someone on which to pawn off that chore when he’s around.

If you could give one piece of advice to a teenager today (not specifically a MilTeen), what would it be?

The Internet is forever.  Be careful what you put on Facebook, because that thing you did at that party that was totally hilarious to you and your friends?  Probably not so funny to Aunt Hortense… or your future employer.  Don’t think that your privacy settings will shield you from all potential fallout, either: even if you’re as conscientious as can be, all it takes is one of your friends forgetting to log out (or worse, forwarding something without your knowledge or consent) and all of a sudden a whole crowd of unintended people have access to your information.

Want to play?  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!

Late to the Fill-In Party

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My buddy over at Wife of a Sailor has concocted a new meme called the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In.  She’ll ask us some questions, we’ll dash off some answers, and then we add the link to our post to her blog via Mr. Linky.  Fun, right?

Observant readers might notice that today is Tuesday, not Friday.  My husband and I were out of town this weekend, riding roller coasters (not the metaphorical ones on which another of my blogging buddies so eloquently expounds) and visiting family, so my online time suffered.  Please pardon my tardiness.

How did you and your spouse/significant other meet?

I was sixteen years old, a high school junior, and he was a senior.  We got to know each other during our school’s production of Romeo and Juliet.  He was a Capulet, I was a Montague.  We fought onstage and everything.  After the show closed, we continued flirting for a few months until he finally asked me to his senior prom.  He was more nervous about asking me to the dance than he was about proposing marriage a little over four and a half years later.

What is the best thing about being a MilSpouse?

Figures--the first picture of myself I post on the blog and I'm in oversized flight gear and a too-small helmet.

I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, servicemembers and spouses both, and do some pretty cool things.  For instance, the highlight of my time in Kingsville, Texas was getting to don all of my husband’s flight gear (which is pretty heavy, mind you) and strap into the back of a T-45A Goshawk for a “Taxi FAM.”  There was an instructor in the front telling me what to do, but I got to steer the jet around on the ground.  Flying the simulator was equally fun, even though my husband’s class adviser made me go first.  I’m proud of myself for not crashing the darn thing; not all the other wives could claim the same.

What is the hardest thing about being a MilSpouse?

The thing that makes me wail and gnash my teeth the most is abdicating control over basic decisions like where to live, how long to live there, and what to do on a day-to-day basis.  It rankles that the Navy decides for us things that would, under other circumstances, be matters for discussion and mutual agreement between my husband and myself.  Separations are difficult, too, but they fall under the umbrella of that lack of basic control: my husband doesn’t have a choice about where he goes and when he has to go there.  It’s tough not having input.

What is your favorite dish?

Like a lot of people, I’m sure I’d give different answers to this question over the course of even one day.  Some recurring favorites of mine include sushi, rib-eye steak, and my decadent macaroni and goat cheese.

If you could change one thing in this world, what would it be?

I suspect many problems both major and minor would be alleviated if human nature made it easier for us to realize that there is more than one approach to almost anything, and that while my way might be best for me, it’s not necessarily the best for every other person on the planet.  Your religion might be great for you, but mine works swimmingly for me.  I like cats, you prefer dogs.  Except in cases where one person’s or group’s pursuit of happiness is harming others, I think it would be just dandy if we could break the assumption that different is another word for wrong.