I started this blog entry back in 2014, and as I was going through my drafts, I found it. It’s fun to run across something you NEVER remember doing! So here it is. . . .4 years late, but still. . .. . . .
Due to a serious of unfortunate events early on in my husband’s career, I was only a military spouse for 3 1/2 years. My military man is now medically retired, but he will always be an airman to me. He completed his initial training and OTS in Alabama and PCS’d (that’s military talked for. . . .”we moved”) to Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL. Talk about a culture shock. My husband hails from Cleveland where there is snow for 8 months out of the year and it is ALWAYS cloudy and dreary (or I could be exaggerating a bit. . . .at least it felt that way when I lived there for a year and a half). And I came from humble Amarillo, TX where the sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway. . . .wait. . . .no. . . .the sun is shining, the grass is brown, the air is dry & the trees are dying. That’s more accurate. Sorry. I digress. . . . .We were married a week before I moved with him out to Florida in 2005 & we lived in a sweet little house with red and white trim. We spent every Saturday mowing and prettying up the lawn. . . .doing fixit jobs around the house. Fresh seafood was EVERYWHERE!!!!! We could go to the beach for free whenever we wanted to. We watched friends get baptized in the ocean once a month. We went to house parties for every holiday and occasional at other officer’s homes. Tom’s Hot Dogs was a jumpin’ little joint. Oh the chili dogs!!!!! And I must not forget that Panama City had sunsets to die for. Absolutely gorgeous. Spring break was a special time when we drove down to Panama City Beach and watched the craziness that was MTV and naked people running around. Fun Times. We spent evenings at the coffee shop across town (it literally took us maybe 15 minutes to get there. . . .) where we listened to good jazz and enjoyed each other’s company. . . . . . I look back on it with fond memories. Life was simple then. Not a lot to worry about except ourselves and our young dogs. Even though hindsight is 20/20, I can’t help but remember spending day after day wishing and praying that God would let us move out of that city. I truly hated it there when I was in the middle of it. For heaven’s sake. . . the city didn’t even have a highway!!!!! Even Amarillo has a highway, people. So I spent more time wishing I were somewhere else than counting my blessings. Live and learn.
Even though our military time was short, we learned several things:
1. Friends come ready-made for you. They welcome you and get to the nitty gritty right off the bat. When you move every 3-4 years, you learn how to make close friends by skipping the small talk. Many of my friends from that time are still in contact with me because of that reason.
2. Play the part. Being a military spouse, specifically an officer’s wife, is an acting job if it doesn’t come natural to you to be proper. One must learn the lingo and talk intelligently. One must attend all social functions at the AFB and dress to impress. Always remember your manners. And above all, go to the tea parties with the officer wives.
3. You are a refection of your spouse. Everything you say and do is being watched and noted. Your actions can affect your spouse’s ability to move rank.
4. If you plan on making a quick stop by the base to update your ID, expect to wait at least an hour along with a room full of other people wanting to make a quick stop by the base to update their ID.
5. The benefits! This is the best part! We get to stay at any hotel at any base for a very cheap rate as long as space is available. We can fly space-A on military planes. What’s that, you say? We get to fly free. Military discounts at restaurants, stores, even Goodwill! Disneyworld offers major discounts as well. As retired military, we keep these amazing benefits.
6. Avoid the commissary in the morning time and around the 30th-1st of the month. All of the retirees converge on this place at those times because we only get paid once a month, and it reminds me of the episode in the 9th season, episode 3 of “How I Met Your Mother”. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go watch it right now!
7. You never know when they will take your spouse away for 2 weeks, a month, 6 months or a year. Cherish every moment together.
8. Don’t take military life for granted. Live life in the here and now. Stop wishing that tomorrow would come and bring bigger and greater things because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. But today. . . .ah. . . today is here and ready for us to grab hold. Be content where you are because you will look back and wish you had appreciated the present more.
Melodic Monologues 