I'm Finally Home!

So just to catch everybody up, we are officially done with all things Army related. So we did what it seems all retired people do....moved to Florida! I will admit the first couple of months I felt like a fish out of water. The adjustment to civilian life has been brutal. I'm not only in a completely new place with no friends or family but civilian life is nothing like Army life. The people all seem to be so nice and laid back. The weather is perfect (if you like getting your heat straight from Hades...which I do!),my neighbors are wonderful (they actually watch their kids!!!) and the crime rate off a military post is surprisingly low. But the biggest adjustment is the silence. I mean deafening, screaming silence. The first night I fell asleep with my doors unlocked and didn't really care. For the first time in years I wasn't worried about some random insanity where I had to block my doors and sleep with a crow bar. It was all just so peaceful. It was wonderful. But after a couple weeks that wonderful, deafening silence, began to get on my absolute freaking last nerve!!! I hadn't heard screaming, yelling or gunfire. I haven't seen anyone going off in the commissary. I haven't had anybody calling me to complain about whatever useless issue they think the chain of command is ignoring them about. I haven't even had to yell at anybody!! It is stressing me the hell out!!!! You don't realize how much stress and aggravation we military wives carry, until it's gone. You get so accustomed to having that stress that you can't function without it. I realized that stress was my driving force. My fuel even. Without stress and anger I feel useless. But a few days ago it all started to change. First, the tropical storm took my perfect weather and turned it all to hell. Then I had someone honk their horn at me when I didn't pull out as fast as I should have. I'll admit it gave me a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling. Then last night, I heard rapid gun fire. I mean it sounded like it was in my back yard and honestly I was a little giddy(turns out it was just fireworks but I'll take what I can get). Then today, the clouds opened and God blessed me with just the kick I needed. Two wives were sitting at the kids table in the public library complaining loudly because the library policy states you must watch your children. I swear I heard the angels sing Hallelujah. I AM FINALLY HOME, LORD A MIGHTY I AM FINALLY HOME! So tonight, I will double check all of my doors, (probably jam them for extra measures), I will pray it doesn't start raining again, I will occasionally peak out my windows to ensure there are no armed bandits and curl up close to my old friend, the crow bar, knowing that once again all is right in the world.

We're Outta Here!

After many, many years of military life, WE'RE OUTTA HERE! No more deployments, no more TDY, no more FRG, and mostly no more acronyms!!! Retirement has finally arrived. I can say goodbye to all things Middle East related. Good bye to the sounds of random artillery fire and goodbye to the sounds of wive's sending their husbands off to war.

With those goodbye's however, I must also say goodbye to the only world I have known for the majority of my adult life.

The sound of packing tape has turned out to be a bitter sweet melody. Although I am extremely excited to say goodbye to this life. I can't help the sense of panic taking me over.

The mover's arrived bright and early this morning and suddenly it all became real. I would never see some of my best and dearest friends again. I would never again see a man in a neatly pressed uniform, and the "high and tight" will be a thing of the past. I will never again have to determine if that sound was thunder or artillery. I will never again hear reville or be in a movie theater where we must stand for the National Anthem.

I will never be at a spouse social (even though we all despise them, lol), and I would never again attend a potluck, a hail and fairwell or a military ball. It won't be long before I forget the term LES and become forced to use the term "paystub".

My children will no longer recite the Pledge of Allegiance before class or be seen by an "Army Doctor" at a military treatment facility. They will forget what it means to be an "Army Brat" and have a normal civilian life. Whatever that means.

Although, I may have learned to despise a lot of what the Army has presented us over the years, I can't say I am not walking away a better, stronger person. We Army wives complain. We yell and we scream. We beg and we plead, we mourn and cry. However, for the most of us, we survive. We wake up every morning, feeling a bit of safety knowing our routine is in place for another day. We grow so accustomed to our hectic lives, one could even say the chaos is what keeps us strong.

Now it's on to not only a new chapter in my life, but a new book. I will wake up a few mornings from now and realize my life has taken a major turn. It's like a scary movie, when you know the something is going to happen but you scream anyway.

The military has definitely changed my life in ways one can never imagine.

The Army is that family member, everybody gripes about and wishes they wouldn't show up to the party. But you still can't imagine your life without them.