Back when we were stationed at Fort Lewis, many moons ago, I took a Parenting with Love & Logic class. Gunner of course was in the field, so I had my assistant at work that volunteered to come over to babysit. I introduced myself the first night, and then attended class once a week for about 6 weeks.
Near the end of the 5th class, our instructor came over to ask me how things were going. I told her that my husband had left, but that so far so good. She gave me this huge hug and told me how sorry she was that he was gone. I looked puzzled, and said that he was gone for a month. She thought he had walked out on the girls and me.
Fast forward to yesterday at the girls' school, and I was chit chatting with one of the moms and one of the dads, and we were talking about potty training. The mom had a 4 year old and had battled potty training as well, and she was asking if Junior was fully trained. I told her no, that since my husband had left and we had moved across town, that I was kind of holding off for a bit. The dad jumped in and asked if it was possible for my ex to spend more time with his son, and maybe that would help. It shocked me, and I explained that I was married, but that he had deployed to Afghanistan.
I guess I am so used to being around people in the same situation, and goodness knows at The Great Place, that almost everyone can understand your situation. Now that we live in a relatively large town, I forget that we are around people again that don't get it.
What things have you said that people misunderstood because they weren't used to the military way of life?
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5 comments:
Oh boy. Yeah I'm headed home to AZ while my Mr. deploys (I don't have a job or kids to stay here for) and I've already had a few old "friends" get nosy and be so "concerned" about me and my life will go on. Then I tell them my husband is going to Afghanistan and they look like idiots.
I am sure that must have been an akward moment the first time, with the hug and all!
I've never had that happen, I usually always say deploy. I've had some people ask me what deployed meant though!
They will say 'what do you mean deploy...? You mean at war or in Iraq...?'
I forget they don't always know military talk.
When Gary was supposed to go to Korea we moved back to Texas. It was over a year before people at work ever saw him They thought he was a figment of my imagination because the war in Iraq and Afghanistan hadn't started and women living away from their husbands was unheard of.
Ha ha! I've done the same thing. I was talking to an aquaintance from school who I haven't seen in about 8 months and mentioned OccDoc was gone. She flipped out and said, "OccDoc! Oh my God, you guys seemed like you had a good relationship. What happened?!" Of course I was giggling the whole time.
And there is a coworker of mine who kept asking when OccDoc was getting deported before he left. Awesome. This was an English as a FIRST language speaker who asked this. Even better.
dash-1 told his prek class that daddy kicks people out of airplanes. and that he has lots of guns and knows how to shoot really, really, well. apparently when you say this in a civilian preschool they find this alarming and you will receive a call most rickytick.
he also told his teachers that his daddy leaves a lot and mommy doesn't care. He explained later to me that its just the way we live but again, it didnt come out that way. and again... phone call.
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