Tougher Skin Needed

Anyone know of an easy, quick,  painless way to get tougher skin???  If you do please let me know.  However, I am quite afraid that no such way exists, it seems the only way to acquire it is through a little hurt and maybe some tears.  Whatever the case maybe I need to hurry up and work on toughening up my skin.  With all the stress, lack of sleep, and craziness that goes on in the Sandbox, answers get snappier and fuses shorter.  We know its not their faults and they usually dont mean it, it is just a result of their environment, but sometimes it is hard to remember.  I wish there was something we could do for them to help take away all that they must go through, but since there is not we just have to been there for them, Love them, let them talk, and back off when we need too (the last one being the hardest). 


Til Next Time......Scouts Out!

I Love the Sound of Artillery in the Morning

And in the afternoon for that matter.  Back at home we live near an old Army post that is no longer an active post, but instead it is a training center for the National Guard.  Training and the amount of soldiers at the post increases every summer.  Even though my parents' house is just slightly over 10 miles from the installation, you can hear the sound of artillery very clearly and you can see and hear the sound of C-130s as they fly extremely low for practice.  Well a couple weeks ago in the local paper, several people wrote in complaining about the noise.  This just burnt me up!  I was so upset as I read their pathetic complaints.  I mean really? You are gonna fuss about some noise??!  I am thankful for this noise!  This noise means that the men and women who fight to defend our country are getting the training that they need in order to make that possible.  To me the noise is  a reminder.  A reminder that we live in this great nation.  A reminder that we have so many freedoms that we tend to take for granted.  A reminder of all the men and women that are away from their families protecting those freedoms and this great nation.  And a reminder to pray for their safe return.  I think we should be able to put up with a little noise for a lot of freedom.  And if you dont want to hear the noise of military training, then you go over there untrained and do it!  Hooah!


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Ah Technology!

I am so very thankful for modern technology!  I got to Skype with my hubby for the first time since he left yesterday! It was so good to be able to see him and he was able to see and hear me.  I was so excited and could not stop smiling!  But seriously, who wouldn't be able to stop smiling  if they haven't laid eyes on their husband's face for over 2months.  Plus the timing couldn't have been much better, since just the day before I had a really bad day.  I honestly can not imagine having to have been a military wife back during say World War II or so, having to rely solely on snail mail.  Modern technology, keep on improving!!!



Til next time.........Scouts Out!

What Do You Do To....

...Fight off that on edge/kinda worrying feeling?  So as I was teaching today I saw that I had a missed phone call from a number that I did not recognize and the caller left a voice mail.  However, being that I was teaching I could not check it right away.  Then about a couple hours later, I saw my phone go off with a call from an 'unavailable' number.  This caller also left a voice mail, which of course I could not immediately check.  Knowing that I could not check my messages until the end of school and knowing that I had two of them from numbers I did not know, left me feeling on edge and just a little uneasy.  Thankfully, they were good messages, one about a job and the other from my husband (which I am sad that I missed).  So I was wondering, what do you all do when you get an uneasy or on edge kind of feeling when your DH is deployed?


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KABOOM!

If I wore a mood ring during my husband's deployment, I literally think it would blow up from changing back and forth so quickly and KABOOM is the noise that it would make as it explodes into a million little pieces.  My mood changes a lot and can do so at the drop of a hat.  One day, maybe I should attempt to count it.  For instance, yesterday I was just kinda blah, just trying to make it through the day but then I got a phone call from my DH!!!  Instantly my mood turned around!  It amazing how just hearing his voice can brighten my day and make me smile.  Another example, today I was substituting second grade and my day was going pretty good and I was in a pretty decent mood.  However, of course that quickly changed after school was over and I realized that I had missed my phone call from my DH and I dont know how many more days he has to be where the phones are. Instantly my mood plummeted.  So just as a warning, mood rings or people that could quickly set me off, that would like to stay intact, you may want to keep your distance.



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The Think We Know-it Alls......

......That will argue with you even if they aren't right.  So I recently had an experience with some fellow army wives that wanted to argue with me via facebook comments.  I can not begin to tell you how much this irked me.  Here is what happened:   A wife of an enlisted soldier in my husband's unit posted a link for ABC news, the story titled "Most Dangerous Mission in Afghanistan".  Then she commented on her post saying that her husband was there and right in the middle of it.  I just kindly wrote that they were not involved, which the new clip blatantly stated what unit did the mission and that they were not located in that area.  I said this because 1) I didn't want people to have the wrong information , 2) I didn't know how many wives she was friends with on facebook and some wives if they saw that posting would probably freak out and 3) some wives intentionally avoid watching the news and hearing about things like that.  Well apparently what I said didn't sit well with a couple of her facebook friends/fellow army wives and they decided to comment.  And basically they didn't see what the big deal was that she has said that her husband was right in the middle of it when he wasn't. So I have now decided that I am never gonna comment on any of their stuff again!  Nor will I help them when they have questions (which one of them has already asked me for help with about 4 different things).  Call me mean or rude, but I'm not gonna deal with it and I am thinking it is probably a good example of why we shouldn't fraternize.  Good luck to them on their own.


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Kids Are......

......Interesting.  I think that is the word that I would have to go with to describe them.  You have to wonder how they come up with some of the things they say or questions they ask.  My experience today was with substituting Fourth Graders.  As soon as I stepped into their classroom this morning, several of the children's mouths dropped open and eyes got wide.  Then I started to hear "Oh my gosh, she is soo tall", "how tall are you?", "why are you so tall?", "shh..you are being rude" and several other comments of that nature, as I am 5'11".  Through out the day I had to say "shhh.." or "ladies and gentlemen you need to get quiet" more times than I can count.  Fourth Graders have to constantly be reminded to be quiet and focus on their work.  They love to tattle on each other and they love to contradict each other in telling me what it is that they usually do.   And they also like to whine if they cant find the answer to their questions.  I tip-toed around a student with a disorder, trying extremely hard not to do or saying anything that sat them off, because my note said that screaming and yelling and tearing up papers was a norm for this child.  They are very inquisitive and most of their questions are not about their work.  And my last thought about them, is I think kids have shrunk.  I really dont think that my classmates and myself were as small as most of these kids in the 4th grade.  The old saying holds true, you are never too old to learn, for they taught me several things today and even refreshed me on fractions!


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Awkward

Do the questions/comments/hardly related stories ever stop?  I'm just curious, because I am still getting them and my DH has been gone for well over a month.  And the thing is I still haven't figured out how to respond to most of them.  Answering the questions are probably the easiest, even though they get annoying, but when someone starts telling you some hardly even related story, about someone they know, that was some how connected to something military or its some old story about themselves from way in the past, I stand there awkwardly not knowing what to say.  I feel really odd just standing there, but what do you do? I usually just wind up saying "uh huh", smile, nod, and then politely walk away. All of the questions/comments/unrelated stories still bother me too.  I try very hard to not let them get to me, because I know the people mean well and they just dont know what else to say, but yet every time they still get me.  I wind up be blah and bummed the rest of the day.  Sometimes I wind up wishing I had stayed in the Land of Oz.  I guess I'm slowing finding out where the best place to go through a deployment is.  Wonder if my opinion will stay this way?


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Everybody is Famous in a Small Town

Sometimes I find it comforting being from a small town, where everybody knows just about everybody.  Where people are still willing to lend a hand and the average graduating class from the local high school is about 150 kids.  But then there are times that I absolutely despise being from a small town, because everyone knows everybody and everybody's business, word spreads fast, folks are nosy, and the old ladies can only half hear and like to gossip.  I have been experiencing the latter far more times than I would like here since I've gotten back.  Lots of people in the community know that I got married and moved to out to the Land of Oz, however apparently a vast majority of these people do not know me well enough or are not close enough to me to know that my DH has already deployed and that I have just returned home for part of his deployment.  These people tend to be fairly shocked when I run into them out in about town and of course they must immediately find out what I am doing here.  I don't mind telling them what I am doing home, but its how they ask it that I have a problem with.  For example, here are two questions I encountered this week.  1) (I was in a local exercise class that I regularly had attended before moving) "I was shocked to see you here, what are you doing here?" and 2) "Why are you here?"  This really bothered me and I think mostly because of the tone and questioning and what I felt was implied behind it.  I really felt they were after some juicy gossip, like they just wanted so badly for me to say, that I had left my husband or we were on the rocks and that's why I was back.  Well guess what ladies.......sorry I am not your source for a good story!!!!  I am MADLY in LOVE with my husband and I am fulling supporting him until he gets back!!!  And I am here at home, only temporarily for part of his deployment to save some money, I will be returning to the Land of Oz come this fall to establish our new home and have everything patiently waiting for him!!  (Sorry for the vent!)


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Bit Off More Than I Can Chew

So I decided to start another craft project to have something to do and help pass the time.  However, this time I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  I had been seeing several ladies carry around ACU purses and thought it would be nice to have one, but all of them I found online were $60 or more.  I thought, well I made a whole quilt, a purse cant be that hard.  Boy was I wrong.  First of all, the sew machine is a scary and complicated thing.  I finally got it all threaded and started to sew and then the thread messed up.  After fixing it about three times, I gave up on it and decided to tackle it by hand.  I have got the basic part of the purse done, but the only problem is some how its bigger than purse size, its more like a tote bag.  This of course makes me sad, because I wanted to carry it on an everyday basis, but I guess I will wait to see it completely done before I make that final decision.  The next crafty thing I decide to do is definitely not gonna be this complicated.


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What Do You Say?

"I'm sorry" or "Aren't you glad to be home?" or "Have you heard from him?" or "Dont you miss him, when are you gonna get to see him again?" or "Where is he?"  
I can't even begin to count how many I have heard these questions/comments, since my DH has left.  And everytime, I stare with kind of a dumb look on my face with a loss for words.  I know they are just being nice, trying to make conversation and don't know what else to say, but I don't know how to respond.  I mean sure, I know what I would like to say sometimes, but I know most civilians would not understand several of my replies, or would  interpret  me as being rude.  For example, when someone says "Aren't you glad to be back home?" I really want to yell at them and say "NO!", I want to be back in the Land of Oz with my husband there.  But seriously, what are you supposed to say??  If anyone has come up with some good comebacks or replies please let me know!


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Is Communication Really the Key?

As all Army Wives, whose husbands are deployed or out at extended FTXs, I keep my phone on me at all times.  It kind of becomes a new appendage and is never out of ear's reach.  And as I anxiously wait to hear again from my DH, I began wondering is communication really the key to successful relationships?  What about when communication is extremely limited and conversations tend to be one-sided due to circumstances that can not be changed.  Personally, I think in a normal relationship, where the couple is actually together or are able to have regular communication, then good communication is a big factor in a successful relationship.  However, in our situation I think communication is great, but what do you run on for all those days on end when you dont get to talk to your significant other.  Here is where I believe one has to put everything into hope, faith, trust, and love.  I believe those four things will get you through!  Don't get me wrong though, I still want my DH to be able to call and hear his voice, but for all those days that I cant hear his voice, I am very thankful for those four things!


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Do The Sweeping, Do The Mopping....

....They always keep us hopping.  Chores that is.  I know we all have our fair share of chores, some of us less than others, but chores non the less.  Seems as if there is always something that needs to be cleaned or done.  There is sweeping and mopping, and dusting and washing.  Folding and cooking, and picking up to put away.  There is one chore that really kind of bugs me and I almost don't want to say what it is, in fear of sounding lazy and trifling, but we all have that one that we wished we never had to do.  For me its putting the dishes out of the sink into the dishwasher.  See, doesn't that sound terrible, I don't even have to wash them, I have a dishwasher.  But here is the thing, I don't mind putting them directly from being used into the dishwasher, I just can't stand touching them to get them out of the sink after they have been sitting there with left over whatever on it and water having been run on it.  Ewwwwww.  I would rather do any or all of the chores, but this one still has to get done, and unfortunately there is no one else to get to do it when your husband is in the Sandbox.  Oh well...what is your least favorite chore?


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The Good, The 'Eh', and The Ugly

I have come to the conclusion that every day during the deployment can be categorized in to one of the following:  The Good, The 'Eh'. or The Ugly.  A Good Day is one where everything just kind of goes on as it should. You go about your day and of course you still miss your DH but overall its pretty good  and you have no break downs.  The 'Eh" Day is one that is just okay.  It wasn't really great but it wasn't terrible either.  You find yourself thinking a lot and are kinda bummed, but no major break downs.  The Ugly Day is one where everything just seems wrong.  You miss your DH terribly, nothing is right, you are completely bummed.  Crying and major break downs usually ensue (and maybe you dont even get out of your pjs).  Today, for me was an 'Eh' Day.  As I unpacked and put my clothes away, back in my old room at my parents house, I just got bummed out.  I felt the more I put away, the more permanent it seemed, even though I know thats not the case and that I will be returning to the Land of Oz sometime around November.  It just really bummed me out, made me sad, and made me miss my husband even more.  However, on the bright side, there were no tears!  So thats always a plus.  Guess we will have to see what kind of day tomorrow holds.


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Where Would We Be.....

......without modern day conveniences/technology.  As I made my journey this weekend from the Land of Oz back to my home state of VA, I caught myself thinking several times about how glad and thankful I was that we live in the age of cars, radios, air/heat, GPS, highways/interstates, and gas stations, etc.  I can not even begin to fathom the journey otherwise.  I took the time to think back, to many, many years ago about the brave and strong people that made this same journey on the wagon train.  I can not imagine making this trek on foot and with a horse and wagon caring all of your belonging.  There were no highways or interstates, to even help make it easier, instead they migrated over all types of terrain in all types of weather.  They dealt with life threatening dangers along the way and it took them well over two days to make the move.  I am so thankful for the modern conveniences that make it possible for my biggest worry to be how much I will pay for gas.



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Oh, That One Wife

Ok, so we all have one.  That one another Army Wife that we just cant stand.  As soon as you see her, either your blood starts to boil or you just want to gag (Im sure you all are nodding in agreement as you read this).  Even if she hasn't done anything to you personally, she just rubs you the wrong way.  Well that lady for me became that one, the very first time I met her at a troop Officer/NCO get together, right before predeployment leave.  She left a very bad taste in my mouth and now every time I see her Im just like ughh.  She is a live wire and at the get together, lets just say she was a little too talkative and friendly to several husbands for my liking and she was very pushy.  Oh, she thought she was cute, gag!  Sorry for the short vent session, but a little word of advice, don't be that wife.



Til Next Time......Scouts Out!

To Go or Not To Go......

....What a complicated decision.  This is a decision that probably almost every Army Wife will have to deal with at some point in time during their husband's career.  There are so many factors to weigh and consider, when deciding to stay on post (or the surrounding area) or to return home for your husband's deployment.  For me, I found the decision surprisingly hard to make.  I thought it would be a no-brainer for I have only been in the Land of Oz since January, am hundreds of miles away from my family, don't know that many people and do not have a job out here.  Yet, somehow I feel a strong attachment to my new community and home, even with my husband gone.  For here, there are several ladies going through the exact same thing, who truly understand how you feel, there is the FRG (Family Readiness Group), PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel), and that unexplainable sense of belonging and pride that comes to those who are members of the Army Family in the Army Community.  How do you choose, your real family or your Army family?? I know every single persons situation and experience is different and what might be right for one wife might be wrong for the next 10 wives you see.   What finalized my decision to go home was, the fact that my DH would worry less (which equals a safer soldier) and feel better with me being at home, knowing I would be taken care and the amount of money we could save.  We also decided that it would be best for me to return to the Land of Oz about four months before he is scheduled to return, that way I can get everything set up and so that TG can return to some normalness. Guess we will find out soon if the decision I made to go home was truly the right one for me.


Until Next Time.......Scouts Out!

Umm....What Season Are We Supposed to be in Again??

So here in the Land of Oz, Friday it was in the upper 60s, Saturday it was around 60 degrees and then yesterday was cold and cloudy.  Just down right dreary.  I had taken the dog out for a walk earlier that afternoon and wished that weather the weather would go back to being warm.  Unfortunately, my wish didn't come true.  I looked out the window, a little later and guess what... SNOW!!!  And I don't mean just flurries, no it was huge, giant, wet snowflakes, with probably at least three inches on the ground.  Its mid-March for goodness sake, its supposed to be Spring.  To make matters worse, upon talking with my mom I find out it was in the mid-70s back at home.  Its hard to adjust to crazy weather or weather extremes that are opposite of the weather you are accustomed to back at home.  Its just another one of those things you get to deal with as an Army Wife.  (Thank goodness I'm not dealing with the weather in say Alaska, and I pray we never have to)  Oh and according to the weather. its supposed to get up to 80 degrees in about two days. 

Until Next Time......Scouts Out!

Where Everybody Knows Your Name.....

That's right, who would have ever thought, your local Post Office would know you on a first name bases.  HAHAHA!  Ok, so all of the employees at the local post office don't know my name yet, but I seriously believe they will before too long.  With all the ideas for care packages and all the stuff that, I think, he already needs, I for see that I will be in there quite a bit.  I am predicting that by the end of the month, I will be a Postal Pro!  Just within the last two or three days have we been given the go ahead for mailing packages to guys.  In that short amount of time, I have already learned that you can mail a trunk, how many stamps it takes to send an envelope to the Sandbox, how long it will take for it to arrive, how to package and ship a laptop, how to package and ship a stetson, how to fill out a customs form, how to estimate the value of what you are shipping, and how to put insurance on a package.  I don't think I have left anything out.  I can only imagine that if I have learned all this in a few days, what plethora of mailing knowledge can one acquire over a year's time?  Maybe, I could get a job at the post office, sure might make things easier.  So if any of you ever have any  type of  packing or shipping questions, my advice would be to find the nearest Army Wife and ask away.


Until next time......Scouts Out!

Federal Investigators and Care Packages.....

......All in one day in the life of this Army Wife.  So I had another 'first' in my life today.  As someone in their 20s you would think one's 'firsts' would be dwindling, not the case for an Army Wife.  My 'first' today was an interview with a Federal Investigator.  Talk about not knowing what to expect and intimidating.  The interview was actually for one of Top Gun's college roommates and fellow BRs (for those of you that follow and know what that means and the close connection that comes with).  This guy has been a remarkable friend to my DH and myself and even a groomsmen in our wedding, which should give you an idea of how close they are.  And here I am sitting in my living room answering questions about him and talking about him, praying that I don't say anything that could be perceived to show him in a negative light or hinder him from getting his security clearance.  One would think that this would be a pretty easy task, however when they ask if you have ever seen them drink or did they ever get into trouble when they were in college, you can't lie.  I mean, seriously lady, they are military and went to a military college, it comes with the territory.  Of course I have seen him drink and of course he got 'in to trouble' at school, he went to a military college, where one gets into trouble for not being in their room after Taps.  I don't know a single cadet who has ever gone through their entire cadetship with out penalty tours or being placed on confinement (the punishments for getting 'in trouble').  Overall though I think it went really well and the lady was extremely nice, I even gave her a few other names of people she could talk to for the investigation.  So after my morning full of questions, I vegged out in front of the computer looking for good ideas for care packages to send to my DH.  During my search, I kept seeing ideas for care packages for Sailors on Sub duty.  After seeing this a couple times, my brain started turning, how in the world do Subs receive mail???  After all they are several feet below sea level.  This just boggled my mind, but thankfully a friend of mine cleared it  up.  So if any of you were wondering, Subs get their mail when they come to port for supplies, or on occasion at sea.  Surface ships usually have a weekly refueling- during which they get supplies and mail via helicopter from the refueling ship to the other ship.  Now I know.  Who knows what kind of  'firsts' or new things I will learn next??  I guess we will have to wait and see, only time will tell.

Until next time.....Scouts Out!

Boxes, Boxes Everywhere....

Oh the joys of packing.  Every Army Wife (or military spouse in general) knows what I'm talking about and some of you may have done it more times than you can count on both of your hands.  Well for me, this is my first time packing up our stuff as a couple.  I mean of course I packed up my stuff to move out here to the windy Land of Oz, but TopGun was already stationed here before we got married and I was able to join him, so I only had to pack my personal belongings.  I sit here by myself, looking around our apartment, pondering what to work on packing next.  One moment, I think I have made great progress and the next, I'm sitting here feeling overwhelmed, wondering how will I get it all done in the short amount of time that I have left here.  As I work on putting various things into boxes and totes, I feel a little, dark, Eeyore cloud come over me and I can't help but feel sad for a few moments.  Here I am packing OUR life away.  The life we just started together and I'm sticking it in a storage unit and leaving behind (just for the time being) the first place we ever lived together as a couple.  I know that we are still a couple, we are still happily married even though we are countries apart, and we will pick right back up where we left off, but its still a little sad.  And just as every strong Army Wife must do, I work hard and push away those blah thoughts and feelings, and instead try to focus on the moving and unpacking I will get to do a few months down the road.   For that will be a happy and exciting time, as I look towards getting to find a new house, settling in, establishing myself back in the Land of Oz, and my husband's homecoming.  Even though it may seem a world away now, I and every other fellow Army Spouse or Significant Other, knows we must keep our focus on the happiness that lays ahead of us on the horizon.  I suppose I should resume my packing and I should be thankful (even if I did have to pack 17 boxes of books) that even though I am packing by myself, that this will probably be the easiest time, for we all know, that we accumulate stuff over the years.

Until next time..........Scouts Out!

Greetings From the Land of Oz.....

Where to start, where to start?  Well, I guess I should start with a brief run down of who I am and where I am in my life as a CavScout Wife.  I am Amber, a 20-something Army Wife and Fur Momma to a Westie named Finnegan.  My Darling Husband (DH), whom I will refer to as Top Gun (TG), and I just got married in December, kicking off my journey as a Cav Scout Army Wife.  We have been together for five years and he has been in the Army for 2 of them and before that he attended the West Point of the South.  We or should I say, I am currently at our first duty station in the windy state of Kansas.  TG is serving his first tour of duty in the Sandbox.  In the short amount of time that I have been an Army Wife, I've already experienced the sudden changes and inconsistency of the Army, for TG was scheduled to deploy in May in support of Operation New Dawn for about a nine month deployment and as you see that didn't happen, since he is already gone.  We were hit with a complete 180, a longer deployment and a new location with about 30 days notice.   I will be returning to our home state of VA for part of the deployment.  I look forward to sharing my experiences and challenges as a Cav Scout Wife through out our adventurous Army life journey. 


Til the next time.....Scouts Out!