Laugh and the world laughs with you…
I was going to start a blog (and who knows where this little rabbit trail will lead us all in the long run?!) about the incredibly weird things that are now a part of my life via my familial military affiliation. I know that things have changed for us in ways from the drastic to the subtle, and some are not so funny while others are very funny. Sometimes I can have a very odd sense of humor so maybe none of this is funny to anyone else. It would not be the first time that I laughed at myself, and laughed alone to boot — and let’s just say it’s a safe bet that this will not be the last!
I thought that I would make a list titled “You know you are knee deep in the hooah when … ” and then fill in the blank. So, here are a few of the things that I have heard from other wives/moms that make them feel “knee deep” in it some days, and a few of my own. Feel free to add yours to the comment section:
You know you are knee deep in the hooah when…
- … you sing a cadence in the shower.
- … you actually like the smell of ACUs after they’ve been worn!
- … you buy a formal gown and are giddy because you know you will move so much no one will ever see you in it twice.
- … your toddler tells the other kids to “move it! move it! let’s move it now!”
- … you can calculate your next child’s birth date based on deployment and leave times.
- … you write a blog about being a military wife or mom (or both!)
- … you smile when you see sandy boots on your floor (only for a few minutes though).
- … you have parachute cord in your laundry room.
- … you answer your cell phone in the middle of Church when your son or husband is deployed.
- … your husband blends in with the shrubs.
- … you can name aircraft based solely on the sound they make.
- … you can sleep through artillery fire.
- … you have a “my son jumps out of perfectly good planes!” bumper sticker on your car.
- … your husband thinks that success in a land nav course means he never has to ask for directions.
- … your toddler is an Army of One.
- … you worry when the phone rings, and you worry when the phone doesn’t ring.
- … your “gated community” is guarded by MPs.
- … you can’t sing the National Anthem without a tear or two.
- … your kids know what a commissary is, but not a grocery store.
- … your skyline includes jump towers.
- … your 16-year old wants a Stryker like his older brother.
- … they know you by name at the post office.
- … they have given you your own parking spot at the post office.
- … you have been named customer of the year at the post office.
- … you know how to pack cookies that make it to a war zone without crumbling.
- … you talk in TLAs.
- … you refer to your family as the “troops.”
Edited to add these from Sommer (who is an Army wife extraordinaire to say the least!) in comments:
- …You know exactly where the scotch tape was stored 2 houses ago, but you have no idea where it is in your current house.
- …You use 100 mile an hour tape on everything.
- …You have a flashlight with a red and green lens, but can’t find a regular white light.
- …You have a bigger drape selection than wal mart
- …You pick furniture based on what you think the movers will do the least damage to
Good ones Sommer! I love the furniture one! :)
That was easy to compile (which is scary!). I just asked Mr. Hooah! to help me with these, and between the two of us and the things we remember others saying, it seemed to just flow.
…You know exactly where the scotch tape was stored 2 houses ago, but you have no idea where it is in your current house.
…You use 100 mile an hour tape on everything.
…You have a flashlight with a red and green lense, but can’t find a regular white light.
…You have a bigger drape selection than wal mart
…You pick furniture based on what you think the movers will do the least damage to :)
This made me giggle - thanks for posting it :-) We hear a lot of these from the military wives around here :-)
Sommer you were my inspiration for a few of those entries you know! I’ll let you pick them, but I remember you saying you could sleep through mortar fire on the base you used to live on and that you are able to identify the planes that take off over your house. ;)
Calista, it was fun… kind of a purge of the old brain! :)
…you organize one house as the “moving” house (this goes with picking furniture that the movers won’t damage quite so much)
I so laughed at this post Claire, yep, the post office and the UPS store both knew me by name and always ran out to help me because they knew I had a trunk full of soldier packages.
I actually DID have need of a flashlight the other day at the apartment and the only one I could find had both red and green lenses, but at least I had a third choice of no lens so I could get the job done. Sheesh!
Good stuff.