The Front Porch Swing

[Alice28]

Oh my gosh! Now I'm laughing so hard I might hae an accident!

Maybe TMI, but pretty funny!

 

[Wisher1000]

I know, I laughed so hard, tears ran down my leg.

 

[Tomtommom]

Alright, I wont.

I would not choose to be a military wife. My sanity would go down the drain REAL fast. I do what I have to do when I have to do it. I can barely stand it when my husband is gone for 12+ hours and I'm wrestling kids and I haven't been able to pee all day because they go crazy on me and I'm so outnumbered and I can't even remember if I ate lunch

That poor man comes in, I hand him the baby and toddler and I say "I gotta go pee".

I need that cath, Blooie.

 

[Blooie]

Alright, I wont.

I would not choose to be a military wife. My sanity would go down the drain REAL fast. I do what I have to do when I have to do it. I can barely stand it when my husband is gone for 12+ hours and I'm wrestling kids and I haven't been able to pee all day because they go crazy on me and I'm so outnumbered and I can't even remember if I ate lunch

That poor man comes in, I hand him the baby and toddler and I say "I gotta go pee".

I need that cath, Blooie.

Got plenty, TT....get 'em every 3 months by the case!

Not everyone is cut out to be a military wife - AND THAT'S OKAY!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I probably would have dried up and withered away living in the same place, the same house, the same, same, same! Some people, like my sisters and brother, thrive on it. It's their world and they are very comfortable there. It wasn't right for me - I loved seeing new places, meeting new friends, and learning about me. I loved finding secret strengths. I used every cruise or deployment as an opportunity to learn to do something I didn't know how to do when he left - playing banjo, quilting, crocheting, painting - anything that would fill the hours and make me more interesting to him and to myself when he came home. My kids did things and saw things that my nieces and nephews only read about. It was tough - I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed every aspect of it. More than once I was known to kick a pop can around the house as hard as I could in pure frustration. Ken and I learned to number our letters in the corner right under the return address. We did that because he'd get a letter from me saying, "You SOB, I'm not gonna be here when you get back - if I'm gonna be a single parent then I might as well do it back home where my family is and you can just find some other housekeeper/maid."

But then I'd sleep on it, or the crisis would pass, and the next letter would be full of apologies, chatting and describing what the kids were doing, as if the first letter was never sent. If he read them out of order - well, let's just say he'd spend the next few weeks worrying about whether he still had a family waiting for him. I'm not proud of that, but I'm human. It wasn't unusual for 2 to 3 weeks to pass with either me not getting mail or him not getting any, so when a bundle of letters would reach him he could put them in numerical order and then not worry when he got the occasional rant.

If someone came up to me right now and said, "You have a unique opportunity to go back to when you were 16 years old and change anything you want." I'd smile, marry Ken, pack my bags and set off on the greatest adventure I've ever known.

 

[perchie.girl]

Alright, I wont.

I would not choose to be a military wife. My sanity would go down the drain REAL fast. I do what I have to do when I have to do it. I can barely stand it when my husband is gone for 12+ hours and I'm wrestling kids and I haven't been able to pee all day because they go crazy on me and I'm so outnumbered and I can't even remember if I ate lunch

That poor man comes in, I hand him the baby and toddler and I say "I gotta go pee".

I need that cath, Blooie.

I used to drag the bassinet into the bathroom to Pee and or take a shower.... Being a single mom I didn't have anyone to hand off the baby to.... Oh my goodness that's sounds awful I did not mean to imply anything but just that the privacy goes out the door with little uns...

I gave up trying to make my son sleep in a crib.... so he slept in my bed till he was about ten. He still wouldn't sleep in his room so he slept on the couch.

deb

 

[Alice28]

Tomtommon, That is so funny to me! The bathroom thing. One of my daycare parents asked me "how do you use the bathroom?" And I was like, I hold it and wait for nap time or when there all strapped in at the table for snacks or lunch. When my husband comes home (very rare) for lunch or gets off early very often he's greeted with "I have to go pee, can you watch the kids?" I don't even wait for an answer and run to the bathroom!

Blooie, you are amazing! I don't care if you think so or not! You are! Your stories make me smile. My Grandpa worked for the army and my grandma and dad and his siblings traveled all over. I HATE watching movies with my dad.... Every ten seconds hers like "been there, been there, lived there" My grandma loved it. When they lived in Germany she would take the kids all over on weekends or holidays. My dad got to see and do a lot. Still not for me, but I love the stories! I'm sure you and Ken both hit the jackpot with eachother! Sounds like you have had amazing adventures.

 

[Tomtommom]

Amelia is a "hold me all day or I'll scream" baby. She's the total opposite of Thomas. That boy could hapilly lay in his play pen all day. Amelia HATES the play pen. Occasionally I let her cry it out and she'll play a bit with her toys. If she cries too long or ups the ante (upset cry to furious cry) I get her back out. Sometimes it's just "Sorry girl, I gotta pee, I'll be back". Thomas gets jealous if I'm holding her, so he'll climb on top of me too. It's not unusual for me to sit at my desk with a kid on each knee.

She just want to be held all the time.



You put me in my crib....



Oh hey, I guess you're going to be holding me a while.

 

[tntchix]

I didn't sign up for it, it just happened. What was supposed to be a 3-6 month thing has dragged out. I actually sometimes love the solitude. I can come and go as I want, the dang TV isn't blaring all night long, and I don't have to cook huge meals anymore. That said, it's hard for him not being the dad he loves to be. Although they talk several times a day, it's not the same.

I get the limitations thing, everyone says How do you do this? I say, you just do.

I get a lot more respect with him gone too, like they know I have no backup and if I have to call on him there will be hell to pay.

What mom says goes, no questions.

 

[Blooie]

Amelia is a "hold me all day or I'll scream" baby. She's the total opposite of Thomas. That boy could hapilly lay in his play pen all day. Amelia HATES the play pen. Occasionally I let her cry it out and she'll play a bit with her toys. If she cries too long or ups the ante (upset cry to furious cry) I get her back out. Sometimes it's just "Sorry girl, I gotta pee, I'll be back". Thomas gets jealous if I'm holding her, so he'll climb on top of me too. It's not unusual for me to sit at my desk with a kid on each knee.

She just want to be held all the time.



You put me in my crib....



Oh hey, I guess you're going to be holding me a while.

Oh, she is the prettiest little thing, crying or smiling!

 

[7 Biddies]

Alright, I wont.

I would not choose to be a military wife. My sanity would go down the drain REAL fast. I do what I have to do when I have to do it. I can barely stand it when my husband is gone for 12+ hours and I'm wrestling kids and I haven't been able to pee all day because they go crazy on me and I'm so outnumbered and I can't even remember if I ate lunch

That poor man comes in, I hand him the baby and toddler and I say "I gotta go pee".

I need that cath, Blooie

Thank you for recognizing it is a choice! You choose not to be a military spouse ... it's certainly not for everyone.You've empowered yourself by recognizing that you choose not to, instead of saying you can't which leaves you sounding powerless. Keep up the good work.

Got plenty, TT....get 'em every 3 months by the case!

Not everyone is cut out to be a military wife - AND THAT'S OKAY!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I probably would have dried up and withered away living in the same place, the same house, the same, same, same! Some people, like my sisters and brother, thrive on it. It's their world and they are very comfortable there. It wasn't right for me - I loved seeing new places, meeting new friends, and learning about me. I loved finding secret strengths. I used every cruise or deployment as an opportunity to learn to do something I didn't know how to do when he left - playing banjo, quilting, crocheting, painting - anything that would fill the hours and make me more interesting to him and to myself when he came home. My kids did things and saw things that my nieces and nephews only read about. It was tough - I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed every aspect of it. More than once I was known to kick a pop can around the house as hard as I could in pure frustration. Ken and I learned to number our letters in the corner right under the return address. We did that because he'd get a letter from me saying, "You SOB, I'm not gonna be here when you get back - if I'm gonna be a single parent then I might as well do it back home where my family is and you can just find some other housekeeper/maid."

But then I'd sleep on it, or the crisis would pass, and the next letter would be full of apologies, chatting and describing what the kids were doing, as if the first letter was never sent. If he read them out of order - well, let's just say he'd spend the next few weeks worrying about whether he still had a family waiting for him. I'm not proud of that, but I'm human. It wasn't unusual for 2 to 3 weeks to pass with either me not getting mail or him not getting any, so when a bundle of letters would reach him he could put them in numerical order and then not worry when he got the occasional rant.

If someone came up to me right now and said, "You have a unique opportunity to go back to when you were 16 years old and change anything you want." I'd smile, marry Ken, pack my bags and set off on the greatest adventure I've ever known.

Good for you, Blooie. As for personal limitations, we all have them ... too many for me to count my own. My only point was to call attention to the difference between true limitations and a lack of desire. We have a tendency to say, "Oh, I can't do .. "such and such. The problem comes in when we start believing we really CAN'T instead of choosing not to. It's an important distinction.