things i'm loving '500 followers & Army wife life'

Greetings all,

This week with Paisley Jade 'i'm loving' . . . the big warm hug of 500+ followers, thank you & welcome.  I blog for my husband - he lives interstate & overseas - we miss him, but here he can see how the children are growing & what we're up to.  It's such a lovely bonus & surprise to know you are here too, i appreciate you all so much, your comments warm my lonely heart & blogging is the nicest head space. 

I've celebreated each new 100 followers with a little post sharing more about moi.  With the tragic news of the death of another soldier this week (& more wounded), it's a timely reminder of just how dangerous my husband's work is & the impact on families like us, so i'm going to share my take on . . . what it's like to be married to my handsome soldier.  As an independent woman, it might be odd that my personal introduction to new people includes 'my husband is a soldier'.  It defines me, why i'm on my own, why i am self employed, where we live & where the children go school.   

With all the deployments, exercises, training & courses (read: time apart); moving interstate; war zones; parents with cancer/ heart attacks/ strokes/ Alzheimer's; buying houses; having babies; multiple babies . . . i've got a psych degree - i know these are ALL most stressful life experiences - we dealt with them all, in our 20s!!  We've never missed a beat, no break ups or hiccups, he's so easy to love & i could never stay angry with him for long . . . he has dimples!!     

 I could have been born 100 years ago . . . child bride marrying a soldier, having a large family, being a stay at home mother, breastfeeding, cloth nappies, handmade clothes, baking & loving it all, i think it fits with the challenges of modern Army wife life - those vintage ways & times - they got it so right.  Those mothers were on their own & had to discipline, teach & love the children, good cop & bad cop.  We wash the cars, put the bins out, clean gutters, drag 15m long palm fronds out of the garden . . . you just never stop.  

 So what is it REALLY like being an Army wife, beyond the fact you're married to a totally hot guy who makes you feel safe, loved & protected, he is paid to work out & has amazing job satisfaction from being in the ultimate boy's club . . . driving tanks, riding in helicopters, shooting guns & playing with high tech equipment with your mates.  We've seen helmet camera vision from Afghanistan - it's like an xBox war game.  It's balanced by statistics - soldiers typically have daughters & have to plait hair, tolerate pink & deal with glitter. 



When he's home, he's HOME, no laptops, phone calls or work (obviously, he doesn't practise soldiering around the house, doing room clearances & lobbing granades) so we fill the days with trips to museums, galleries, picnics & fun.  Soldiers have MORE clothes, shoes, accessories, luggage & expensive trinkets than an over indulged heiress.  Some have dedicated 'dressing rooms'.  If you dare say "seriously, you need another whatever" they have the "it might save my life" excuse.  There are trunks of gear in our garage i'll never wish to open!!

Everything in the Army has an acronym or abbreviation & many soldiers don't know how to speak in full sentances, as initials will do.  At BBQs they talk 'shop' which is so boring but . . . my all time FAVOURITE acronym is P.E.N.I.S. which stands for Practical Exercise Not Including Students & the abbreviation WOANAL for Warrant Officer Analyst.  He he he.  My husband loathes me changing plans without it in writing & 24 hours notice, pretty sure he'd like a shopping list to read "steaks, individual, eye fillet x 6".  His life is systematic, itemised & orderly.  He even likes his socks folded a certain way (happy socks ladies, they smile!!)

There is a rough, tattooed, drinking & party hard culture in the Army (trust me, we've had them as neighbours) but my husband would rather relax at home with us & save his hard earned money to invest in property & our children's education.  When handsome soldier is away, our German Shepherd (now 3.5 years old, that's him as a new puppy above) sleeps in our hallway, patrolling the house.  Army wives have to be strong . . . mentally - you might be at home with a new baby, your husband is at war & you get one phone call a fortnight . . . & physically - starting an ancient second hand lawn mower calls on Herculean strength!! 

Dumb things which have happened to me while handsome soldier has been away . . . eldest child locked me out of the house in pyjamas & i had to call the fire brigade to remove my front door . . . had his car stolen from Sydney University car park . . . driven into the neighbour's garden wall, blown a tyre & ruined the wheel . . . locked keys in the car 3 times . . . locked myself out of the house at least 10 times . . . run out of fuel on a country highway with 4 children in the car . . . our house has been burgled . . . i've hit a HUGE kangaroo . . . rushed to hospital by ambulance with food poisoning . . . i've been pulled over by the Federal Police because my children were being too raucous in the car . . . OMG, i'm like a combination of ALL the Desperate Housewives & should NOT be left home alone!! 

"Do you worry about him??"  It's confronting question & bubbles my happy denial & la la la everything will be fine.  Accidents happen in peace time; bombs, rockets & bullets fly in war time.  He's highly trained & has great equipment, it's not just what we're encouraged to say to show our support.  Worry - like cry myself to sleep worry & a million reminders a day about him in a war zone worry, YES i worry but have healthy distractions like children to be positive for, a gym to take my tension out in & my sewing to release my creativity!!

 Above all, i'm extremely proud of what my husband does & who he is, he truly makes a difference in this world.  He won't be in the Army forever, it's an amazing adventure with many stories to tell.  He's off to the desert again so i'll be blogging my heart out.  Love Posie

PS Handmade Summit all inclusive pass giveaway ends next Friday & 

mega Lego City NASA Space giveaway ends this Sunday, don't miss out!! 

PPS Is anyone having huge issues leaving comments??  I can log into Blogger to do a post but i can't log into Blogger to leave comments on any blogs!!  Argh, i'm reading you, i just can't leave comments & i'm trapped going around in circles, sorry!!