i feel like i should vent. a tiny bit. please?
i am not a marine. my husband is a marine, a very fine, dedicated and adept marine. i am a marine wife, which i so adore being. everything in my life lead me to caleb, which lead me to being a strong, independent, capable woman to keep the homefires burning and care for our child while he is out protecting our freedom.
an aside: notice i didn't say "your" freedom.... i hate when people say that. like military members/families are better than common folk. another soapbox, another day.
but here's the truth, friends. i am not a marine and would love for you not to treat me as such. i know there are policies and rules enforced within the corps regarding rank and fraternization, but seriously.... can i get a friend? i honestly feel like each time i meet someone here in town or at a gathering who is semi-normal, they either only want to talk about their husband's job (marine jargon.... not cool) or they want to ask my husband's rank. does our future friendly relationship pend on this one nugget of information? apparently so, to so many wives. because once they find out where we stand on the USMC payscale, it's awkward small talk until they can find an excuse to step away from the conversation and go hide behind their hubby, never to be heard from again.
yes, my husband is a very fine, dedicated and adept marine. he has probably told your husband what to do on several occasions, and probably had him clean the "head" with a toothbrush for not listening correctly. but i'm a nice gal, i really am. i make a fabulous batch of chocolate chip cookies and i love to sit around in my sweatpants watching "the realhousewives of new jersey"..... couldn't we just overlook rank and see one another for what we really are? that being, two marine wives, going through the same fight for our husbands every day?
oh... no? ok, sorry to have wasted 347 words.
Thanks for stopping by New To Mom.
ReplyDeleteGreat post BTW..it sucks that they have to act like children.
I have somewhat the same exp at work. I'm hourly and was friends with a girl in management. We sit right next to each other. I was fine to talk to...that was until another bigger and better female came along, she is also in management. Drives me nuts. Just bc I'm hourly does not make me any less then her.
It's fine to vent. When my husband was still in the service (Army) I also experienced that awkwardness and never understood it. I thought it was the cultural differences that made building relationships difficult, after all I had just moved to the US after growing up in Europe. Then, as my husband's unit got deployed I understood some (actually most) of the spouses wore their husbands rank and enjoyed gossiping about one another rather than seeking comfort and companionship together. I thought we were all in the same boat. Dead wrong. The only saving grace was Jenny, engaged to unit member and who was shunned by all the spouses because she was not yet married. Soon after his return from deployment, my husband decided not to re-up so that was that ... Not a pleasant experience. I hope you will meet a "Jenny", 6 years after we are still in touch. She did marry her soldier and remained normal.
ReplyDeleteCaroline
I completely understand where you are coming from! My husband is in he Army and I experience the same things you do DAILY, especially living on post. Most of my neighbors are married to lower enlisted men and WILL not speak to me, it drive me crazy. The funny part they judge me by the blue color of the sticker on my decal!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
http://funsavingmom.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by my Mommy Blog!
ReplyDeleteIm your new follower :)
just wanted to leave hugs for you... not being a military wife, I have no idea about any advice other than to try to seek out non-military women for friendship if possible...
ReplyDeletehope you can find some people who can overlook hubby's rank and meet the real you :)
Wow, I feel for you. That sounds awful. Hope you meet someone normal soon.
ReplyDeleteNew follower. :)
Its alway good to vent!! We are her to listen!! I am a new follower would love a follow back
ReplyDeletehttp://theseareafewofmyfavoritethings-sue.blogspot.com/
Thank you for all you have to deal with being a military wife and thanks to your hubs for what he does to defend our freedom! And thanks for visiting our blog! I am now following you back! Hope you have a great rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteLiz,
http://twomaidsamilking.blogspot.com
Even tho my hubby isn't in the military I can totally understand what you're saying. I love it. I look forward to reading your blog!!
ReplyDelete((BTW following you back!))
I get it! When I was in AF I never understood why the Wives wouldn't really socialize w/me...granted I worked with their husbands - but B/c I wasn't one of their "own" I was left out in the cold for female friendship. The only women who were willing to be my friends couldn't b/c of Rank or they were my bosses wives - which at times was weird, at times especially when I wanted to vent about their husbands...took me til Okinawa to find a group of ladies who accepted me, regardless of rank ect.
ReplyDeleteHang in there...you do have one tough job being a mom, and a wife while your husband is protecting not only your freedom, but mine too!
if you get the chance check out my blog...
www.sunvalleysoul.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by!!
ReplyDeleteIt has to be frustrating to have to deal with that. The few service families I have met tend to stay very clique...so if you're in, you're in, if not, it's like High School all over again. Hope things get better and people start seeing you for you!