Was This Your Dream?

Today I was sitting at Starbucks, hogging a table trying to study medical terminology while downing a double shot PSL when the girl next to me asked what the Marine Corps Sticker on my laptop was for. Now I'm not an overly Marine wear wife, but in place of the standard Dell circle, I stuck a small EGA. I told her my husband is a Marine and went back to studying.

A couple minutes later, she asks "Was this your dream as a kid?" Now she has to be close in age to me and really who dreams about being a military spouse. As a little girl I wanted to be a ballerina, a princess, a mommy, a teacher and a nurse but never was military spouse an idea. When I asked her what she meant, she said well on TV it seems like so much fun. The uniforms, free housing and big paychecks. Uh that does sound fun but its so far from real life.

I love my husband and I'm a proud Marine spouse, but this wasn't my dream life. We've moved two times in less than a year and to opposite sides of the country. I've settled into my new area just to have his orders re-issued and our lives turned upside down again. It's hard to finish my degree when we aren't in a place for very long. There aren't big paychecks like people think so we budget while I finish school. And the uniforms? As nice as they look, they are expensive as heck and so rarely worn. But in the off chance you need a certain uniform and it doesn't fit, its you who pays for it.

But as I was talking to her I saw that with the bad things like budgets, expensive uniforms that we have to pay for, early morning PT, long hours, and moving a lot, there's a great upside. Without the military we never would have lived right outside DC and had the chance to see so much there. Our last unit did a few spouses trips that were amazing and truly once in a lifetime things. Now we are living in San Diego, the military is helping pay for my school and while life isn't what we dreamed at 18 it is pretty amazing.

Tour De Fat

A few weeks ago NewBelgium brewing company had a touring beer festival visit downtown San Diego. After walking 3 blocks to the park it was hosted in we had an amazing time. There was good trucks, special brews we cant find in stores and tons of activities. So many people were wearing costumes or riding bikes so we got ideas for next year. 

I love living in a city where there's so much going on. We can always find something to do or just get out and explore on weekends. 

Blessed

Today Ty is off work for Columbus Day which means a Monday where the alarm does not go off at 5 am. There is nothing better than 3 days of lazy mornings with him. This morning Ty left to go out with a bunch of guys from his shop while I stay home to do schoolwork. After he left I was thinking about how much has changed in the last 1.5 years we've been married.

When we got married, he was still in his MOS school and duty stations seemed like a far away dream. I was working 40-50 hours a week while he was gone. Then he suddenly got his first station Quantico, a we truly started married life. We visited DC a lot and saw so many sights. 

His new orders for California were a dream come true earlier this year. We moved in August and have loved it here since then. I'm now enrolled fulltime in school. We have explored a lot and love being able to take Lexi so many places. The only downfall is our parents are on the east coast. 

Even though things haven't been the easiest with moving or trying to get into school with moving I'm so blessed. I have an amazing husband who supports me in anything. He has a great job in the USMC and that has allowed us to live in a couple fantastic cities in our short marriage. So many people knock military life but while his hours are long, there are always upsides. 

Getting Settled

Over the last couple weeks we have really settled into San Deigo. Our living situation with the roommate has been going ok but all that changed last night when his wife arrived. While she's nice she has zero common sense and is very immature. Less than 24 hours in she's sprayed so much body spray my apartment smells like cotton candy now and she's convinced the government is closed forever. This will take some getting used too. 

If you need me I will be outside in the fresh air while my apartment airs out. 

10 Months and 2 PCS's later

For some military members, you go to school, get your orders and stay at that base for your career. For my husband, he did school, more school at a different base then was given his first set of orders. We moved to Virginia last September and really liked the area. Then February rolled around and my T was issued new orders... For San Diego. I told my husband when he enlisted and when we were married that I would follow him anywhere the Marines took him. I never imagined we would move 2 times in less than a year. Thankfully we are now in my home state, although both our parents are on the eat coast. 

After being settled in Virginia with my job and getting accepted into a college I'm back to square one of finding where I got in. Luckily I learned a few things last move and this time I don't feel like such an outsider. Of course the weather and beaches help any gloomy mood I may have had.

Life is Not Like Army Wives

Before we moved to base and on base housing I figured things would be similar to how Army Wives portrays it. After we moved into our house and settled, I can say with certainty that its not as happy as you would think.

After almost six months in our house I still don't know my neighbors. I have met our Family Readiness Officer (FRO) only once and she's our second one in the time we've moved. I was really expecting more of the spouses community you see on tv. I have met a few women from our unit. Most of the ones I've met get on my nerves. Two asked me when we are going to have a baby. I said not during this enlistment. We want to enjoy young married life and being able to travel. Another said if I'm a nanny then I obviously have baby fever and just need to get it over with. It's almost like being in high school again with the cliques and drama.

I've learned that here you are truly looked at as dependent on your spouse. Some of these women have never even paid a bill without the hubby doing it for them. I feel like my marriage is more of a partnership I love my hubby but I know if he deploys or goes on a trip I can stand on my own feet and not breakdown. People have told me young married military don't understand what it's like to be an adult because the military will take care of them like parents. For us it doesn't hold true but for so many of the young couples I met I can see why people have told me this. It makes me thankful that we lived together in the civilian world first. I feel like we have grown up more because of it.

Weekend in Washington DC

DC is famous for the cherry trees that blossom in early spring. When we moved here 5 months ago and went to some of the museums for the first time we notice many books devoted to these trees. Last weekend kicked off the Cherry Blossom Festival. Although we didn't go to the museums for the presentations on the trees, we did walk around the national mall and White House looking at how spring has kind of arrived. Some of the trees were in bloom but it was nothin like all the pictures show. We did have fun just walking around DC in the semi warm weather.

After leaving the national mall we decided to hit the Navy Yard to look around. Both of us love the show NCIS so why not look around their base. Thanks to our decals and ids we got through the gate and found out there's really not much there. It's mostly a lot of brick buildings. Huh. Also we did not find the NCIS building. :(

Our last stop was 8th and I and marine barracks. It's the "home" of the Marine Corps in the way that it has the commandants house and the band and silent drill team. You can't enter the premises but there's tons of cute shops all over right there. We found a dog bakery and a cute little cupcake bakery. It was a pretty successful day in my opinion.