I am turning 30 years old this year... thankfully I didn't say that out loud because if I had, I'd probably have a mini heart attack. I have no clue as to why I am having so much trouble with turning the big 3 0. Things just change when you are thirty... you hit a new level of adulthood and you should have everything in your life figure out by then. Maybe that's why I freak out with the thought of 30. I have NOTHING figure out... and this adulthood just keeps trucking along anyway.
So why did I title this post Seasoned? Well, you had to hear the mini back story of me feeling like I'm turning OLD at the end of the year. So the other day, my husband and I had to attend a work gathering of his. We are new to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We knew nobody at this gathering but my hubs wanted me to meet his chain of command so we strapped the kids in the car and headed toward the park where the cookout was taking place. Soon after we arrived, my husband introduces me to the Drill Sergeant he is replacing in the Battery.
((RANDOM Army info that I'm sure you don't care about but I am forever plague with knowledge of the Army... thanks babe.--Fort Sill is an artillery base and they call a company (like the other airborne infantry units he's been in) a Battery.))
The guy starts telling us about Drill Sergeant life... how my hubs won't ever be home, many many wives call asking where their husband is (( he's working! duh!)) and that he's seen 5 or 6 drill sergeants gotten divorce in the 2 years he has been here. What a nice conversation huh? My hubs proceeds to tell the guy about his 3 deployments and our lack of communication... all the training rotations where he's been gone weeks at a time with little contact. I also bring up the fact we've been married for almost 10 years... basically pleading our case that we are different. For those who aren't familiar with the military, there is always talk of how high the divorce rate is for military couples compared to civilian couples. So we hear the horror stories of cheating scandals and divorces.
Anyways, my hubs then tells the guy... "She is seasoned". WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! Is he calling me old?? Seasoned as in... season your food?? Those were my initial thoughts when I heard that come out of my hubs mouth. Then I took a second... and thought about it. He was giving me a compliment! Bing dictionary defines seasoned as accustomed to particular conditions, experienced.
He was saying:
I know how the Army works...
I know not to get my hopes up because plans change...
I know how to miss someone whose thousands of miles way and never hear from them for weeks...
I know my hubs will have to do stupid stuff that the Army demands so he won't be home for dinner that night...
I know the Army comes first in our house...
Seasoned... I have seen all sides of the Army life. The good, the bad and the ugly! So as silly and not very flattering "seasoned" might sound... I take it as the highest compliment from the hubs. He was saying he's not worried about me during these next 2 years as a drill sergeants wife. He's not worried about us. ((insert mushy love emoji here!!))
When we got home that night.... I smiled and hugged that man I love so hard. I told him thank you for the compliment... so maybe turning 30 won't be that bad. I couldn't be "seasoned" at 20 years old, living in Italy at our first duty stationed while my hubs left 3 weeks later for his first deployment. I wish I was...would have made it some what easier but it got me to where I am today. A seasoned Army wife.
