No matter where my life has taken me - be it a new job, career, education or living situation - I find my place among those around me and I adjust accordingly. Despite the fact that I'm a 'walking to the beat of my own drum' kind of girl; however, I recognize that there are some situations and interactions that require me to temporarily dive into the mainstream and walk to the same beat. I do not think this makes me any different from most people? Any normal person wants to fit in and be part of something bigger than themselves.
And yet, there are certain lifestyles that require a more traditional & consistent conformity that has always confused me. Military life......
I have recently taken to reading free samples of new & old books through iBooks/B&N...etc. This has encouraged me to check out books that I normally would avoid - but if it's free to try what have I got to lose? So I came across a series of books that targets military wives. Why not, I thought? After reading my first 3 or 4 free chapters of "Confessions of a Military Wife"; I realized why.....
The life of a military spouse is something that is different for everyone. It is what you make of it. It can be a wonderful experience or it can be a constant competition and battle to define yourself. After reading some of these books - more specifically "Confessions of a Military Wife"- I realized that there seem to be more of the latter than the former. And then I wondered to myself....where do I fall?
What kind of wife to I see myself as being? Easy. I'm Kris! I'm me and a wife to a military man second. How hard is that? But I can say that now, I can say that as I currently have no expectations being placed upon me; no social activities I *need* to go to.....I'm a world apart from most right now....I'm a deployed spouse.
Awesome a sub-culture within a culture.....it's like the rings of hell from Dante's Inferno.
I suppose where I going with this is - I read how military wives perceive their roles as wives as they seem to be riding the coattails of their spouse.....that somehow the position their spouse holds gives them the right to expect the same treatments as their Sr. ranking spouse? The attitude among many senior ranking spouses that there needs to be segregation within housing; within all social activities; within base activities.....wow. I'm honestly offended by just reading this crap. Did I fall down and wake up during the segregation times of the 50's, 60's......???
Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I have yet to realize my place within the ranks of an officer world. But, honestly, I don't want to be associated with such a culture of isolation & superiority.
And the idea that wives are the *silent ranks* is laughable. Think about it.
