Last year, my sister innocently asked, "So what do you get out of this blogging thing, anyway?"
I explained to her that blogging and connecting with other bloggers
makes me feel like I'm understood; most of the people that read my site
are other military wives, which means I don't have to explain a lot of
the details that I think seem obvious. Other military wives understand
the daily grind of having a husband in the military. They don't say,
"What a shame," when they find out my husband is deployed. They laugh
at and relate to all the light bulbs in the house burning out at the
same time, the car breaking down, and the air conditioner acting crazy
the DAY AFTER my husband leaves. They've been there, done that, and and
they're ready to laugh about it (or cry about it) with me in the
comments section.
A lot (not all) of my family is made up of civilians. I love civilians. But sometimes, I don't feel understood by them.
Illustration: While in Seattle a few weeks ago, I was at lunch with my
family when my aunt asked me if I had seen a particular movie. I asked
if it had come out on DVD yet, and she said, "No, it's still in the
theater."
Ok. First, my husband is deployed. I haven't found a babysitter I
trust. All of the friends I would trust with my son are people I would
want to go to this said movie with (and most of them have
deployed husbands and children too. It's not like they need or want
another responsibility on a Friday night). Plus, I'm not that big on
spending $10 on a movie ticket and another trillion dollars on snacks.
Not my cup of tea, but still. I'M ALONE. Going to the theater is a huge
pain in the neck!
And guess what? I felt the need to explain all of that to her. Poor Aunt.
So as I was emailing Andi not too long ago, I told her I won't be able
to make it to the SpouseBUZZ Live event in Virginia because Scout will
be home or in transit for R & R. My mind started to wander. How
should I explain how important it is to me to be home when Scout gets
off the plane? And then I smiled. I didn't have to explain it.
And maybe that's a bad example. I'm sure my family wouldn't need an explanation for something like that. But I would still feel the need to give one.
So that, my friends, is why I blog. Thank you for helping me to feel understood, and allowing me to understand you. :)
