There are many things about being married to the "military" that are interesting. After much thought, debate, and laughing, I came up with the....drumroll, please....
"The Top Ten Most Annoying Things About Being A Military Wife"
So, number ten is: Military time is different than civilian time
I'm not talking about the whole 1:00 p.m. being 13 hundred. I'm saying that the clocks on any military base seem to run in a complete different universe than the one the rest of us live in.
Part 1: The basic rule with time is that whatever time they are supposed to be home or out of work-
it will certainly not be the stated time (under no circumstances, never, ever). It will be anywhere from fifteen minutes to six hours AFTER the time given. Or, once every three weeks or so, it will be three hours BEFORE the time given.
So, forget about clocks. If he/she says they'll be home at 5:00, you can feel free to go to the gym, go out with friends, go shopping, etc....they won't miss you, because they won't be there.
Part 2: If someone is awake on the boat they assume everyone else in the universe is also awake. For example, phone rings at 3:00 in the morning. Wife stumbles out of bed (husband sleeps like the dead), goes to answer phone. She's well-trained by this point and doesn't say "who the hell is calling at 3:00 in the morning" -or- "someone better be dead."
Instead she says, "He's sleeping...give me a minute, I'll get him up."
Then comes the dangerous part...waking up someone who has to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get to work. (Never mind that they aren't due until 7:00...something with the clocks requires them to be there an hour or more early). You wake him up. He takes the phone...
and answers the VITAL question, the one that necessitated calling at 3:00 in the morning.
From the phone: "Where is that plastic jug?" (No, I'm not kidding, this has happened).
Husband: "It's in the lab." (the lab is ten feet by five feet, you CANNOT possibly, even the military's odd universe, lose something in this small of a space).
From the phone: "Oh, I thought this one was it. I just wanted to make sure."
.......
Think about this a moment. Imagine calling your mom or a friend at 3:00 in the morning to say "hey, you keep your mower in the garage, right?" They answer 'yes.' You say "Oh, just checking." and hang up.
We've gotten calls trying to find a piece of paper (which was in the folder it was supposed to be in), announcing that field day (cleaning...see future blog) will be moved to the morning instead of afternoon, etc. We have NEVER recieved a call that couldn't have waited four hours, something like "oh, we're under attack, can you come to the boat." Nope, never.
Just remember, as a loving wife, married to the Navy, time doesn't exist...at least not in any form a civilian understands
"The Top Ten Most Annoying Things About Being A Military Wife"
So, number ten is: Military time is different than civilian time
I'm not talking about the whole 1:00 p.m. being 13 hundred. I'm saying that the clocks on any military base seem to run in a complete different universe than the one the rest of us live in.
Part 1: The basic rule with time is that whatever time they are supposed to be home or out of work-
it will certainly not be the stated time (under no circumstances, never, ever). It will be anywhere from fifteen minutes to six hours AFTER the time given. Or, once every three weeks or so, it will be three hours BEFORE the time given.
So, forget about clocks. If he/she says they'll be home at 5:00, you can feel free to go to the gym, go out with friends, go shopping, etc....they won't miss you, because they won't be there.
Part 2: If someone is awake on the boat they assume everyone else in the universe is also awake. For example, phone rings at 3:00 in the morning. Wife stumbles out of bed (husband sleeps like the dead), goes to answer phone. She's well-trained by this point and doesn't say "who the hell is calling at 3:00 in the morning" -or- "someone better be dead."
Instead she says, "He's sleeping...give me a minute, I'll get him up."
Then comes the dangerous part...waking up someone who has to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get to work. (Never mind that they aren't due until 7:00...something with the clocks requires them to be there an hour or more early). You wake him up. He takes the phone...
and answers the VITAL question, the one that necessitated calling at 3:00 in the morning.
From the phone: "Where is that plastic jug?" (No, I'm not kidding, this has happened).
Husband: "It's in the lab." (the lab is ten feet by five feet, you CANNOT possibly, even the military's odd universe, lose something in this small of a space).
From the phone: "Oh, I thought this one was it. I just wanted to make sure."
.......
Think about this a moment. Imagine calling your mom or a friend at 3:00 in the morning to say "hey, you keep your mower in the garage, right?" They answer 'yes.' You say "Oh, just checking." and hang up.
We've gotten calls trying to find a piece of paper (which was in the folder it was supposed to be in), announcing that field day (cleaning...see future blog) will be moved to the morning instead of afternoon, etc. We have NEVER recieved a call that couldn't have waited four hours, something like "oh, we're under attack, can you come to the boat." Nope, never.
Just remember, as a loving wife, married to the Navy, time doesn't exist...at least not in any form a civilian understands
