No, I’m not retiring. But right now, I wish I was. (Not because I don’t like my job – I do. Quite a bit. Some parts of it are annoying the heck out of me at the moment but those will pass.) Anyway, this post isn’t about me. (Well it is, because it is ALL about me, all of the time.) It’s about my dirtbag ex husband.
The dude is retiring from the USAF on Friday after 25 years of service. Time Flies. When You’re. Ummm. Getting Paid? OK fine, some of it was fun and interesting for all of us. Other parts of it pretty much stunk. So, a lot like any other job (my current job included) with more travel and longer hours and pretty crummy pay.
I actually remember the day he walked into my parents house, really late in the evening and announced he’d enlisted. After saying for a full year that he was definitely NOT going to join the USAF, like his father did. Apparently walking off of a crummy job mid-day with no real prospects at the age of 19 can change a guy’s mind so enlist he did.
So a military family we became. Military children we raised. And a military divorce was had after 20 years and 6 months (I’m no dummy if you know what I mean…).
I think I enjoyed the time he spent in the AF more than he did. Lots of DWs (that’s dependent wives for you non-miliary folks) really hate military life – long hours, husband gone all of the time, military housing and military healthcare. None of that bugged me in the least. Other military wives bugged me but that’s another issue entirely. It didn’t matter where we moved, I enjoyed the base we were stationed at, the country or city the base was located in and the adventure of it all.
My kids, on the other hand, are really not as fond of the military life as I was and am. My oldest is married to someone who is in the USAF but I think she’d prefer it if he finished this enlistment and got out. I’d prefer it too since they’ve yet to go overseas and it’s almost time for them to consider children, if they are going to have them. 😉 Michelle, the 15 year old, is truly evil when it comes to discussing the US military. She simply cannot find anything good about her childhood, no matter how many fond memories we try to ignite. I chalk it up to her age and being disgruntled with her life in general, not to mention her father in general.
Anyway, the dude retires on Friday. All three of the kids will be there to see it, along with his wife and her sons, his parents, his sister, brother in law. I won’t be there to see it and that sort of bugs me. After all, I’m the one who got him through the rough parts, ya know?