Transition. Again.

I often wonder just how immersed I was in the military lifestyle. How much did I let it define me? I'd like to think I allowed to be a part of who I was, but didn't let it become an over-powering identifier. I don't know what a cookie cutter military spouse is, but if there is one then I certainly wasn't it. Are they conservative? All want or have children? Display the flag, the pictures, and the books with swelling hearts? Are active in post activities? Maybe I was somewhere in the middle or nowhere near the top of the curve.
 Currently, we have his coins, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Medal of Honor book on display. But also, I feel like the fact that we're even here is all the pride I need. What I'm most proud of is how well we're taken care of, and how complete strangers are willing to do so much to lift our moods and provide for us. It's just a different life here at the hospital. I image our future friends and even jobs will be forever connected to Aaron's service, so it will definitely always be a part of our lives. I'm just having a little bit of a convoluted time with the sudden, and initially unwanted, transition into a life absent of being an active duty couple. This is so different from being near a post and having regular unit dealings. It reiterates my opinion that until you've lived the "active duty life" you can't have an preconceived notions on what it is like. Some of the dumbest things I've ever heard came from wives who had yet to live on or near post and deal with the regular Army. We all remember the blog post from the active duty wife in some random town complain about being confused for being a "part-time" National Guard family. She'd never even lived near a post. I think her husband was a recruiter. Anyway, I've actually experienced in real life people having expectations without any real experience. Fortunately, I had a pretty rich independent life (I refuse to say "adult") before marrying into the military, so at least it won't be so foreign to me when we are discharged from this place.

I think I can summarize transitioning out of the military as simply being weird!