MilSpouse Friday Fill-in: 10 September, 2010

If it tickles your fancy, join in and read other responses at Wife of a Sailor!

1. Do you set goals for yourself during deployment?  What are some of them? (from Military Mommy)
Although I "met" Spike while he was deployed (again, thank you e-Harmony!), we haven't experienced a deployment "together" yet. If/when that happens, though, I've already decided that I want to try to write a Regency romance novel while Spike is gone (I started one last Christmas and have about 13 pages so far, as well as a tentative plot outline). I figure I could send it to him bit by bit as I write over the months, kind of like an old-fashioned newspaper serial. And if it's good enough, I could pick a fun pseudonym and try to publish it! That is, of course, if I don't work on and finish said book before the next deployment.

I also want to learn to play the violin (it's on my bucket list), so a deployment would be a good time to start lessons.

2. What would you say to someone dating a military guy or gal? (from Mothering Off the Cuff)
Already, I could probably write an entire thesis on that. Short version: Love is more powerful than fear. Find the positives in change. Remember that it's possible to grow together, no matter how far apart you are. Get ready to be prouder of someone than you ever have been in your life. (And be prepared to question whether your own career, no matter how much you love it, really makes a difference.) Just when you think you've seen every possible item in an ACU (for the Army, anyway) pattern, another one will pop up. Get ready for a steep learning curve. Also, there's a great support community on the blogosphere!

3. If you have children, how do you prepare them to move to a new place? (from The Random Ramblings of A Household 6)
No kids here yet. However, I have made a sad decision regarding my "furkid" Jasper and our upcoming PCS to Kansas. Jasper is a miniature pinscher I adopted a couple years ago. I love him to pieces and wish I could bring him with me, but the fact of the matter is that Jasper has what I call "Puppy PTSD." I don't know anything about the home he lived in before I adopted him from the Humane Society, but I do know that his experiences there left him with some major issues. Among them, he doesn't handle change or new people well at all. Since the spring of this year, he's been living with my parents and brother as I've flown back and forth to visit the Captain, and he--and they--are incredibly happy together. Mom, Dad, and Brother don't want Jasper to leave, and much as I'd like to have my buddy with me in Kansas, I know the whole experience would be incredibly stressful for him. (It took him well over year after I adopted him to become completely comfortable with his surroundings and with my family, and to start mellowing away from the worryingly high-strung end of the spectrum). Okay, enough blabbering. All that to say, I am NOT preparing my one dependent for a move to a new place. I do believe, though, that Spike and I will welcome a new furry friend into our home at some point!

Mom, Me, Dad, and the Jasper-man

4. Name one hobby that gets you through alone time.  (from My Sailor’s Mistress)
Reading. Always has, always will. In all but the most stressful situations, it's an easy matter for me to crack open a book and lose sight of everything going on in the "real" world, and I can happily stay in the fictional realm for hours. In fact, there were times in my childhood when fictional characters were better friends to me than any humans I knew! (Looking back, perhaps I have identified yet another reason for my social ineptness.) Currently I'm five fat books into the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Highly recommended!

5. What’s the one food you don’t ever get tired of? (from That Army Wife Life)
Mexican. Yum. Spike and I have found an amazing Mom and Pop Mexican restaurant here in town and we go at least once a week. To make things even better, it's painted lime green.

See? We love Julio's. (This was taken in the parking lot.)