TV (and some other stuff too)

Since coming back to the states, I have discovered what TV is supposed to be like. In Germany, we only have the Armed Forces Network. The shows that we see are provided at little or no cost at all to the military, and so our shows are constantly changing. We didn't get American Idol until a day after and other shows like it were always a little late. I didn't really care that much about that. I did watch a lot of movies while I was there.

When we arrived at our hotel here, it was amazing how many channels there were!! I could watch Law and Order almost anytime I wanted. The kids had good shows on almost all day. (we were in a hotel for two months. unfortunately there isn't a whole lot to do in a hotel room with two little kids and no car) We watched the History channel, Matt discovered Man vs. Wild, and I found What not to Wear. Since then, I have discovered many other shows.

In the last few weeks, I have discovered Burn Notice. Now, I watch this one purely for the enjoyment of watching good looking people. The acting is pretty good, and I do like the story line that ties it all together. For me, its kind of like an almost Jason Bourne, but without all the baggage.

The other one that I have recently found is Army Wives. Now, being an Army wife, was what first got me to watch it. There are several things that I find are true about the show. When things happen, it should be your unit that is there to help you out. When a family member is having problems, or the family needs help the FRG is supposed to be there to help. (officially the name is Soldier and Family Readiness Group, but usually it is just referred to as Family Readiness Group. Which doesn't really seem right for all of the single soldiers out there.....)
And from what I've seen on the show, what goes on amongst the wives, does seem about right. There can be and is a lot of gossip about people. There are also great friends to be made. And people that were family to us when we were overseas together. As I have only been an Enlisted wife, I really don't know much about being an Officers wife. Hopefully, it won't be much different than what I have done in the past. I have a very good friend who's husband is a commander of a unit. And the part that she plays is huge within the unit. It really does become like all of you are married to the military. There are a lot of people that cheat on spouses while either their husbands are deployed, or while the husbands are deployed they cheat too. And it is really hard on the wives when their husbands are new to the service, and they don't know anything about anything. I like how they show that on the show with Roxy's character.

For me, being an army wife hasn't been easy at all. Matt has had to be gone a lot. I gave birth to Andrew without Matt being there (he met his son when he was five weeks old) and sometimes the short notice on things has been a hassle for us to rearrange our lives. Chain of Command doesn't always work how it should. People do not give you the information that you need. It is so different than any other job in the world. At the same time, Matt has had opportunities that he would never had access to outside of the military. Being able to be in Physicians Assistant school is huge for him. He was able to perform with the United States Army Europe Band and Chorus, and he has traveled to Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Iraq, and to Washington DC. He took advantage of the online classes and other college options, and got himself accepted into the PA program. We have amazing health care. I could keep going , but you would all get bored....

I have always been proud to be American, (as much as I LOVE France, I do still want to be American) but I didn't really feel it until my husband and I made the decision to join. I have another friend, and her husband recently joined the Air Force, and she made the same comment to me.

TV shoes are usually just for entertainment, and sometimes for educating people. But sometimes they put thoughts into your head. If you watch Army Wives, just keep in mind that if something seems a little strange, maybe how involved Claudia Joy is with her husbands job, or how some husbands are gone a whole lot, believe that those things are true. And if you have a question about the reality of living it, you can always ask me. I'm pretty honest about it.

And if you live in a place where there isn't any active duty military, I hope you can understand a little more about our lives by my blog. It was so foreign to me when we first joined, and I was very ignorant about a lot of things. But if I can help change that for others, that would make this blog worth while, just for that.