On Being a Housewife in a Military Community

I know I'm leading a charmed life, which I very much appreciate. With that said, Will and I discuss my getting a part-time job, mainly to keep both our sanity intact. I'm not getting one right now because I want to be home with Wil to take care of him after his surgery. Those who know me, and remember you love me because of this, know that I can't sit still for long. For the past month, I have been so busy quitting my job, getting the house ready for our move, and actually getting situated in a whole new country. Now all of the sudden, I really don't have to do anything. ALL DAY LONG. I can sleep in until noon if I wanted to, which Mom, I don't. The first week here it feels sort of like a vacation because Wil is off work a lot and gets to spend most of the week with us. Then the reality sets in and he becomes very busy at work with getting the field exercise ready. I take that well, at first, and decide to try my hand at some housewife duties, namely cleaning the house, doing the laundry, walking and fluffing the dogs, getting a very healthy lunch and dinner ready for my Beloved, and looking fabulous when he gets home. Well, all that apparently doesn't take more than 4-5 hours a day. I was about to lose my mind a couple of weekends ago when Wil had to work over the weekend and I already walked from one corner of town to the other. Now I've never been the type to depend on anyone, so it takes some getting used to having to rely on my husband for everything. I am convinced that I can not be the only bored newcomer in town and start looking around for what there is to do. I must commend the effort that Baumholder community putting into taking care of their soldiers and family members. Family Readiness Group (FRG) here is phenomenal. FRG, for those of you non-military, is basically a way for the Army to ensure that family members are taken care off, informed by the actual facts and not gossips, problems are taken up through the chain of command, and for spouses to be there for each other as well as their soldiers. Normally, FRGs are very active when soldiers are deployed but here it becomes almost like a support group. The wives have "battle buddies," those they can call on when the guys are downrange, the kids are driving them crazy, and they just need someone to take care of them for a change. Army Community Services or ACS also provides wide array of programs to help spouses cope with their new living situation, make friends, and keep busy. For example, starting tomorrow through the rest of the week, I will be in a program to help integrate new community members. We'll learn some conversational German and customs, some history of Baumholder, take a field trip to Idar-Oberstein to have lunch and learn to order like we live here, learn to buy train tickets, and generally mingle with those who are in the same plight as moi. Then if the weather holds, Wil and I might go rent mountain bikes at our Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facility (MWR). MWR here is fantastic. They offer very cheap and fun trips and loads of activities, if people will only use it. We went to sign up for a Rhine River Cruise trip last week (drinking and boating seem a tad dangerous even though we are not operating the boat) but found that we were the only two that were interested. Sad. I'm hoping that the Mosel Valley Wine Tasting at the end of the month is a go. But things are a little quiet since most soldiers will be in the field. I'm not in the mood to go to the Black Forrest and tour cuckcoo clock factory just yet, so that trip is on hold for me. But the possibilities are endless, really if people would sign up. I guess I'm not the norm here, as in I'm almost 30 and without two-legged children. Ok, this post is long enough to keep you dizzy for a while. The weather has finally calm down some and it actually feels like a breezy spring day. I'm gonna go for a long walk, again.