Reasons I'm Glad I Don't Live Close To Base

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We have never lived near a military base. I have been with my husband for five years, so before that I didn't have any real experience with the military world. My husband on the other had two families in the military, his mom and her husband and his dad and his wife. So he has been surrounded by the military since birth.

For many reasons I wished we lived closer to base during our deployment and had more military friends around us. I think they understand in a way that other's can't the craziness of our life and it would be great to have a battle buddy! I've learned there are a few things that I'm glad I've missed about military life and the military community.

1) Dealing with mean military wives. I've heard about them from other military wives, I've seen them online, on Army Wives and in the movies. I'm glad I have not had to experience that crowd.

2) Being asked "So what's your husband's rank?" I've only been asked this a couple of times and not by other military spouses thank goodness. His rank is so off my radar that I kind of forget he's done pretty well for himself. I'm glad I have not had to be a part of the competitive nature of ranks. I've never had the "Enlisted vs. Officer" conversations.

3) Dealing with stereotypes about military wives. The only place I've heard about bad stereotypes about military wives is from military wives talking online about how awful they are. Not anything that plays into my world.

4) Being a young military girlfriend and wife. I don't know how well I would handle the stresses of dealing with the military when I was in my early 20s or being with someone at the bottom of the totem pole who was paying their dues big time to get going in the military. I salute young ladies who tackle all this at a much younger age than I did. Way to go girls.

5) Attending formal military events and social gathering. This is something I still don't feel comfortable with but luckily I have only had to attend one barbecue, one dinner, one Christmas Party and one formal. The formal was a disaster by the way. I'm not sure I'll even ever be able to tell you about it. I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it.

So yes, my military wife experience is not the norm it seems, but I've learned a lot by watching from within and from afar. How about you? Are there any facets of military life you're glad you've missed?