Men in Uniform

Men in Uniform. Oh, yeah. Everything that phrase sounds like in your head is exactly what it's like in real life. Trust me.

*Cue some jam from a chippendales routine*

Well, everything except one thing... dry cleaning.

Now that Superman wears two uniforms -- the Military, and the Blue -- my world personifies the sexy man in uniform (I must've done something right!) But it also means that we practically live at the dry cleaners. Every day we have a new patch to sew on, pants to take in, uniforms to clean, shirts to press...

So I'm spilling the dark side of  the "man in uniform" -- here it is:

Sexy is pain.

There. I said it. There's a lot of behind the scenes upkeep behind a man in uniform. And the Super household gets that times two!

Lately, the sweet messages I would get written by Superman have now been replaced by notes like this:

A not so subtle reminder to get my bee-hind to the dry cleaners or Superman will be pantless. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound all that bad to me...

Two Days and a Wake Up

I don’t know if hardship builds character, but character overcomes hardship.

In the civilian world, I'd scream: 3 more days until Superman comes HOME FOR GOOD!! But if you ask Superman, it's a little more exact than that. It's "two days and a wake up."  

It's been a wild few months. And even since we've moved back into our home in the Bean, (which has been less than a week), I still haven't had a second to breathe. And I probably won't until Friday. But there are a few things on my homecoming to-do list that I'd like to squeeze in:

• Confirm post-ceremony lunch
• Start new job (!!!!)
• Clean house (Easier to write than to do!!)

What's on your special "to-do" list for homecoming?  

Oysterfest 2011

Superman lost alot of weight these past couple of weeks. I've been feeding the man, I promise. But I can't seem to keep enough food in him to counter all the training he's been doing for the Academy.

Thankfully, this weekend -- our final weekend together before he starts the Academy -- we quit the running around, took a few days off from training, and laid back with our friends and family. This weekend also happened to be Oysterfest on the Cape. So what better excuse to hang with my old roommate Julie and her fun fam, and just...

EAT.

AND EAT...

AND EAT...

I think we did a proper sendoff for Superman as he embarks on the toughest 5 months of his life. 

This trip to Oysterfest was a year in the making. Julie and I planned my presence at Oysterfest since last October, and I really wanted to make good on that deal. The added bonus was that Superman was around to experience it too.

Oysterfest was everything I ever hoped it would be and more... and as always, the Ferro fam did not disappoint.

 I don't think we could've asked for a better way to spend the last free weekend we'll have in a while!

A Calm

It's easy in the Apple to bite off more than you can chew.

I recently came back from two conferences and have all these ideas for new projects shelved in my head. The disappointing part is that I haven't had time to put these new endeavors in motion. I'm itching. Aching. Begging. excited, to get started. But when? how?

A very smart Army wife once told me that the most productive people in the world are military wives whose spouses are deployed. No words rang truer.

But do we really need to throw our husbands' in the line of fire just so we can get some peace and quiet and productivity on the homefront? Okay, fire may be too extreme. And a year may be too long. And overseas may be too far. So the "deployment" cons may outweigh some of the pros. But I think you get what I mean here.

Let's face it. Some of our soldier boys feel a sense of excitement to get out their and do their thing. It's perfectly normal for spouses to, in some ways, feel that way too.

The truth is, sometimes, we do.

I'm starting to think that another alternative to the deployment/productivity scale... will be the Police Academy/productivity scale. Will it work? It better, or I'll just be miserable. We shall see in the next few weeks.

Superman leaves for the Academy then, and while I fear for his safety and well-being (seriously, the orientation proved these "other" men in uniform are no joke), I'm looking forward to that same "deployment" productivity I had when Superman-the-soldier deployed overseas.

While Superman was deployed overseas I held two jobs while in graduate school full-time. I lived on my own (with a pretty swell roommate) and racked up $0 in student loans. I received two fellowships. I surrounded myself with friends who kept me sane whenever, in between all of this productivity, I could hear the seconds tick. I never felt closer to them than I did then.

It sounds crazy saying it now, but I didn't feel a crazy rush to do everything all at once (though it looks like it). Instead, I felt this sense of calm and control over the things I knew I could accomplish with the time I was given to myself.

This time, Superman will be gone for six months. I know there's a lot to be done. A personal essay that is currently a blank page with a ticking cursor staring at me. Two websites to create. A few project wheels to put into motion.

I welcome the calm.