You knew what you signed up for...

As a Navy Wife, you're sure to hear one thing. There are other things you'll hear, too. But at least once, especially if you say your husband's deployed or out to sea, you WILL hear "You shouldn't complain because you know what you signed up for."

I've never complained about my husband being gone. It gives me a chance to do what I want, when I want, within reason and within the law lol. Too, I have 2 kids, so it's really "what I wanna do when I have time cuz I have 2 kids." Usually it means I can take my boys to the zoo or to the store without a hassle.

But I've also known people who have had it said to them. Yes, chances are they knew what they were getting into when they signed the dotted line allowing their husband to join. Or if he joined before they got married, chances are they didn't know. You aren't always there when he signs up for the military.

What if the wife didn't know. This really COULD be the case. If their husband had a recruiter like mine, anyway. You know the kind...spews whatever garbage outta his pie hole to get you to sign. He told my husband and myself that the Navy's changed since my dad went in. That now the ships NEVER go to sea for any more time than 2 weeks at a time. My husband believed him, so he got a rather rude awakening when he made it to his ship. I, however, knew better than to trust a recruiter, because the Navy hasn't changed all THAT much.

But what if the wife (and husband) hadn't grown up in the Navy like I had. What if they just believed that the Navy was that way (or Army, Marines, Air Force, but I'm using the Navy as example since we're Navy). What if they really didn't think ships went out for more than 2 weeks at a time. They'd be rather surprised when their husband went out to sea for 9 or so months. These women do NOT need to hear "You know what you signed up for" because no, they didn't.

The ones that knew their husband would be gone for long stretches of time, yes, they "knew what they were signing up for." But does that mean you have the right to tell them? Sure, you'd probably like to inform them of something they obviously had NO idea about (sarcasm here), but you shouldn't. She has a right to complain about her husband being gone. She has a right to miss him. She has a right to want him home. She doesn't tell YOU, the civilian wife, that "you know what you signed up for" when your husband works late, or has to work the weekend, does she? Probably not.

The moral of the story? NEVER tell a military wife "you know what you signed up for." Because there's always the chance that no, she didn't know.