Well, it's our last night in Montgomery. I have to admit, I never thought I'd become so attached to a place so foreign to me. I'm from Iowa. What do I know about the South?! Did I become attached to the place or the people...probably a combination of both.
We headed to Maxwell for an exciting new job - SOS squadron commander. Yikes! Yeah, that was scary. Were we really old enough to be squadron commander/spouse? I'm nowhere near being one of those spouses better known as "the hostess with the mostest". Was I ready to be the one that other spouses called if they needed something?
For some reason I've always been more interested in the "job" portion of my husband's assignment rather than the "spouse" portion. I used to be able to tell you how many fire extinguishers there are on a C-130 and where they are located...I used to be able to chum a chart...I knew all the Ft. Bragg drop zones and the difference between CDS and HE. I never had a huge desire to sit around with other spouses and drink coffee or make small talk.
However, the spouses I met here at Maxwell were something different. Most of them were...for lack of a better term, "non-expecting". I don't know if that's really a word or not, but it's what fits. They didn't expect me to be "all that". They weren't wearing white gloves to anything...thank God! They were just regular spouses who were doing their best to support their Airman. I found that to be true of most of the spouses I ran into at Maxwell, not just those in our squadron/school...like our AF friends from TKD and our neighbors here on base. It was relaxing and refreshing to just be friends...not being outcast or avoided because my husband's job title was squadron commander.
It's going to sound like I'm switching gears here, but I need to take an aside...
The one thing I've learned in my 19+ years of AF life is that it's easier to NOT say goodbye to people. I don't mean the "our paths will cross again" type of goodbye...I'm talking about the "go to dinner/hugs/pictures/etc" type of goodbye. This our 9th PCS. There was a time when we made it a point to make sure to find everyone and say a "proper" goodbye. They were nice, but they were so painful. Somewhere along the line, we missed saying goodbye to someone and it felt a little bit easier. You're talking to a person, knowing in the back of your mind that it will probably be the last time you see or talk to them, but you don't mention it and you go on about your business as if you'll see them again tomorrow. It sounds so cold in black and white, but it works so much better for me.
So, for those of you that may not have gotten a "proper" goodbye from me, please don't take it personally. I'm being slightly selfish. Thanks for understanding.
