Sunday, June 6, 2010

Sneak Peek: MilGirl Live and Learn

Ladies! I'm so excited to announce that tomorrow, we will have our FIRST MilGirl Live and learn right here on Semper Gumby the Life!

Just as a preview, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what the girls will be talking about EVERY MONDAY starting tomorrow!

Today, it's ME!

I'm Reina! But you already knew that.
Branch of Service: My Fiancee serves in the United States Marine Corps.

How is going from a civilian to a MilGirl different?: Obviously, the learning curve is HUGE. The mannerisms and the protocol freak me out the most.  I always get scared going through the base gate with him, even if I'm not doing anything wrong.  The biggest one is that you can't show affection while he's in uniform (except for in our engagement pics, above...).  Perhaps it's just the USMC because they take their uniforms VERY VERY seriously, but that's a hard one for me to get used to. I also didn't have to carry around a Marine to English dictionary with me before this guy!

How long have you been together/married?: We have been "together" physically in the same country since December 2008.  He was stationed in Okinawa prior to that.  We are getting married in September 2011! I am a lucky girl.

How did you meet your man? Was it before he signed his life away?: I actually met him for the first time before he was a Marine.  He says it was love at first sight but it took 2 years for me to get to that point.  By then, he was a Marine, in Japan and very very far away from me.  We skyped and IM-ed and emailed all the time.  He walked into a pole trying to text me (while he was "out with the guys").

Is the career military?: He most certainly is.  Currently he's enlisted but he is hoping to finish up the few last years of college to go through OCS (Officer Candidate School) and TBS (The Basic School)!  I think he would be a wonderful officer.  I know he'll be awesome also, having been enlisted himself. I am so proud of my Marine... Can't you tell?

What attracted you to him?  Was it the uniform?: Honestly, it probably WAS the uniform but not the fact that he was in the military.  Quite frankly, I was terrified of the military (since I didn't know anything about it).  But after getting to know him, his personality was exactly what I wanted: attentive, caring and goofy as all get up (like me!).


How did/does your family feel about him being in the military?: I don't think they are quite sold on it.  It's frustrating at times when I feel such an amazing sense of pride for what he does and what our military does to protect this country and they just don't get it.  To them, the military is an accessory to war.  That really gets me sometimes.  I don't like to say this too much because it portrays my family badly but honestly, they just don't get it. I think it's my fault for not taking the time to explain it enough.

Does the sexy uniform make up for all the crap that you put up with sacrifices that you have to make?: It does.  Hear me out.  The uniform is a recognition of the thing that he loves to do.  He is SO happy being a Marine.  He is SO proud every time he puts on his dress blues.  I am so proud every time he gets dressed in the morning... even his cammies.

Have your plans been messed up by the military?: Yes, minor plans have been messed up by the military.  But that's part of the reason I planned for our wedding to be during a time when he can't get orders that will take him away.  I know that they can do what is necessary for the unit or the country so I know I have to be proactive.

What's one piece of advice you wish you had received before joining the Military family?: There are several things that I wish I had.  They aren't necessarily words of advice.  They are people who are there to support you while you learn and make mistakes figuring out the military lifestyle.  It means taking advantage of the people and resources that are available to you to get to know people, to get to know the system.  That means you should learn the lingo.  Yep, there's lots of it.  Having the blogging world and twitter has been crucial to my integration in the Military community.  Thanks for your support!!

I know that being a girlfriend, it's always difficult... the future isn't always clear for you and your beau (unless you've both said "we're going to get married" and you know you both are committed to it).  It can be volatile and it can be a tenuous time.  Add in the chances of deployments, work ups, PCS (Permanent Change of Station aka moving to a different duty station)... It's quite stressful!  If you're able to have that conversation of where you both think your relationship is going is an important one to have...

Keep your eyes open for tomorrow as we launch MilGirl Live and Learn!

love,
Reina

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