Military Life

Before I met Abe, what I knew about the military was pretty ignorant... I didn't know much. Military life has been a lot better than I had imagined. Abe has had great jobs and for the past year and a half they paid him to get his Masters Degree. Can't beat that. We have felt very fortunate during these hard economic times to know that his job is not going anywhere. This is the first time that we have actually lived "on base". I have always been a little anti living on base, but it's not that bad. When people here ask where we live and we say "on base", I think they imagine we live in a tent or something. We don't. Here are some of the things I've come to learn about base-

-Every day at 7:30am Reveille (pronounced revily) plays on the loud speakers. I never really hear it unless I am already awake.
-Every day at 5pm the National Anthem plays; this is called retreat. If you are in your car, you are expected to stop and wait until it has finished. If you are outside, you are to stop, face the music and put your hand on your heart. Adeline and I were playing at the park one day when it went off. There were lots of kids there without an adult. But without fail, all the kids stopped what they were doing and did what they were supposed to. It's actually pretty cool. Adeline knows what to do now. If you come and visit us she will teach you :)
-Every night at 9pm Taps plays
-It's nice living close to everything. Abe's work is .5 mile away from our house. The commisary (grocery store) is cheap and convenient. The gym is really nice, FREE and is just down the street. It also has a family room so I can work out and bring my kids. There is a bowling alley and a couple places to eat on base. There is also a library, dog park, thrift store, BX (like Shopko), a bank, gas station, swimming pool, movie theatre, elementary school, etc.
-We went to "How to train your dragon" at the movie theatre on Friday night on base. It was really good! It cost us $8.00 for all four of us to get in. Adeline and Norah were free. What a deal! Before the movie starts they play the National Anthem and everyone has to stand up and put their hand over their heart.
-If you live on base here, preschool is going to be completely free. Starting this year the military is going to fund it.
-It's nice living on base because it's easier to meet people. Everyone is in the same boat.
-This is not a perk from living on base, but we have learned that Chick-Fil-A here gives a 50% discount to military. We also learned that we can park at a Coast Guard Station downtown for free instead of paying $20.

I feel like I am more patriotic now than I used to be. Last week I was leaving base and as I left, and bunch of cop cars and cars past me to get on base. It looked like the president was coming to visit. I called Abe to see what was going on. It was a Fallen Soldier Procession. On my way back on base I was two cars away from getting back onto base when they shut down the gates for the Procession. We had to wait about 20 minutes for it to start. By then there were probably 100 cars behind me trying to get on base. Every single person got out of their vehicles to stand for the soldier as they drove off base. Civilians, contractors and military all walked down to the street from where they were working to stand for the soldier. I couldn't help but cry and be thankful. It was a neat experience.

Before living on base, it didn't seem as "real" that Abe was in the military... except that he wears his uniform every day. I'm pretty sure living on base will be a good experience.