I’m not a über involved Army wife. I don’t attend many FRG meetings, I don’t host get togethers with other wives, and I don’t really know many of the people my husband works with. This isn’t anything that is different, I didn’t get involved heavily when Sam was in the Marines, and any other job he’s worked I’ve been the same way.

I’m ok with that. Being a social butterfly isn’t really my deal, and I prefer that his work stays as much at work as possible. It’s even more important to me in the military because it really has such an impact on our entire life. So he and I both agreed that being able to get away from military life when we can is important.

However, unlike the Marine Corps enlistment, Sam is making the Army his career. This means that we often do have to become more involved than we have before, and as he promotes and considers being an officer, being a part of things looks good on his end.

This year, I’m making some New Years Resolutions that involve my part of the military life. I feel like as we gear up for a reenlistment and a PCS (permanent change of station) move this year, I need to make Army life a bigger part of ours, if only to make it easier on us during separations and for Sam’s future.

Here are some of the things I’d like to do this year:

1. Attend more FRG meetings. I work from home so I don’t have the time to be a part of them, but I think we need to be at more than we were last year. It’s such a good place to get to know other families and their little ones.
2. Become more familiar with long term Army life. We have job hopped so often in our marriage that the thought of defining our life around the military actually makes me a bit – nervous. Our insurance, where we live, what my husband does, even our vacations.
3. Learn more acronyms. I know some, a heck of a lot more than I did when Sam was in the Marines. But still, he’ll come home and start talking and I have to ask over and over, “And that stands for…?”
4. Learn the ranks. I should really know this. But the Marines had different ranks, or the same but not the same # in the Army, and it’s just so confusing. Besides that, everyone seems to be called Sergeant that’s an E-5 and up.
5. Become ok with shortened friendships. It’s really, really hard for me to get to know someone that I know will be moving (or we will be moving) soon. I moved so often as a child that the easiest way to keep from missing someone was – not getting to know them. And that’s not ok. So my biggest goal over the next year and then some is to really work on being ok with a short but wonderful friendship that I would have missed out on.

Those are mine. Do you have any military related New Year’s Resolutions?