the uniform is more than sexy

a few years ago, captain j and i went to a near by military supply store to get his first set of uniforms in preparation for boot camp. we got home and he immediately put it on. we giggled. we weren't used to it and it felt like he was playing dress up. i thought out loud that i apparently didn't have a thing for uniforms because it was doing nothing for me, and then he put it away hoping that when he got to boot camp someone would show him how to wear everything before he embarrassed himself.



after boot camp, came the move to hawaii where he had his first real position. we were flung into the military life, which means we saw the uniform everywhere, all the time. captain j goes to work in full uniform every work day. i shop and eat at places where about half the people are in uniform. it's become everyday to us.



in the beginning, i could tell captain j was self conscious whenever we went to a civilian public place and he was in uniform. but over the course of two years, that thought has nearly disappeared. we often wander around with him in uniform in places where he's the only one. so we get surprised now by some of the reactions to his uniform.



first, i think it's valuable to note that there hasn't been one negative reaction. not one. well, unless you count kids. they get anxious around him sometimes, and noah doesn't understand why. he tells them "don't cry. that's just my daddy." when i tell him that the kids are crying because they are scared of daddy's uniform. other than that, the reactions have been only positive. the ones we talk about are the ones that are TOO positive.



captain j was in a grocery store once and a random guy asked for his autograph. we got a good chuckle out of that one. there are people who spontaneously and suddenly look at him and say "thank you!" very loudly. there have been people who just walked over and handed captain j cookies or candy with a smile. one lady even applauded for him (i guess) really near his face out of no where. and then, there are the people who gives us extra perks just because they see my man in his army gear.

like, when we were flying out of LAX in october. we checked in only to find that the line to get through the security check was a mile long. i kid you not. people were complaining that they slowly made their way to the front in a journey that took over an hour. we considered ourselves lucky, because if you have babes in strollers, you take an elevator upstairs and bypass about 2/3 of the line. but still, there was disneyland ride style waiting going on. we were patiently waiting, when all of a sudden, a guy in the black and white TSA uniform loudly said "sir! sir!" while looking at my husband in uniform. when we looked, he gestured that we should step through to the front of the line. we kind of looked around to make sure he was talking to us, then timidly walked forward, embarrassed and wondering how we came about this good fortune when there were others with babies in line too. then it clicked. captain j was in uniform. suddenly, his uniform was very sexy to me.

honestly, when this stuff happens, it's humbling. we don't feel different than anyone else. we're just trying to get through life too, and it just so happens that right now captain j has a uniform that he has to wear to do it. at the same time, whenever that sort of thing happens, i feel the weight of expectation from people. what captain j is doing isn't JUST a job. even though i feel like he goes to work for the paycheck and other good things that come from being employed, it's times like these that i'm forced to see what other people see. that captain J is doing this for the benefit of the people who have volunteered to be the human barrier from danger for our country (whether they're actually being used for this purpose right now, i agree, is questionable...but still, that's their purpose). everyday he goes to work and helps our soldiers and families DEAL with life during this war. he will be doing the same on a way more intense level while being there himself soon........ i am amazed by how well he handles all that he does. there is just so much to do and not enough him, and yet he comes home with a smile on his face, ready to do his part in this family. he does a good enough job at home, that sometimes i forget what he's hearing at work.

anyways, all this is to say, that although i was a reluctant military wife, i am fast becoming one incredibly proud of her man and all the other men and women in uniform. Whether they are in it for the money or education, even if it was their individual choice to commit, they did so knowing that some sort of danger they did not have to face was inevitable. they are taking one for the team. even so, it's sometimes strange to be thanked when there are so many others who do difficult things in our society too.

we have 3 or so weeks left. it would drive me crazy to dwell on that, so i find that i don't. instead, i kind of skip over the year in my brain when i think about our life together. 2009 will happen. i've set some lofty goals for myself to keep busy and help the time past (will share soon.) and if the speed at which 2008 pass is any indication, soon enough, i'll be talking about getting back to "normal" life (well, as normal as you can get when you have 4 months back home before a move to another country coming up) when we are warm and cozy, back together again.

and yes, after the LAX incident, i have joked that captain J should wear his uniform everyday, ALL the time. i mean, would it work at baskin robbins, during black friday and at disneyland? that would totally rock.