It's Not Him, It's You Too

About a week or so ago I was talking to a fellow new Army wife and she told me a story that made me laugh a little but also made me realize that everything you do as an officers wife reflects on your officer.

This is how the story went (to the best of my memory), and like me, my friend does not live directly on post:

I was driving on post to go to the gym and run some other errands and soon after I was done I heard police sirens. It turns out I was getting pulled over for speeding, going 7, or maybe 10ish, over the 30 miles per hour speed limit. When the female office got came to my car and asked for my traditional ticket information she then looked at me and asked if I was an officers wife. I told her yes and that is when a switch flipped and she started going off on me. 

She started yelling, well it seemed like yelling, at me for the fact that I am an officers wife and that not only do I get in trouble they have to report my ticket to my husbands commanding officer, getting him in trouble as well. She then went on to remind me about Army wife etiquette and that what I did as his wife sometimes reflected more on him then what he does the majority of the time.

At this point I am balling and so worried about this getting back to his commander. The officer gave me one more verbal slap on the wrist and I headed home, not speeding of course. As soon as I got home I called my husband and left a message on his phone, he was in the middle of flight line at the time, and told him about the incident. A few hours later he called me back and told me as son as he had time he went to his commander and told her about the situation and that she would be hearing it from the department soon. He said the commander smiled a little and just said something along the lines of "she must be new to this life," and told him to remind me once again that she is being watched at all times too.

I was so relieved that he did not get in trouble and happy but a little upset that, she to, found it a little amusing. In the end I am never or even getting close to speeding or maybe even doing anything on post.

After she told me this story I couldn't help but smile to and reflect back to what my husbands college ROTC commander and his wife told me. "You alone, as a military spouse, can make or break your husbands career."

It is 100% true, every step, every connection, every everything I do connects me back to him. I am so happy that I was warned about this before I married the military, especially after hearing that story and knowing I was not the one that had to learn that lesson the hard way.