Implications of Living Army

Wes has been TDY for weeks, and because of the sensitivity of his current mission, he has no idea when he will be back home. I've been vague with explanations about his absence; he has missed tournaments, weekends with friends, and the day-to-day routines. Last weekend a civilian friend of ours asked how Wes was doing and then tried to casually ask if everything was okay between us. In other words, he was trying to figure out if we were separated. I wasn't offended in the least. Instead, I was surprised how little civilians, even civilians that we consider close friends, understand about our lifestyle. Wes and I have spent more nights apart than together in sixteen years of marriage. This is normal for us, but I fail to remember that it is not the norm for everyone. We are living Army.

What do children of a criminal investigator play in their free time? Well, besides basketball, football, and Nerf Wars? A murder mystery game called "Police Chief" of course. The boys have invented a game, similar to the board game Clue, where one person is killed. The person in the role of police chief must determine who did it. In order to play the game, though, you must have witnesses. This game can only be played when we have company (aka witnesses), and because my mom and dad make for colorful witnesses, they always get asked to play. After multiple visits to our house and multiple requests to play "Police Chief", my parents think my boys have an unhealthy fascination with death scenes and murder. I have no other explanation except to say we are living Army.