The Marine Corps is like a Box of Chocolates

   Forest Gump’s momma was so spot on. Life IS like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re going to get. The Marine Corps can tell your husband he’s going to so and so one day and less than 24 hours later you’ve done a back flip with 5 twists! How many times has this happened to you and your Marine? (I can’t speak from experience with the Army…but I’m guessing we’re in the SAME boat/tank/plane.) If you’re still a new spouse or girlfriend you may not have gotten the full effect of this fabulous game yet.



   Here is a WONEDERFUL example of what I mean: My husband went to the field for a course that lasted a month. About this same time we were due for orders and were told that we would be going to Japan. I was not so excited to be going back to Japan. I grew up in the military, my dad was in the Navy and we’d been stationed at Yakota AFB. By the time his month of training in the field was up I had dealt with moving to Japan and (GASP!) even become a tiny bit excited. My husband called me on his way home (at 3am) to let me know they were done and please don’t shoot him when he walked through the door (since I wasn’t expecting him home until the next afternoon). When he finally got home he told me that we would not be going to Japan. WHAT?!? I was kind of excited that now I don’t have to go there…but wait! Where ARE we going? Fort Knoxx!!!! A few weeks go by and low and behold we’re not going there either, we’re now going to Camp Pendleton for a deployment. This ended up being the last chocolate in our box, other than of course driving a U-haul and towing our car behind it by myself across country.



   You never know what life, or the military will give you. Unlike that box of chocolates though you can’t spit out the ones filled with French nougat and only pick out the caramel chocolates. For those of you facing your least favorite chocolate in the box know you’re not alone and you will make it to the caramels and peanut butter cups.