Very Very First Impressions

Our First Christmas, Washington, PA

Tim and I spent our first four months on a farm in PA. It was wonderful. We had a sweet little farm house, a duck pond, wonderful neighbors, a loving church, and Tim had a job working for a man in the church. We were so excited to have an active part in a good church - it was something we'd talked about a lot before we were married. It was really strange to move somewhere where I knew no one. Even with the knowledge that God sent us here, provided a place for us to live, and gave us a mission, it felt terrible!

Not Allowed to Smile?

After we moved to Virginia, one of our first errands was to change my driver's license from Mayfield to Horner. When it was time to pose for my picture, I smiled. "Please maintain a neutral expression," the lady behind the counter stated in an automated voice.

Military Mamas - Watch Out!

On our first Saturday, we decided to check out the Commissary on Quantico Base. "They should have GOOD PRICES," Tim said. Apparently, that's what every other Military Mama in the state of Virginia thought as well. It was packed. I felt pretty insignificant as I tried to wield my cart around the more experienced Mamas. They pushed one cart loaded with food, and lugged another piled with kids.

On the second Saturday, I told Tim I didn't want to shop at the Commissary.
"Why not?" he asked.
"It's so crowded," I said.
"Not more that any other store on a Saturday."
"The aisles are so small," I pleaded.
"They have GOOD PRICES."
"I don't like the atmosphere!!!" I was grabbing. "Nobody there smiles at me."
"They don't anywhere else," he replied.

While Tim took care of some other business, I entered the Commissary, list in hand. I just needed the basics: white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, garlic... I found the sugar aisle, but couldn't find the garlic aisle. Then I spotted a Military Mama. Yes, these ladies emanate confidence and security. Cross them, and they'll pull a gun on you.

"Do you shop here a lot?" I asked her.
"Well..."
"Could you tell me where the garlic is?"
She handed me a visual map of the store and plotted the coordinates of the garlic and onion aisle.

"Did you find the garlic?" She asked me a few minutes later.
"Yes," I answered.
And she actually smiled at me.

"L" is for Lost...

A few minutes later Tim caught up with me.
"Uh, did you notice what cart you're using?" he asked.
I looked down at my blue plastic cart. Then I looked at everyone else. They had silver metal shopping carts.
"You pulled the shopping cart over from the MCX," he pointed out.
I tried to act nonchalant as I waited for the big red "L" painted on the back of my shirt to dry.

Meeting the Neighbors

I decided to visit some of my neighbors during week one. After all, Tim was gone from 5am to 8pm or later. I didn't want to be cut off from all humanity.

Neighbor One was friendly and invited me in, so we sat on the couch and talked a while. She and her ex were trying to make another go of it, and they had a three year old that was more than somewhat active. "So you all must be pretty quiet people," she told me, after talking a while. Well, we don't smoke, drink, or play rap music, so I guess we are pretty quiet.

Neighbor Two was also friendly. Her husband was also a Marine. We talked about getting together sometime for lasagna.

I ventured downstairs to bring some brownies to another neighbor. I knew that someone was home, because I could hear noise there. "Come in," a man shouted when I knocked. I cautiously pushed open the door and said "hello." Neighbor Three was sitting on the couch playing video games. He lived there with his girlfriend, but she was at work. He was friendly also and said to come by if we needed anything.

Not Allowed to be Friends?

An officer's wife told me not to be upset if it seemed like my enlisted neighbors' wives seemed like they didn't want to spend time with me. She said it meant that they were probably afraid of fraternizing. I asked Tim, my All Knowing Source of Wisdom Regarding things Scientific, Mathematical, Military, and Maternity, if it would be fraternizing to eat with my neighbor ladies. He didn't think so. He said as long as I acted like an officer's wife and remembered that I represent the Corps, it was okay if I ate with them, or helped out with their kids.

Our First Sunday

In addition to a relationship with Christ, I really appreciate Christian fellowship. Our first Sunday, we ventured to a church Tim's friend Kyle told him about. "It's great," he said. "Traditional preaching, traditional music... I think you'll like it."

Talk about Christian fellowship. The church was bigger than my hometown.

We went to the "Young Marrieds" class, along with our young-single-but-hoping-not-to-be-soon friend Kyle. There were about seven other couples, crammed into a very small classroom. Most of them were also military people. And so was our Sunday School teacher - a retired Colonel, in fact.

"Hey, you guys need to meet Paul and Sarah," Colonel Johnson told us. "He's at TBS, also." Sarah and I talked until our husbands demagnetized us.

"Hey, you guys need to meet this other couple," Colonel Johnson told us after the morning service. "They're here for TBS also."

Sarah, Meredith, and myself talked until our husbands demagnetized us. We decided to get together for supper Friday evening.

If You Want to Make Friends, Pray for Someone to Lose their Keys in Your Purse

I was (and am) still a little overwhelmed from the bigness of the church. I was glad we'd met two couples, but we still had a long way to go. I prayed that we would be able to meet some more people, because it just felt wrong to leave church without talking to anyone.

I was talking with Meredith when Jen came up and asked us if we wanted to do dinner sometime. While we were talking, a little girl started fiddling around with a purse on the pew. She left, and I turned and saw Tim holding some keys and looking at me.

"Is that your purse?" Tim asked me.
Yes, it was.
"I think someone just lost their keys," he said. "That, or God just provided a new car for us."
He started asking people whose keys they were. We were finally directed to Mike and Jen H. Tim gave them their keys, and we spent a while talking with them. They were also former military, and quite friendly.