notjustamilitarywife

My husband’s not actually on TDY- he’s on permissive house hunting leave- but it amounts to the same thing: I’m home alone while he’s far away doing something (in this case, indirectly) related to the military.  My experience with the animals these past few days leads me to worry what things are going to be like when he’s off on REAL TDY or deployment.

First of all, the animals are all being super needy- which makes sense, since only one of their normal caregivers is here.  It’s been burdensome for me though.  The cats (2 in particular) have been constantly leaping into my lap and onto the desk while I’m trying to work, getting in the way, sticking their butts in front my my computer screen, sprawling on top of my notebook while I’m trying to write, and on and on.   Like typical cats, these guys have no concept of “no” and it never seems to faze them each time I dump them unceremoniously on the floor.  The just keep coming back.  Immediately.

But the part of cat ownership that just doesn’t work well with military life is that cats come alive at night.  My lazy little balls of fur who lie around passed out all day (usually on me, my lap, my desk, my chair, or my notebook, as previously discussed) will magically get an energy boost right when I’m trying to go to bed.  They run, chase, wrestle, and knock things down.  I’m always hearing suspicious cat-related noises from downstairs as I  drift into slumber.  And while I’ve never NOT felt safe in my neighborhood, there’s something about knowing I’m alone in the house that makes me jumpy.  When I’m half  asleep and I hear commotion downstairs, it’s hard not to be a little freaked out!  I know it’s always cats, but what about if I actually did have a home invasion, and I just brushed off the warning signs?  It’s hard not to worry just a little bit when you know you’re going to have regular periods of being ‘home alone’ for as long as your husband is in the service.  The other night, even though I knew it was ridiculous, I even got up and closed and locked the bedroom door after hearing a round of suspicious cat noises.

Of course, I had to open it up again within ten minutes, because there were five cats clawing at either side of the door, either to get in or to get out (the ‘in’ cats wanted out and the ‘out’ cats wanted in- in typical cat fashion).

After about a week of being here alone, though, the jumpiness has subsided a bit.  Maybe that’s the way it goes with deployments, too- you get used to it after a while.  Guess I’ll know for sure sometime in late 2009 or 2010 after Justin finishes all his training!

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