Lately, I've been feeling like I'm back at CFB Gagetown in training to be an infantry officer. Let me tell you why:My back hurts. I think some people call this the "nursing mother's back." It hurts every day. It hurts more than it did when I had to hike around with a 60 pound rucksack in the blazing heat.
Sleep deprivation. Oh the sleep deprivation. Doing night patrols, fire pickets, and bug-outs in the middle of the night was torture. Getting up with a 10 week old every 2 hours during the night is torture. But at least with the infantry I could smoke a cigarette or have some Skoal to get my buzz on and keep me wired. Somehow I don't think keeping a spitoon next to my nursing chair (a rocker-recliner) for chewing tobacco spit would go over so well. Ick.
I have blisters on my feet. I got them all the time marching around in combat boots. Now I have them from overly ambitious stroller walks in a new pair of shoes. One on the back of each heel, plus one on each baby toe. Thankfully I've been able to go barefoot the past few days.
Eating fast. This was common when I was in the field with the infantry because there was always lots to do. These days it seems inevitable that if I cook a nice dinner, Duke will wake up to feed just before we sit down to eat it. I swear he has a sixth sense about these things.
General grubbiness. In the field with the infantry, we pretty much always had camouflage paint on our faces and dirt everywhere. I've traded camo paint and dirt for puke. Duke's a puker, and no matter how often I change my shirt throughout the day, I always seem to have puke on my shoulder. Even when I protect myself with a receiving blanket, he still catches me by surprise sometimes. I try to make daily showering a priority, but it's hard with a toddler as well. Treehouse TV is my saviour some days.
But despite all of this, I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything and I would never go back to the army. Having to switch to the air force was really a blessing because if I had continued as an infantry officer, I would have definitely had to deploy to Afghanistan at some point and leave my family behind. There's still a chance that I could deploy in the future when I go back to work (and I'm actually not opposed to deploying - even though it would be hard on my family), but my current job as a logistics officer is much less dangerous because it is a support position and not generally on the front lines.
But despite all of this, I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything and I would never go back to the army. Having to switch to the air force was really a blessing because if I had continued as an infantry officer, I would have definitely had to deploy to Afghanistan at some point and leave my family behind. There's still a chance that I could deploy in the future when I go back to work (and I'm actually not opposed to deploying - even though it would be hard on my family), but my current job as a logistics officer is much less dangerous because it is a support position and not generally on the front lines.
