You Know You’re a Military Family When…

We had some fun with this topic over in my Instagram stories, but I knew I wanted these answers to last longer than just 24 hours. The actual prompt was: Tell me you’re a military family without actually saying that you’re a military family.

We’ve been a military family for just about 15 years, so we resonate with every single one of these; and more than a few made us actually laugh out loud.

I hope you’ll find yourself laughing and nodding along with these answers, too.

So, without further ado, here are more than two dozen answers from fellow military spouses!

You Know You’re a Military Family When…

You know your spouse’s social better than you know your own.

Your family just assumes you won’t be home for the holidays.

You accidentally use a zip code from more than three moves ago.

Laundry piles are lights, darks, and green.

Your husband gets a “medium fade ” once a week.

You celebrated all of the holidays in August because your husband won’t be home for the actual holidays.

You’re living without furniture for three months (and counting)…

Having your life and plans out of control was the norm long before Covid.

You have, like, 20 past saved addresses on Amazon.

You write down plans in pencil.

Your husband’s boss comes over to fix something since your husband is (inevitably) out of town.

Your husband’s hair doesn’t touch his ears.

You’ve found a moving sticker three years later, and you’re about to move again.

You have colorful moving stickers on all of your furniture legs.

You have three kids born in three different states.

You don’t know any of your spouse’s co-worker’s first names.

Your husband’s ID is from New York, but his home of record is Texas; and your ID is from New Mexico, but your home of record is in Georgia.

Your daughter just turned six, but has lived in four cities, three states, and two countries.

You hear your kid say, “Mom, it’s almost 5 o’clock, pull over!”

You have to think of where you were during a certain year. “Were you here or were you gone?”

Your car tags are for one state, your drivers license is for another, and your spouse’s car is already on its way to another country.

In all the years you’ve been married you’ve lived in five homes in four different states.

You don’t know what tomorrow holds, and it’s not because it’s just a new day.

A DD214 is why you have insurance.

Your kid can’t remember what state/country they were born in.

Every summer your kid asks when they’re moving again.

You ask an almost complete stranger if they’ll be your emergency contact.

The military lingo starts rolling off your tongue without batting an eye; you know exactly what BAH, LES, OCONUS, OPSEC, and FRG mean.

Your spouse moves before you, buys a house, and you join them several months down the line.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong when your spouse is away.

You say, “See ya later,” because it’s never “Goodbye.”

The “Best Day Ever” isn’t going to Disney. It’s the day you get that welcome-home hug after not seeing your favorite person for a weekend (a week, a month, a year).

Are You a Military Family?

It’s your turn! Tell me you’re a military family without actually saying that you’re a military family. Keep an eye out, because I’ll add your answer to this post.