Why I Love Mr. Man's Job:

I am not talking about the Air Force in general. I am talking about the shop he is currently in. I freaking love it. Sometimes I do complain, and then something hits me in the face and I always wonder how in the world I ever complained over such small things. 

First off, since Mr. Man has been back so much has happened. He is cherished in his shop, and it shows. To top it off, we get along with everyone! And they have actually (from day 1) have taken the time out to get to know me as his wife. It's amazing when there is actually a strong bond between everyone in the work environment. It's nice on my side because since Mr. Man is such a hard worker, we are spoiled. The last shop he was in, which was for about a year when we got here, never once let him take leave. Wait, I lie. He took leave once when my family came up to visit right before he was about to change shops. I think they would have given him leave if he would have tried harder, but they were selfish and Mr. Man never wanted anyone to suffer or work overtime. Still doesn't to be honest. But thankfully, everyone does their job in this new shop and everyone is willing to pull others' slack when leave, travels, emergencies, anything approaches. They do favors for one another. 

I guess this comes from being part of the best of the best. I mean, it's not the best of the best realistically. I do not mean that,  but one definitely can not just get this job by being AMMO. They have to go through training and special duties in order to get it. Most of the time you have to be chosen. Now, there are times where they just need people because they are undermanned and they will start pulling whoever, whatever they need. Thankfully this has not happened to Mr. Man's shop. The fact that they are all Sergeants (for the most part) helps out a lot, too. They work together as a team versus playing the rank game. Mr. Man is actually the lowest ranked one in there, but he is still able to call some shots, which is amazing for me on the outside world. Their professionalism and hard work totally shows through. I love it. 

Another awesome thing is they let people pick and chose their TDY's and training dates. With TDY's they generally will ask for volunteers and normally someone will raise their hand and take it. Now if no one takes it, then they will pick and chose themselves. For training dates, they will work with your schedule. I have never once ever told Mr. Man he could not go on a TDY. He is generally the first one to throw his hand in the air and commit to it. I never have a problem with this, which leads to what I am about to tell you.

Mr. Man has been back from Afghanistan for about 2 and half months. Just this past week they had opening dates for a training he needs to do out in California. He was approved for the dates. It all works out for us because he leaves when I start my next set of classes, which I am doubling up. And he gets back right as it calms down, and I should be in the groove of things. Perfect timing. Not to mention, if he did not take this date, he could have been slotted for a mock deployment in Iceland for 3 months, which he would have missed the holidays. He came home last night and told me that, and I actually felt bad. I asked him if he could change his training dates to a later time and go to Iceland. I immediately knew I would go visit because I would love to go to Iceland. Mr. Man did not want to do that since he was originally suppose to go on this training when he first got here 2 years ago. Not to mention, we do miss each other and still have lots of catching up to do. I can not blame him, and of course I would prefer being separated from him for 2 to 3 weeks versus 3 months. But the fact that we could probably work it out if we he wanted to is pretty amazing in my eyes.

Right as I began fussing about  his nights to swings to days escapade, all this gets thrown our way. Is God not on our side? It's quite amazing how things work out. It's like our lives from the beginning put itself in its own place without us having to make much effort. We are truly blessed in the lives we live.

I will never forget the day Mr. Man found out he was getting a shop change. He was not a happy camper. He wanted to "actually do work." He wanted to be hands-on building bombs and not filing paperwork, sending out jobs, and keeping track of all the parts - sitting behind a computer. He wanted to commit to putting them together like he did before. I was ecstatic when he told me. I was tired of all the drama and other bull mess that happened in his last shop that I did not care where he went. I just knew it had to be better than where he was. I was right! And now he is grateful for this experience and is content with being where he is. He has grown a passion for what he does, and he realizes how important that job is to the squadron. It amazes me how selfless he is and everyone he works with.

The leave side of it. Since he has been in this shop, which has been a little less than a year, he has taken leave twice successfully. One was for Italy, which was 2 weeks, and the other is for Ireland, which will be 4 days. Seriously, this is amazing! I am thrilled. I am happy. I am thankful. I am blessed. We are all of these. It makes me look back, reexamine ourselves, and realize that we are truly blessed. In this shop, the "not-so-fun" moments turn into the most spectacular and exciting moments in our lives. Memories that will last forever, and we will cherish forever.

So today, I take a promise with myself to never, ever, ever fuss about his crazy schedule or long hours. Because in the end, that one sacrifice gives us unlimited experiences.