LIFESTYLE
LIVING ON THE O in more ways tha
I
t’s often said that the assumption of a typical military family is the husband as the breadwinner and the wife either at home providing leadership to the children, or on her own career path. Here’s a story by Sally Knox and her family with a difference…
We are a little unusual. My husband, John, is a stay at home dad while I work full-time in the RAF. This was a decision we made three years ago when our youngest turned one and my maternity leave ended. John had served 24 years and was eligible for a pension, so we decided that he would leave to give stability to the family, and I would stay in and become the ‘bread-winner’. We like to think we are organised and make decisions based on logic, but oh my goodness, that first year of life-swap was tough. Not helped by the fact that two months after I handed over mummy-duties to John and I was on an aeroplane to the middle east for a six-month deployment. It was a roller coaster of emotions, not helped by the fact that I felt huge guilt at not being a proper mummy (not helped by comments from other mums telling me how they could never do what I was doing to my children) and it seemed no one could accept that being ‘just a dad’ was fulfilling enough for John. Comments like, “yes, but what are you going to do?” and “won’t you be bored?” happened a lot. Always struck me as funny how being a mummy is fulfilling enough for a woman, but not seen as satisfying enough for a man! But we made it through, not just the six months but also the change in lifestyle.
Having finally, after two years, settled into a semblance of a routine, I had a meeting with my desk officer. He asked if I fancied an exchange tour to Australia. I, of course, said yes immediately. Being a married man himself, he suggested that I should at least discuss it with John. Realising he was probably right, John and I talked (lots) but decided that an opportunity like this comes up once in a lifetime, and we would regret it if we did not take it up. So, the massive pack-up begun…what to take? Do Australians have Christmas trees? Does it get cold? Do we need hats and gloves? Sallopetes or not? Can I get M&S style knickers for the kids, or do I need to take a tour’s worth of pants? How likely am I to die from a snake bite? Will a shark get me if I am just paddling to my knees? Seriously, giant squids?!?
I was determined that we would make the most of our travel over, and we stopped for 36hrs in Kuala Lumpa. We took a taxi (and our life in our hands) and went to Chinatown. Determined to enjoy Malaysian culture, we bought street food. The kids refused to eat it, but we made them, threatening them with no ice-cream later. Oh, how we regretted it. The baby started throwing up at 1 am the next morning, and continued for the next 24 hours. This included the 86th floor of the Petronas Towers and the 12 hour flight into
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Envoy Winter 2014
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