Pro’s and Con’s of Being a FireWife

I actually wanted to title it Con’s and Pro’s, but that just wasn’t rolling off the tongue when I tried to say it.  I know I won’t be able to come up with near as many con’s so I’m going to start with that list first.

I had a visitor on the fanpage that had a lot of questions. She’s not a firewife yet, but her husband has been talking a lot about it.  It was wonderful because it’s led to my throwing no less than 6 ideas into draft here for later blogging! WOOHOO inspiration is sweet. Oh, it also got me started thinking about a niche site, but that is a whole other topic and I’m trying to curb that “start another site” beast. No no no, bad Val for the thought.

I’m going to be smart and not even pretend that I’ll keep this short, sweet or stay-to-the-point.  I just have a feeling it may be impossible so I won’t start off with a lie.

Con’s of being a firefighter’s wife:

1. Last minute OT.
2. Going to sports games and other family events without him.
3. Eating alone some nights.
4. Sleeping alone some nights.
5. He may not be home after the kids great day, game, or dance to hear the details immediately.
6. It’s truly high school, he-said-she-said crap at times.
7. Everything breaking, falling apart or people trying to break in ONLY when they are working.
8. You will listen to everything fire 24/7 at all events, fire related or not. Even when at our parents houses it turns to fire, EVEN MY PARENTS HOUSE. My brother is now (as of 3 weeks ago) fire at the prison. Hmm, was I meant to be a firewife or what?

Pro’s of being a firefighter’s wife:

1. Last minute OT. Pays for so much fun and I rarely have stuff I can’t rearrange or go without him.
2. Sometimes he gets out of going to family things we’d prefer not to go to lol
3. Some nights I don’t have to care at all about food and we eat a lot of leftovers.
4. Some nights I get the WHOLE Cali-King to myself
5. When the kids are in school we get to go on lunch dates (so much cheaper)
6. We get to shop during the week when it’s just us and the retirees.
7. I gained a family I didn’t know I had even been missing.
8. Some nights I get to let my insomnia run rampant and I stay up super late.
9. I get to watch whatever I want at least 8 days a month.
10. I can cry watching chick flicks and not be laughed at or asked if I’m ok!
11. I now have a bunco group that meets once a month.
12. I can buy cute firefighter wife shirts.
13. We can schedule many fun events during his 4days with no extra time taken off.
14. It’s allowing me to stay home. OR forcing me to make home biz work so I can stay home for the kids. Win either way.
15. We can bid for special events off well in advance.
16. We can plan our years’ vacations and major parties by November for the following year since we’ll have our list of days off.
17. He LOVES his job.

I may very well end up adding to this list, but the most important thing is he truly loves his job.  Which right now is a must because he’s rarely getting sleep at the station it’s been so busy.

Sure, I can come up with more negatives but really it’s nothing that I think should deter from just how perfect being a firefighter wife is.  I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s what he’s always wanted to be, what he’s always needed to be and it makes him happy even after the shitty days. After 21 years, I’ve been there on shitty days.

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