The joys of being a Marine Recruiter's Wife

I have been a Marine wife for 11 years now. I have been through deployments, transitioning to a new state, DITY moves(do it yourself moves w/out help of military-don't ever do it), drama of living in base housing, dealing with sick children(while I was sick myself) when my husband was on the other side of the world, and the list goes on. However, none of that quite prepared me for stress of being a Recruiter's wife. I am not trying to take away from the stress of deployments. My hats are off to all you gals currently enduring that-because it is tough. But being on Recruiting duty is a whole other ballgame that I think most spouses are not prepared for: here is my take on all of it.
1-Don't come into this duty thinking that just because your husband is "non-deployable" that this is going to be a cake walk. He will most certainly put in at least 60-70 hours a week. Those wonderful 7-4 hours with Saturday and Sundays off are long gone.
2- Learn to be flexible. This is still a work in progress for me as I do not bend very easily. Trying to plan dinner with him can be hard. He might say he will be home by 6, but that most likely will turn into 8 or 9.
3-This goes with 2 as well-always add 2 hours to the time he says he will be home. If he says 6, then expect him around 8. Don't start calling him around 7 and nagging about him being late (yes I have done this) because he is usually with an applicant and cannot talk. If he tells you he will be home by 8 or so...then you know it has been a BAD day and I suggest drinking 3 glasses of red wine and watching your fave chick flick to pass the time.
4-Help him remember things and try to not get too mad when he keeps forgetting everything. Recruiters schedules are insane and  they talk to hundreds of people a day. My husband can barely remember to eat let alone when certain bills are due or our kids dance/sporting events. Email him, text him numerous times, or call obsessively while you are waiting in the driveway wondering where in the heck he is!
5-Be prepared for his phone to always ring or for him to be texting someone ALL THE TIME. Their job is round the clock and they always have to have the phone on. Sometimes he will leave his phone laying around and I have been so tempted to throw it in the toilet.
Lastly-no matter how bad your day was or how resentful you are at him for being home at 9:30 after you have dealt with three kids-be patient with him. He may or may not talk about his day, but he has dealt with a lot of stress and has probably maxed out his blood pressure for the entire year in one day. Try to let the negativity go and just give your handsome Marine a big ole kiss and be thankful he is home-even if it's 10:00 at night.