My mom and dad called me a few days ago out of the blue to see if I like hard or soft mattresses. To anyone else, that question probably seems strange, especially when you haven’t lived at home for three years, you’re married, oh, and you live in another country.
But it made perfect sense to me. I’ve had the same mattress at (my parent’s) home since the beginning of high school. It’s at least a decade old, if not more. It was great when I grew up there and went to school, and it was even fine during college when I was home for random weekends and the holidays. When I moved back home after college I managed to tolerate the bed, but I sometimes preferred sleeping on the couch in order to avoid the springs poking me as I slept. Then I got married and moved my stuff (minus the bed) to another state.
I usually go back home when my husband is away for long periods of time (i.e. deployments) and I sleep in my childhood room and on the same bed since high school. That bed has definitely seen better days. So when my parents said they bought a new mattress, it was a really big deal!
Going back home without your husband isn’t something most people experience, but it’s pretty normal in the military community, especially during deployments or long TDYs. I’m thankful I get along and actually prefer staying with my parents when I’m home without my husband. And now I’m really looking forward to that first night’s sleep at home on my new mattress!
You know you’re a military wife when your parents buy you a new mattress for your old bed at their house, because they know you’ll go home during the deployment and need a comfy place to sleep.
I originally posted this on my blog and asked my readers to complete this sentence “You know you’re a MilSpouse when…” Here’s what they had to say:
- When you make a great friend, and then it never fails one of you moves halfway around the country or world! (Anonymous)
- When you finally get into a routine and adjust to a new schedule, then your husband changes shifts or you move to a new time zone, and you have to start all over again! (Anonymous)
- When you get to see your husband about 2 months out of the year. I could go on but those stand out the most to me. (Anonymous)
- When you get excited for the case lot sale on base. (Anonymous)
- When having your husband home on your birthday is “strange” and a reason to “do it big” because he might not be here next year. (Anonymous)
- When you find yourself Googling random Air Force bases because “Hey…you never know…we might be stationed there one day”. (Anonymous)
- When the longer you wait to wait to decorate the house, the more you tell yourself it is not worth it because it won’t last anyway. (Emily)
- When you secretly like being able to redecorate a new place every few years!! (Emily)
- When you’re searching for (American) change and all you can find is dirham and Euros! (Sespi)
- When your husband is air-drying his jump boots on the windowsill haha :) (Jen)
- When you correct TV shows because they’re “doing it wrong” (e.g. I was watching Army Wives and the one woman started saluting as soon as Retreat started which, ya know, you don’t salute until the National Anthem) (Katie)
- You’re planning a long drive and note the nearby military bases to stay at while simultaneously racking your brain for old friend who are/were stationed there. (Sierra)
Now it’s your turn! Finish this sentence: “You know you’re a military spouse when…”
About Jessica Lynn
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You find stickers from moving companies in more than one color (from more than one move) on things like strollers or the bottoms of furniture.
Ha! We take bets on how many each other will find. This last time, my husband spotted the most. :(
I still find red ones from our first move (from home to our first base!) 6 years ago :)
That’s a good one !!! It’s like their medals we have one ticket per PCS
That's a great one! We pay the kids a nickel per sticker they remove to keep them busy while we unpack and get settled :)
We're retired now, but it was always the kids' job to be sure the stickers were off everything before the movers came, so we'd know we had the new stickers on. It became a treasure hunt for them, looking for the stickers. Of course, they never found them all – lol.
This happens even after years into retirement!!
And you can remember which move correlates to which colored sticker! (I'm an Army Brat, not spouse, but I figure I learned a few things too.)
When you have more friends in places around the world than you do in your (current) locale.
You have children born in 3 different states.
When, after being in one locale for 3 (or 4) years, you start thinking it is time to move again!
My husband was in the Air Force for 20 + years and we have 5 children born in 5 different states, including the one that was "made in Korea". When he was little our older girls looked for the sticker they thought should be stamped on his butt saying that like on some of their toys.
You start using acronyms and actually know what they mean :).
When you pick three locations for reenlistment based entirely upon where your other (military) friends are currently stationed. :)
When you can cut a high n tight like nobody’s business and you aren’t a cosmetologist. ;)
You can identify unmarked photos by the housing in the background!
Make a pitstop 160miles away from home because you saw an exit to a military installation and just had to do your grocery shopping at the commissary since you don't live near a base
Drive 63miles one way, once a month, to do your grocery shopping at the commissary (active duty spouses may not get this one)
If you are AD AF in England you will! Lol @ my acronyms.
I totally feel ya
I hear you on that one. I live two hours from Fort Jackson and I make a trip there once every three months. These local prices are terrible. My husband is retired Army.
It's only 38 miles one way for me. Retired
When you find yourself wondering if it's time to move because the house is getting cluttered! There's a reason why military families move every so often. It keeps your house cleaner and dejunked. (After being retired four years, I'm thinking it's time we move again. Oh the boxes and boxes of things I need to take to the thrift store.)
I was just thinking the same thing. I was looking at houses online and trying to talk my husband into moving to get rid of junk.
When a marriage anniversary consists of drinking cheap wine in your bathrobe, eating ice cream out of the container and sending sappy messages to your husband who is ___ miles away.
…you stop calling your parents house/your hometown "home" and start realizing "home" is where your husband is, no matter the place.
…you start staying at home while your husband is deployed, gaining more and more confidence on your own, making friends for life with women around you who are going through the same things.
This is so true! I moved “home” for our first married deployment and it sure doesn’t feel like home anymore.
I did the same thing and never felt so out of place, even though I love my family and got along great with them. It just wasn't the same home it used to be for me.
Your husband starts getting on your nerves and you say, "When are you leaving again?"
Jajajajajajja that sound like my husband !!!!
Hahaha!! I always say that to my husband!!! That one made me bust out laughing.
I've frequently asked my DH, "Don't you have a TDY to be on somewhere?"
AMEN! lol
When you have to go in a hunt for one day cleaners because your husband forgot to mention he has uniform inspection in two days :p
when you go shopping and look for the military discounts…then make the "you dont support military families" face when the store doesn't have a military discount.
when you feel like half of your heart is missing when they are gone to trainings or deployments and you can only get the other part of your heart back when they come home! <3
When your kids call anyone – and I mean anyone – in uniform "Daddy!!!!"
My youngest son does that. It was embarrassing at first, now I just think its hilarious. We go to the commissary and suddenly everyone is daddy.
when you are able to fit an entire week's worth of groceries, toiletries, and goodies into one large USPS box
When you call your husbands co-workers by their last names or rank. Even when theyre sitting next to you!
Your mail gets forwarded with not one, but two of those yellow stickers (so three different addresses) lol
You know you’re a military wife when you have MREs and a full first aid kit in each car
You're not kidding! LOL. I think that S.O P for ANY milspouse
Lol! We have MRE’s laying around the house.
I’m not the only one??!! Praise God, I thought it was just my paranoid husband! What about the blanket and flashlight?
OMG, I thought I was the only one! We live in CO, n even though the hubs is private sector now and my driving is always in town we have Emeregnecy Road side and EMS kits in both vehicles that would sustain a severally wounded a fire team in an avalanche for a week. Most of our civi neighbors don’t have that n they go to the mountains!
OMG. My husband too. He's all into the "Bug Out" preparedness. We have three large Bug Out bags, plans for the pets, addresses, checklists, etc. But it does come in handy sometimes. We got caught by an unexpected storm and were out of power for days. But we had candles, MRE's, and when the water ran out we could collect rain water and purify it. It has it's perks, even if it is annoying!
OK, so sue me, but I don't understand the going home to Mommy and Daddy during deployments thing. Aren't we adults with our own lives? My home is where the Army sends my husband (and me, by default.) We find a home on or off base, I get a job, I connect with the same organizations I volunteered for at the last base (or find a new one) and life goes on. I understand that for some this is an economic decision, but I've seen some spouses make the kids change schools two years in a row, once to go 'home' and then again to return to base at the end of a deployment. Military moves are rough enough on kids as it is without putting them through this. You probably aren't going to print this because it goes against your little mattress story, but a lot of spouses don't run home to their parents the minute their military spouse deploys, you know.
Well…I don't have kids. So for me, it is nice to be home where I actually have family.
I agree, when the hubs went over in 2002 with unknown return date wives ran home in droves…we secured a nicer base house :-) and when asked why I didn’t move “home” I asked where would I go, being a mil brat myself I had the choice of 2 different mil for dad n his 2nd fam or mom and her 2nd fam,bases and frankly I was raised to keep the home fires burning, and what is the point of trying to find another job in my field to only try to reclaim my current one?
I have to say, if I were in a foreign country with no job and no kids and MY husband was deploying, I would probably spend the majority of the deployment in the states. Or at least go home for a long visit somewhere in the middle. That being said, I do think it's ridiculous to put kids through multiple unnecessary moves for what are IMO selfish reasons.
Courtney,
I have no children and we are stationed in a foreign country also no job as of yet but I plan on staying because in a foreign country there is so much to experience!! Take advantage and go with it :)
I totally get – and understand – why some spouses choose to move home during deployment though I have never done it.
At our last duty station, my husband was there for three months before he deployed. I hadn't met anybody yet and I tried getting involved with organizations both on and off post – and what I discovered was that, for me anyway, there weren't too many other spouses I felt a connection with, or wanted to get to know better. For whatever reason, in my husband's MOS, there's never been a huge sense of camaraderie, no matter where we've been, so the FRG try as it might, wasn't hugely successful either.
Maybe too, it is to get help with the kids. Who knows?
My husbands MOS doesn't have a good frg either. There is ZERO support from the FRG. And there wasn't from the last one either. I am thankful to be "the Older Soldier and Spouse" because I can help others who are sort of "newbes" or just plain younger and can offer help, support, and a large hug or shoulder when needed. I can't truely know what many of you go through during a deployment because we are fortunate that my spouse has not gone.(MOS) However, I can try to be a sourse of strenth for others. And, if I were in another country, no kids and my dog, I would go home too. But, being stateside, staying in our home is where I would be.
I agree with Linda, even though I don’t have kids. It’s enough to pack up and have to move every few years, why would I want to pack up for every deployment or TDY as well. I sometimes go visit for a few weeks during the holidays if my husband is deployed, but I won’t be ‘moving’ home. This is my home, where we are stationed.
Rather rude and close-minded, aren't we? Just because it's not for you doesn't mean you have to insult those who choose to do so.
I agree. I don't have kids but you could not pay me enough money to move "home" while my husband's deployed. We have a home here – our stuff is here, our pets are here, we've made friends here…I really don't understand why so many grown women run home to their parents during deployment. It seems rather infantile.
What's "rather infantile" is being a judgey mcjudgerson when you admittedly don't understand. There are a multitude of reasons. Just because they may not apply to you, doesn't mean they are not valid.
Someone without children may go "home" because they'd rather be surrounded by familiar things. Perhaps they don't deal with being alone very well and have difficulty making new friends who share their interests. Perhaps they go home because they find it difficult to find friends who don't have children, so can't relate to their daily routine and/or activities. Maybe it's to save money by not forking out all their BAH.
Someone with children may go home because they need the help and support depending on how old their child(ren) are. Maybe they go home because their children are not school aged and it's a perfect time to let them get to know their extended family.
There's a thousand reasons why people do what they do and zero reasons to judge them because what you choose is different.
I totally agree. I just became a military spouse, but I also just left active duty too. Being on both sides of the house I understand everyone's point of views. My hubby was deployed and I was going thru a very rough time, postpartum depression. I wasn't able to leave our house, and i wished i could. Its very hard regardless if your home or staying with friends/family. Mainly when your spouse is gone its heartbreaking.
You don’t have to get it. That’s the beauty of it. Some people breast feed, some formula feed. Some people vax, some don’t. Some people pick up their own dogs ****, others pay kids to do it. Some people mow their own lawns, others don’t even own a lawn mower. In each of those situations, parties don’t understand why each other does what they do but it’s what works for THEM.
Prior to moving into housing we lived in an apartment. My son is 2 so no school yet, but had hubby been deployed, I’d have gone home if we lived in the apartment. Now I’d choose to stay because I LOVE my home on base, but go home for a long visit. You don’t have to understand and I don’t have to explain to you why I do what I do. Just be satisfied that it’s what works for my family and it’s not what you would or would not choose.
It’s just one more thing for mil spouses to judge each other with. One more thing we could do without.
THANK YOU! In my generation we didn't have the option of going home during deployments. I was actually evicted from an apartment building 33 years ago because I was pregnant and had to deal with my first military move into housing by myself. It was an all adult building and that long ago they could get away with it. My husband was deployed during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, there was no Skype, no email, no computer instant gratification. I wrote him a letter with our new address.Yes, wives actually picked up pen and paper and wrote letters that we put in envelopes and then put stamps on and put out in the mailboxes. Then we waited daily for the mail delivery praying for a letter from our loved one. When my now ex son in law forced my daughter to move out of housing and back home with us so he could collect the BAH we all had a fit. She was pregnant and wanted to stay in her own home. Then at 8 months pregnant he expected her to find them another place to live because it was too soon for them to move back into base housing. I truly believe that when we marry into the military we need to stay where our spouses are stationed, NOT run home to Mommy and Daddy. For a short visit, yes, but for the entire deployment, NO! Okay, off my soap box, sorry if I offended any of you.
It doesn't matter what generation someone lived in, spouses have been moving home during deployments since the dawn of the "modern" military. You act like just because we're living in the computer age, nobody knows what pen and paper look like. Yes, computers make it easier and quicker, but there's a reason there are long lines at the post office around military bases. There's a huge difference in CHOOSING to go home to "mommy and daddy" than being FORCED to go home. The key words that you use are: ex-son in law, forced, HE could collect bah.
Going "home" is a choice that a FAMILY makes TOGETHER. I suspect that may be one reason why he is your ex son in law.
I wish people would stop saying that those that choose to go home are "running" home to mommy and daddy. If it works for them and they're not being a burden to anyone, who cares? When your military spouse is away, "home" isn't where your spouse is because you can't follow them to a war zone. "Home" is where you are most comfortable, loved, supported and happy… NOT where the military says his duty station is. I temporarily reside in Utah because that's where the AF says my husband is needed. Home is here with him and my toddler son, but should he deploy, home could be near my family and friends because that will be the choice my husband and I would make together for the sake of my sanity, happiness and allowing my extended family to enjoy my son as much as we do.
I most likely wouldn't go home because I LOVE my house on base and would probably just make extended visits, but God forbid I ever get "the" knock on my door, I'd rather be surrounded by those that know me the best, than people I work with, volunteer with, share a yard with, share a commissary with..etc.
I agree Carol some don’t understand my husband is going to Germany for the summer n I’m transferring my job to Florida and staying with my parents because I don’t like to be alone I’ve grown accustom to my husband being around and now he’s leaving so I have to be with my mommy so call me what you want but I’m going HOME.
Linda, as the person who wrote this "little mattress story" and is "going home to Mommy and Daddy," let me clear up a few things. 1. I don't have kids. 2. I'm living in another country. 3. I can't get a job out here in my profession—it's not allowed per SOFA regulations. 4. I'm going home for the HOLIDAYS…a time when family, whatever family you have, should be together. I will not spend it alone in another country. 5. I'm going home for about two weeks. There's a difference between moving home for the entire duration and going home to visit my "mommy and daddy."
I agree and I am in the same situation. We live in a foreign country and I cannot get a job out here also pretty soon in less than a month actually my hubby is deploying… for 6 months so for holidays I would like to just go home then sit here and not do any celebration for the first time in my life.. I think not!
I moved near "home" when hubby was off to Korea and they were both under 4. When the kids were teens I knew better and was able to stay on post when hubby was in Turkey.
It's unfortunate that this website is meant not only to inform military spouses of current changes, but also to lend support. A goal that the above comment does not meet. Who are we to judge? I don't have children, nor have I moved home, and I am relatively new to the military community with little more than 4 years. However, I have learned that one meets all kinds of people from all walks of life.
What about the family with a school-aged child and just had a newborn, with the soldier about to go on deployment? Alone and postpartum is a dangerous combination. Sometimes what's best for the children is making sure the parent's needs are met.
Moving back home is a family decision. One that a family has the right to make without commentary from outsiders who are unaware of the full extent of the situation.
Let's not forget the soldier, who, short of an immediate family death or serious illness, may not find out that something terrible has happened until weeks later. Is not the soldier's peace of mind, knowing that his/her spouse and children readily have help, justification enough?
My sister, who has type one diabetes and two kids under the age of four decided to come home when her husband was deployed. Yes she lived there for six months but it wasn't because she wasn't a "grown up." It's because the doctor said "Hey, you need help, go home." It really isn't fair at all for you to judge someone else's situation. Big deal, you stay at your base by yourself. I applaud you for being a "big girl." So sorry the rest of us aren't immune to all feelings of loneliness. People are so RUDE!
My home is also where my husband and I live. I have never gone to my parents during a deployment or any type of extended separation. My view on this is that I am an adult with my own home, life, and routine and as an independent adult, I should be able to handle things on my own. The days of going to mom and dad to help solve life's problems and struggles ended when I moved into my first apartment 25 years ago. My husband and I have always handled our problems ourselves and we are proud of that especially when we see a few of our siblings still getting monetary help from our parents and bitching about how much they are struggling with the day to day responsibilities of being an adult and a parent. One day our parents will no longer be around and if we rely on them so much to help us get through the bad times, then how capable will we be to handle things on our own.
You assume that someone is going home because they can't handle "life's problems and struggles". What if someone wants to go home just because? What if they've got no permanent ties where they are stationed and have a full year deployment ahead of them? What if they want to be part of the activities for parents anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, etc etc? What if (like me) they'd rather spend some time near the ocean than be landlocked in a desert for a year? What if they've got children (like my 2 year old) who unlike civilians, don't get to see their grandparents except for once every 2 years because we're so far from "home"? What if they want their children to get to know their extended family, like cousins, uncles, aunts, etc and it's a perfect time to do so while husband is deployed?
You make a lot of assumptions and judgments with only ONE point of view in mind. Yours. Open your eyes and realize that just because someone chooses to go home, it's not because they can't hand things on their own.
Wow! That's pretty judgy! Live your own life and let others deal with the hardships of deployments in their own way. What's right for your family isn't right for everyone. The op doesn't even have kids. You may look at it as "running home to mommy and daddy", but it's also taking advantage of time to reconnect with family. I for one would live by my family and raise my kids by my parents if I could, but unfortunately for me I fell in love with a soldier and have to follow him around from one armpit of America to the next.
The only time I ever went back home when my husband was deployed was before the kids started school and it was summer anyways so it would not of mattered. But never would I pull my kids out of school to "go back home", its not even home anymore. Home is where you and your husband have your house and kids. It bugs me when my husband says back home (meaning his moms house) because Im like no this is your home now.
….when you start talking to your extended family in acronyms and military time…. Or when you’re able to tell what time it is based on reveille and retreat.
Valantinesday becomes to a day like every other
When it takes a few days for your kids to realize Daddy isn’t home :(
We don't have human kids yet, but it took weeks for our dogs to stop looking for him to come in the door each night. I'm lucky that my husband's job allows him to stay stateside and only deploys overseas or on a ship by volunteering, but when he does the dogs still get excited with every little sound around 6:30 when he is supposed to come home. So sad!
Valentinesday has turned in to a random day like every other day
….you find yourself having a debate in your own mind while washing dishes about whether or not to buy a big bottle or a small bottle of detergent when this one runs out because y'all only have X number of months before PCSing.
….you pass up buying certain things because it'll put you over your weight allowance on said PCS.
Sooo true!! In the process right now of using up food and laundry supplies!!
You have no idea the first name of half your friends.
Sooo true. When my husband was deployed he would refer to coworkers/friends by last name and I would refer to their SO’s by last name too so when he’d call, I’d tell him I was out with Hayes, Hayes wife lol
When you would much rather wait for a specific product to arrive at the exchange instead of buying it at the mall…
When your husband says he'll be home for lunch, dinnner, ect, and you never hold him to it. He'll be home when the the military lets him go home and thats fine.
You can form a while sentence using nothing but acronyms. (Amber)
You can form a whole sentence using nothing but acronyms. (Amber)
…when someone asked for your SSN and you give your husband’s
So true. Whenever someone on base asks for my social I always ask, "Mine or his?"
Did I even have my own SSN when my husband was Active Duty?
You keep hearing people talk like all military spouses are women…
that's what I'm talking about
You know …. When… The Home Depot associates know you by first name…
When you have a different file folder set up for each move with a checklist inside.
When you have been to more briefings then you would at your own job.
…when "I just saw you a month ago!" is a legitimate statement you can say, with excitement, to your spouse.
…You let your dogs out in the morning and realize your husband has taught them to check the perimeter.
When you teach school and instead of saying e as in elephant and instead you say e as in echo.
My grandpa was in the Marines for over 20 years and I'll never forget calling him to tell him our address at our new duty station. He's a little hard of hearing and was having trouble making out what I was saying so I spelled out the address, "C as in Charlie, A as in Alpha…" He got so excited and said, "I understand that!" lol
You know you're a military wife when your kids go to high school -in Germany with kids they started school with in Panama.
You know you're a military wife is when you hand your friend ( Who is PCS ing for the first time) a pet travel check list!!! And advising them to take the pets for a long drive before the move just in case the pets get car sick…. they won't be surprised!!!!
When you have a box full of window treatments to fit a multitude of different sized windows!!
When you think the movers mistakenly gave you someone else's stuff and your kids have to tell you…"Mom that's ours…we got it in _(state)."
When your non-military friends that are moving ask you to help them because according to them "you like to do it", "you're good at it" or they think "it's your hobby".
"
Sharon
When you can pack a rucksac just as accurate as your spoouse.
When you start spelling your name using the alphabet L for Lima, I for India and so on….
….look forward to and expecting to move every 2-3 years.
…your kid(s) attend a virtual academy because changing schools all the time is hard for them.
…your favorite place to shop is commissary and the exchange!
When u get giggly-excited for a 30 minute dinner date with your husband, eating to-go chinese food.
. . . . your address book is full of names written in ink, but addresses are in pencil!
(yes, I still have the old-timey one because you can never be certain how your internet service will be)
. . . . your 4 year old refers to all neighborhoods as housing areas.
You know you’re a military spouse when…the only thing that remained constant in all the moves…your cell phone # and email address.
- you have two wedding dates… one for the legal ceremony and one for the church wedding
- you cry during the National Anthem, God Bless America, and America the Beautiful
- you have at least six different ways to track time on a deployment (Hershey kisses for a "kiss from Daddy" each night, paper chains, etc.) … and are smart enough to stock extras for when you raid the chocolate jar
- You are on a first name basis with the clerk at the post office … and they set aside customs forms and flat-rate boxes for you
- You wonder why you're called a "dependent" … there is NOTHING dependent about being a military spouse!
when you can have a new house set up and ready to go in 72 hours
When you realize that "Policing the Area" is not riot squad training and you become good friends with the Red Cross because of family emergency's at home.
…when you have a huge black garbage bag full of snail mail love letters with "free mail" written in place of a stamp! 28 years and still going strong!
when you forward your address you just say forward entire residents with this last name, and it just so happens that the people that moved in after you have the same last name.
When you tend to have conversations with other spouses about their experiences doing the same thing.
When You go to a new base and you realize that you have friends from a previous base already moved there.
When you talk to non military spouses and what you think might be a short story ends up being a long one because you have to explain what the acronyms mean.
When retirement comes and you sit answer wonder what you will do now after living the life for 20+ years.
When retirement comes and you sit answer wonder what you will do now after living the life for 20 plus years.
When retirement comes and you sit and wonder what you will do now after living the life for 20 plus years.
you are a single married parent and a very efficient accountant. My favorite is you don't get angry when your telephone rings at 2:00a.m. and your spouse is ready with full battle rattle and out the door in 10 mins., only to return home and notify you it was just a test!
You know your a Military Wife when-
All your kids were conceived on RnR or block leave:) lol
When you remember what year you did something based on what duty station you were at at the time.
Indeed, there could be some changes – I mean a lot of changes! – When you decide to marry someone with that kind of career. I’m glad to have read and known that most women are strong enough to cope with that kind of situation. Thumbs up for you!
When you are getting the house in order after a PCS and discover they shipped the trash.
You don’t even have to look at the sky to know what plane is flying over head.. I still do only because Air Force planes still make me feel like a kid.. But I can tell just by the noise what they are!
Your home sick and skyping your family from your hometown or state.
.When you no longer cry when family comes to visit then leaves because you are so useto goodbye.
You know you’re a military wife when you or your husband leave earlier on Friday mornings to work to avoid all the graduation trafic from families, parents girlfriends etc.. (Basic training facility)
When you’re annoyed by those people feeling ****** or like a hero before they’re even sent to boot camp. Including military stickers on vehicles or wearing dogtags out in public to get attention.
When you are a male spouse, but all the support programs focus on military "wives"
When you become used to your DH ending a call with, "Talk to you in a few days or weeks" because you never know when the phones will work or not.