. . . your kids point to any airplane or military vehicle and say 'Daddy'!

. . . you remember milestones by duty stations.

. . . you refer to friends by where they live (ex: Cindy from TX, Ann in CA, etc.)

. . . all of your kids, including your two year old, stop what they're doing, and put their hands on their  hearts whenever they hear the National Anthem

. . . you have a whole wash load of just camouflage.

. . . half the closet is nothing but military stuff.

. . . you can sleep through the sound of fighter planes and bombers on their morning practice.

. . . you can look at a base vehicle sticker and tell what base those people are from.(and whether they're officer or enlisted!)

. . . you can tell what is wrong with flight suits or BDU's before the member does.

. . . you know more about re-enlistments and assignments than the personnel office does.

. . . you reach for your ID card upon entering a civilian store.

. . . you pay $35 to have a baby.

. . . your kids point at anyone regardless of race or gender in BDUs and say 'DADDY!'

. . . your little kids walk around in a diaper and huge combat boots

. . . your son looks at an MP and says 'that's a military policeman!'

. . . you feel less-well-protected when you leave the base.

. . . people say, 'I don't know how you stand that military lifestyle' and your response is 'I couldn't  imagine my life any other way!'

. . . you can hold down the fort while your spouse is deployed or in the field, not because you want to but because you just have to do it.

. . . you somehow manage to pick a group of friends that are more like your extended family than your own.

. . . you realize you're a much stronger person than you ever thought you'd be.

. . . your kids are asking 'Where's Daddy?' because they haven't seen daddy in days, months or a year.

. . . you sometimes wonder if the family sacrifice is worth it but realize you wouldn't have it any other way since your husband loves what he does and you're proud of him.

. . . you find that you talk military talk (using acronyms) with your family and friends back home and they think you're speaking a foreign language.

. . . hearing 'I'm proud to be an American' makes you cry because you realize first hand, that freedom is not free and the sacrifices it entails.

. . . you're living in parts of the world that you dreamed about visiting and never imagined you'd see, or those you never dreamed of visiting and didn't want to imagine seeing.

. . . you become an expert at PCS moves.

. . . you can handle anything!

. . . your kitchen is full of Pampered Chef, Tupperware, PartyLite candles, etc. that you buy because that's the only way you see other wives when the hubby's away.

. . . you start noticing when Hollywood makes mistakes in movies & TV portraying the military.

. . . you dread going to the commissary on payday weekend.

. . . you know exactly when you're supposed to be up for new orders.

. . . every time something dealing w/the military (i.e. the war in Afghanistan) shows up on the news, your Mother and Mother-in-law call you up & you have to gently calm them down.

. . . military homecomings on TV bring a tear to your eye because you can relate so well.

. . . you plan your garage sales for the payday weekends.

. . . you have more curtains than JC Penney's (you never know how many windows the next house will have  or what size they will be.)

. . . you know that 'dependent' means anything but.