Since a vast majority of military members are male and a good number married, it’s only natural that their wives get together. Officers’ wives have a grand, old tradition of “coffee groups” where the ladies meet up for coffee or lunch and gossip shamelessly (see the show “Army Wives” for perpetration of said stereotype). Mac’s battalion also has a wives’ group, and as the wife of a lieutenant, I attend these functions. Please note that ours are nothing like the show “Army Wives.” A popular point of discussion always seems to be my friend, Katie’s, toilet-trained cat, Benny. No lie. The mothers in the group also tend to tell stories that are enough to scare certain child-less wives (like moi) from having children, ever.
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| Yeah, not so much. |
I hosted our October coffee last Saturday, and I think it went quite well. Instead of meeting up at a restaurant, I decided that we would carve pumpkins at my house. I also failed at putting together a festive fall menu (opting for a lighter, almost Italian theme). I was on Pinterest overload and was on the verge of a mental breakdown which culminated in wandering around Harris Teeter for about an hour. Most of the carving supplies and decor came from Christmas Tree Shops or the dollar bins at Target, so the party was reasonably cost effective.
The menu included: turkey and muenster or ham and Swiss wraps (with garlic & herb Boursin cheese spread. Yum), fried risotto balls (for which our deep fryer made a debut appearance), Caesar salad, crudite and pretzel chips with dip, harvest punch, and cupcakes. I subscribe to the theory that you can never have too much food whilst entertaining.
I couldn’t have pulled everything together without the assistance of my wonderful husband, Mac. I volunteered to be in a bridal show that morning, and the show was moved from noon to 1:30. This might not seem like much, but I showed up at the original time (I missed the rehearsal because of work) and spent an hour driving to and fro. He dutifully cleaned the house and even made the risotto balls. It all came together, and a good time was had by all.
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| Hurricane Sandy provided a light breeze to add some excitement. |
Any of you fellow military wives enjoy coffee groups? What do y’all normally do?
I love the coffee groups. I have been a part of 2 amazing ones at Bragg. We usually would have it at someones house it was very relaxed. Good food and good friends. We also would do raffles, the host would have a gift and sell raffle tickets for $1. It was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get back to a normal unit.
I enjoyed the three coffee groups I have been a part of. We would meet for dinner in the evening or an occasional lunch usually at someones house. Like Jen above we also always did a raffle and the money was collected over the year and donated to the post food locker or other charity. Sometimes the groups would play games like name the theme songs or trivia contests. All the groups I have been a part of were Officers and Senior Enlisted spouses. And there was always one lone guy who had to listen to birth stories and other more female friendly dialogue.
We don’t have a lot of that here in Canada, but my husband’s unit has one of the only wives groups in the country and when we were posted nearby, it was so much fun to get together once a month and hang out! I miss that. And pumpkin carving looks like a great idea!