Yes, we skipped it. No, we're not going to get in trouble.

There was a mandatory meeting for Thak's battalion tonight. Everyone was harping on it big time. Thak had school, of course, and I was definitely not dragging two kids to this thing. (The last time Uncle Sam had the authority to make anything mandatory for me was when I wore the uniform, and that's been a while.) So basically, we didn't go.

The meeting was about the upcoming deployment, and training schedule leading up to it. Considering Thak signs out on terminal leave two weeks from today, and turned in all his gear today, which means he couldn't even go to the field if he wanted to, this stuff really doesn't apply to us. Plus, nobody even called Thak personally to tell him to go (we knew about it beforehand, of course, but nobody called today and said "come to the meeting tonight") so we took that as a cue that the rest of the unit really doesn't care if the ones who are getting out before the deployment (and there are a few dozen of them) showed up to the thing.

So, well meaning (or pesky) wives of this battalion, please stop telling me that Thak is going to get in big trouble because we didn't go to a mandatory meeting. First of all, if he were going to get in trouble, he'd probably have to show up at the office at some point, and he hasn't had any cause to be there in the past month. Secondly, if they even tried to get him in trouble for this, it would never stand. He's getting out in TWO WEEKS. Why should he have to go to a meeting about a deployment that's happening sometime after the weather turns cold again? Anyone with common sense would know that he doesn't need the information that's put out there. And finally, I'll let you in on a little secret. They never know who shows up to these things and who doesn't.

So yes, the M's skipped a mandatory meeting. I'll just be glad to live in a world where there are no mandatory meetings at my husband's place of employment that everyone's going to pester me if I don't show up to. Two weeks.