Super Special Guest Blogger

Today is the day... my surgery is today, so cross your fingers for me! I wanted my first guest blogger this week to be extra special so I begged a certain someone to write something for me. ..

"I don't do mushy stuff publically!"
It doesn't have to be mushy!
"Well, it will be like homework!"
No, it won't. You're on duty anyway. What else do you have to do?
"Ok ok fine.... You know I'm just being difficult, right? I know it means a lot to you. I'll come up with something."

So, for the first time on My Marine and Me, I present, my husband and My Marine, Ryan.

The 2nd General Order
To walk my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing.


My wife has asked me to write something for her blog. I chose to write about something that I am currently dealing with and that we all can relate to. Being bored is something that we all know about. Most people don't enjoy being bored and some of you may have heard the expression "dying of boredom." Sometimes however, this expression can be closer to true than you might think.

Most people view boredom and stress as opposites when in fact boredom is a type of stress. Webster defines stress as a constraining force or influence such as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Boredom certainly fits that description and can be one of the most dangerous types of stress. Being bored can cause loneliness and in some cases depression. Boredom can cause complacency or cause a person to lose situational awareness. It can cause people to "zone out" for a few seconds or several minutes.

This can be harmful to anyone, not just service members. For example if a carpenter has been hammering nails for a few hours and becomes bored with the monotonous work, he could lose focus and smash his hand. If a metal worker who has been performing the same routine task everyday becomes complacent and neglects a safety precaution, it can result in injury. Boredom can cause a business executive on a long drive to a conference to fall asleep behind the wheel of a car. In the same respect, a service member who has been on post for 8 hours can zone out and become less vigilant. Also if a member of the armed forces is patrolling the same area for the hundredth time, he or she may get bored and drop his or her guard.

There are many ways that boredom can be dangerous to men and women of the armed forces as well as civilians, but the things that we do to keep from being bored can be just as dangerous. The business executive could sip some coffee or turn on the radio, both of which take eyes off of the road and focus off of driving even if only for a second or two. The carpenter can break up monotony by trying to see how many nails he can hammer in one minute, also an unsafe act. Service members have come up with many ways to keep from being bored however most of them are just as unsafe and take your mind off of what you are doing at the time.

The point is that at some point in time we must all come up with safe and efficient ways to combat boredom. This is a task that is easier said than done. Some people can take a break to regain focus, but service members don't always have that luxury. So how do YOU deal with boredom in a way that is constructive? Please feel free to leave comments and thanks for reading!

PS: This was written while on post in garrison.