So here is where I get to say,

Army life is not all joy & camoflauge.

Sometimes it’s cold & uncomfortable…and harder than it should be.

Meet “Ruby”.

(Not her real name obviously…but one that seems to fit with her mittens.)

As Cynthia & I made our way home from the ville earlier this week, we bumped into little Ruby & her mom.

Let’s call her “Wonder Woman”.

WW was looking for the square outside the main gate where you go to meet your Realtor & the rep from Housing.

TRANSLATION: She’s new. Just arrived new & has found a place to rent off-base because the wait for on-base housing is over a year.

Once you find a place – by way of a local realtor – you have to have Army Housing come inspect it, approve it & add their signature to your lease before you can move in.

It’s a process meant to ensure that us fresh-faced foreigners aren’t taken advantage of upon landing in Korea.

Since Eric handled all those details before I arrived, I wasn’t sure where to point her.

But Cynthia knew what she was talking about & together we walked back towards the main gate.

WW shared that she was supposed to meet everyone at 1400 (that’s 2pm for you Civies) & she was already 10 minutes late – worrying that they would skip the appointment altogether when they couldn’t find her.

We asked if she had a cell phone to call them…she did.

But the battery had died & the number was in the phone.

Typical Army life storm – new in country, no phone, no car, in the cold, pushing a frigid Ruby up & down the streets and without any help.

At first Cynthia & I had both assumed she was a spouse – doing the routine spousely duty of “setting up house”.

But it turns out WW was active.

Active: Army slang for active duty, as in “She’s an active duty soldier.”

Active AND a single mom.

Did you catch that?…Let’s try this again…

SHE’S ACTIVE DUTY & A SINGLE MOM STATIONED IN KOREA!

Ruby was her littlest. She also had a 12 year-old we assumed was back at the base lodge in the warm glow of the TV.

As we got closer to the square we could see the car she was supposed to meet & watched it drive off before we could flag it down.

Had this been me, I would’ve probably become completely dejected & overwhelmed. Would I have cried?…

Well, on the inside, yes – but the last thing I would want to be is the American woman breaking down in tears in front of total strangers.

But I haven’t named her Wonder Woman for nothin’.

Perfectly stoic & square-shouldered she stood there & said, in her thick Kentucky drawl,

“Well, I guess I’ll just walk back on base.”

It was at that point that I made a suggestion.

[Janice's office - look at all that summer green grass]

We were right out front of our realtor’s office (not the same realtor WW had been working with) & said, “Let’s go ask Janice for help.”

JANICE: A dynamo realtor who knows everybody & everything and will bend over backward to make sure her clients are taken care of.

And if you’re an Army wife about to PCS to Camp Humphreys – email me & I’ll give you her number.

PCS – Permanent Change of Station: The process by which the Army says ‘Congratulations! You’re moving on to your next post at…’ and you have 30 days to do it.

Without batting an eye, Janice was immediately on the phone & hunting down the realtor & within a few extra phone calls it was arranged for him to come pick her & Ruby up at the office.

Cynthia & I parted ways with little Ruby & Wonder Woman and on the walk home couldn’t help but discuss how much harder Army life must be for a single mom…

and how impressed we were with her.