Embrace the adventure of life

As is my Sunday routine of late, I settled in with a blanket and puppy to watch Lifetime’s Army Wives. Now from it’s beginning there have been things that I relate to and others that I wonder what they were smoking to even come up wit that story line or scenario. But last night’s theme seemed to be “what we as military spouses must sacrifice to live the military life.” Here’s where we are:

Roland (the only male spouse) and his wife, Lt. Col. Joan Burton, are discussing divorce because he feels like he has put his life on hold (he’s a doctor and works at base hospital) for her career. Roxy tells her husband, Pfc. Trevor LeBlanc, that she dreams of opening her own “bar and grill” and plans to put 10 percent of her paycheck aside to reach that goal. He tells her that as a Soldier they will move every three to four years and never be in a place long enough for her to create her dream. Claudia Joy learns that her husband, Col. (P) Michael Holden, will be promoted to brigadier general and take over as post commander. Her predecessor and archenemy Lenore Baker, tells her that things will be different and she will not know who she can trust to be her real friend and who is using her.

Now, in reality, these scenarios can be pretty realistic. As military spouse we do give up a lot to follow our husbands/wives from installation to installation. We may have to reevaluate what our goals are, adjust to new places/people/home and plan long term in theory only. But it’s not all that bad. I can’t speak for others of course, but those who I am honored to call friends understand what a “career military family” entails.

We understand that our husbands/wives may be gone more than we’d like, we know that there will be weeks/months/years where we carry the burden of both mother and father, and plans may be altered for training, gathering or deployment. But it’s not all bad– you just have to find the good in life.

Our children have the privilege of learning about different cultures from living them, not just reading about them. We spend the first 10 years of our military lives meeting people and the next 10 embracing old friends. We learn that material things are not as important as the memories we make because with every move you can expect to lose something but gain a story. We learn that if you don’t like where you are, just make the best of it, and if you love where you’re enjoy it while it lasts because in either case you are only there for a short time.

I love the life that I have. I couldn’t imagine anything else. I am challenged daily, from trying something new to meeting new people to learning that I can do things I thought I couldn’t. There are people I adore and those who I’d rather not entertain, but it build character to interact with both. Goodbyes are hard, but never are forever. You never know who you’ll meet at your next station or who who’ll get to see again.

We do make sacrifices in this life, but in the end it always works out. Any sacrifice I have made has always led to something better. In some cases the things I thought I wanted was not and what I gained was worth the effort.

I don’t just live life, I live an adventure. You never know what is waiting behind the next door, but if you don’t open it, you never will. Peter Pan and Cpt. Jack Sparrow have taught me to explore the unknown. Though there are no pirate ships and at times I have to grow up, but there’s always treasure to find – I just have to look for it. I’m following a treasure map that has yet to be written and that is the biggest adventure of all.

Until our next cup of tea ...