A Few Things I Have Learned This Summer

When I wrote my last blog post, I had no idea it would be three full months before I would be able to sit and write another one. With the presence of both kids in the house all day every day, I just couldn’t get myself into the writing frame of mind. The continuous noise and demanding energy emanating from them left no room in my mind for the inspirational thoughts and random epiphanies which often lead me to write.

But despite my lack of writing in my daily frazzled state of motherhood, I have learned many things this summer. I’ve learned more about myself, more about life, more about being a military wife. And perhaps some of them will help spark my future posts:

1.       I hate schedules, at least when it deals with mothering. Schedules were great in college when I could go to a class at 9:00 and 10:00 am and then have a break until 2:00pm. But that’s not how kids work.

 

2.       Kids need schedules. Without them, they are wild animals. With reference to #1 above, you can understand why I was so frazzled all summer.

3.       Red wine is like medicine. Okay, that makes me sound like a lush, but it’s true. A little goes a long way to help me relax a little. Oh, and 4:00 is not too early to have a glass (see # 1 and 2 above).

4.       Having my husband away does get easier, even without a daily schedule. My husband was away during the month of June. The first day was difficult, mostly because it was a Sunday which I normally view as a family day, but as the weeks went on I found myself simply accepting his absence and moving on. I knew in advanced that he’d only be gone for four to six weeks, but it still makes me hopeful that the next deployment won’t be so bad.

5.       Sometimes it’s best to just keep my mouth shut. I realized this a long time ago among peers, but have been slower to realize it in my marriage. There are times when I am angry and just want to take it out on my husband, but in reality it’s not his fault (at least when it comes to work!) Now if I could just have his boss’s phone number!

6.       Having a lot of friends is great. Having a handful of very close friends with whom I can share almost anything is awesome. In the military we have to move away from those close friends and might not be able to see them or talk to them for long periods of time. But when we finally do, we pick up right where we left off and we don’t blame each other for the lack of communication.

7.       This whole Pinterest trend has really does have value. I have improved my strength and endurance by following several of the mini workouts and fitness challenges. I have tried many of the make-from-scratch healthy recipes and found new staples for my family. I can continue to learn more about what ingredients to avoid in the foods I buy to enhance the quality of food my family eats. The only problem is the amount of time I sit around in order to pin all this stuff! (view my Pinterest page here.)

8.       Laughing really is great medicine. Every so often my kids say something that makes me laugh until I cry. Comedies on TV are worth watching to me because the laughing relieves stress. I have trouble finding humor in the everyday, unfortunately it’s just who I am, but when something does make me laugh it feels so good!

As much as I was frustrated and overwhelmed this summer, I am happy to look back on everything we did over the past few months and know that I got something out of it. Every little bit I learn makes the next thing that life throws at me that much easier. And with more deployments and teenage years ahead of me, I’m grateful for anything that makes life a little easier!

What about you? What have you learned this summer?