It’s hard to imagine what life would be like had we taken a different road, isn’t it? Each of us have made choices over the course of our lives that have ultimately determined the place we are today. The day I met my spouse was a pivotal moment in my journey; learning he was joining the military was another make or break moment. Had I chosen to break-up with him based on that, who knows where I would be today or what I would be doing. Probably working sitting in a cubicle, working some dead end job and hating my life. I know some people do that and love it but it was never for me. So luckily, my road took me in a different direction.
I didn’t know what direction that was at the time. I knew nothing about military life and had learned most of what I knew from online forums and research. It sounded exciting! And although deployments scared me, I was naive in thinking it wouldn’t happen so soon.
Well it did. And it sucked.
Oh did I mention I was pregnant?
Life was hard. I felt stuck, trapped, and unsure of what I was doing with my life. I couldn’t bare to stay in New York by myself so I went back home to Ohio to live with my parents. I felt like a guest in the home I had recently left to live my own life. With my husband. And then Uncle Sam said NO! Not yet sister.
I worked at a daycare to stay busy and make some extra money. And it also helped to talk to people other than sitting home alone all day. Waiting. Waiting for my parents to get home from work. Waiting for the next phone call. Waiting for my husband to come home. Waiting for my life to resume.
Once he was home, things started to return to normal again. I had starting blogging when he left and kept up with it here and there when I needed a place to vent. But then it started to become routine. I enjoyed writing. I enjoyed meeting other women through the blogging community. I enjoyed working with brands and continuing my education in PR and marketing. I had found a new passion and eventually, it would “accidentally” become my job.
I worked really hard over the next couple of months and years. I turned my blog into a business, a hub of all things I love, and I’ve loved every second of it. When there wasn’t a road for me to take, I paved my own. I made lemons out of lemonade and chose to not let my role as a military wife dictate who I was or what I did.
It’s not easy to live your life supporting someone else’s dreams. To not know when and where you’re moving or if your husband is leaving again. But we do it because we love them. It’s easy to lose yourself as a person when you’re constantly taking care of other people and you’re so committed to making sure everyone else is okay. That your husband adjusts after coming home from war or has everything he needs for the next training. Or when your kids want their daddy and you try to explain they can’t see him right now because he’s halfway across the world. As much as I hate to say this is a lifestyle because I feel I didn’t do anything but marry the man I love, it is. There are sacrifices and frustrations and experiences that make it hard to live a “normal” life sometimes.
At one point I let that consume me. I didn’t know how to find myself again when I had lost myself for so long. Between being a wife, a mom and learning the ways of the military, I fell in line with the day-to-day shuffle and was just going through the motions. But when I found my passion and my escape at the same time, I felt like myself again.
My husband never asks for a “thank you” and I certainly do NOT need any thanks for doing anything more than loving and supporting my husband. But I do find it heartwarming that some companies realize that sacrifices service members and their families have made by choosing this lifestyle like Chevrolet. Now through May 31, nobody offers a more comprehensive discount available to active duty, retirees, and all veterans.* (Hopefully my husband isn’t reading this because if I hear about him getting a truck one more time I’ll lose it…)
But I also love that GM employs nearly 5,000 veterans and has close to 45,000 retirees who have served in the military. They also provide dealerships with free access to over 400 Hiring Our Heroes job fairs so they can connect with veteran applicants with a diverse range of skills. When we discussed my husband getting out of the military and he started to look for jobs, we were shocked at how difficult it actually was. The Hiring Our Heroes initiative has helped over 200,000 returning military service members and their spouses find training, career counseling and employment opportunities. Umm… I love that. Period.
There are so many different roads I could have gone down as a military spouse but I have to say, I’m happy with the one I’ve chosen. It’s bumpy at times and sometimes I lose my sense of direction but I’m okay with that. I’ve learned to go with the flow and be more flexible. And as long as I have my husband and my kids beside me on this crazy adventure, what more could I ask for?
* Eligible military personnel includes Active Duty members, Reservists, National Guard members, Veterans and Retirees —including their spouses — of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Excludes 2016 Malibu,Equinox and Traverse L models, Colorado 2SA, Impala Limited and Spark EV; 2016 Cruze, Cruze Limited L Manual and Corvette Z06. Take delivery by 5/31/16. See participating dealer for details.)
This is a sponsored story from Chevrolet and SoFluential | MSB New Media.
