Learning to be flexible is one of the most important skills every military spouse needs to master. And no, I haven’t mastered it yet. I’m getting better at it, but I still find myself resisting the truth of military life: I have no control over anything except for how I choose to react to it.
Never have one of my hissy-fits ever resulted in changing any orders or work shifts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planned a time sensitive meal just to find out that someone isn’t going to be home in time for dinner, or that “the mission” called my spouse away from our family vacation, or that someone isn’t departing on his scheduled deployment next month…he’s leaving next week.
As much as I fight the good fight to create a structured, routine life, the military seems hellbent on spicing things up for all of us. And there is nothing we can do about it…but accept it, internalize it, and say “bring it on!”
The only predictable thing about being a military family is how unpredictable our lives can really be. As a matter of fact, unpredictability is one of the most frustrating and exhilarating things about being a military spouse. We’re always facing a new adventure, new possibilities, and new challenges that force us to be more and more flexible.
We know…
- how to be relocation experts…pouring hours of research into finding the right mix of the 3 S-es: Safety, Schools, and Shopping
- that every situation we face is temporary, and even when we think things are tough, we know they can get tougher…so we do our best to find the silver lining in any situation
- what it means to be one-deep in your marriage, in parenting, and sometimes, in your community
- that military relationships require hard work, constant communication, and a willingness to seek help when we need it
- how lucky we are to be part of the next generation military spouses during the social media revolution, remembering the challenges of military spouses from generations past who couldn’t Skype or keep in contact on Facebook, or get a daily or weekly email during times of separation.
Our mantra this month is “Be Flexible”. Whether it’s flexing your dinner hour or flexing your career path, as military spouses we all have to incorporate flexibility in to our lives.
Our February theme image is adapted from Horia Varlan’s Brightly colored drinking straws with flexible head and is released under a creative commons license.
[…] Be flexible, things change so much in the military, your spouse might come home at 5 pm on the dot every day for a week and then the next week you are lucky if she is home by 9 pm. Instead of getting irritated, roll with it. Making concrete plans can often bite you in the butt! […]