Part of my personal journey began when I became actively involved in military spouse life. I started to volunteer in the community, write about military life, was nominated for the MSOY program, worked as digital editor of Military Spouse for a time, and joined the American Military Spouses Choir. A great deal of my volunteer and professional life has revolved around the military spouse community. I have written hundreds of articles covering just about every topic you can think of, have worked with many milspouse bloggers, have been surrounded by some of the most influential leaders in our midst, and have performed all over the country with the AMSC.
To say I have been immersed in military-life culture is an understatement. And I wouldn’t change a single thing.
But…
Lately I have been reflecting on the past several years of my life. I’ve written before about being incredibly weary of the military spouse lifestyle. That still rings true for me; my husband has been a Marine for over 20 years, and we are both ready for him to finish his service and start a new chapter. Since writing about that topic, I have heard from hundreds of spouses who feel the same way, so I don’t think I am alone. There certainly does seem to be a collective sense of weariness and frustration in our community. That is absolutely understandable and not at all surprising.
But recently, I have noticed that my sense of weariness has waned a bit. Now, perhaps that is because my husband has an actual retirement date on the horizon. But to be honest, the next year is going to be a challenge since we are choosing to live apart. Just thinking of settling into a new home on my own and being separated for that long, makes me tired. So, I am not really sure that is the reason.