Swamped

I'm happy to report that I have completed the first set of lessons of my new career direction, but I am also completing my regular college coursework as well. Even though I have received my second set of lessons, my workload is such I have not been able to complete any of them. I have three papers of regular college to do this weekend, and midterms commence next week. My apologies for not making this blog a priority right now.

Deployment: A time of devastation or discovery?

Those of you who know me personally know that I am an Army wife, and you know that I consider it my mission to hold things together on the home front so that my husband can complete his missions wherever they may be.

That said, sometimes holding things together takes a monumental effort. So how do you manage to get everything done when you feel as bruised as a crash test dummy?

What follows below are some of the things I have learned through the course of three deployments. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I will share the things that have helped me keep my perspective.

1. Everyone handles deployments differently; resist comparing yourself to other wives. What matters is how YOU handle it.

2. If you have children, try to remember that while you are looking out for their needs, you have needs too. It's okay for you to have needs of your own; don't feel guilty!

3. Try to carve out a small part of the day that belongs exclusively to you. This time is important because it lets you recharge your batteries.

4. Come to terms that your routine will not run exactly as it did before deployment. You may have a load of laundry sitting on your dresser for a week before you get a chance to put it away.

5. Since OPSEC should be a concern for all of us, forgo posting or discussing exact dates, but keep a small calendar in your nightable. Count down the end of each day before you go to bed.

6. Do not expect deployments to get easier. The truth is, deployments don't get easier, we just get better at dealing with them.

7. Be kind to yourself; you are going to have crappy days and there are going to be times when you will wonder if you will make it to the end of deployment with your sanity intact. Grieve, and then get going.
Remember, this too shall pass.

The things I have mentioned here are things that I sometimes have trouble with myself. What kinds of things do you have trouble with during a deployment?

Breaking with Convention

In a few months, I will be graduating college with my associates degree. The completion of this degree has been something that has taken me years, and I am proud that this journey has nearly reached its end. I have recently decided that my choice of degree does not make me very happy. I chose this degree more in an attempt to please others in my life, and not myself.

A number of occurrences that have been to numerous to attribute to random coincidence have forced me to reconsider. Because I believe it is never too late to try and rectify a mistake, I am proud to announce that I will be embarking on the career path that truly brings me happiness.

The education in my chosen field will take a year. Once I have completed my educational requirements, I will revisit this and reveal my new career choice.

Spring Cleaning, and the Taxman Cometh...

And so begins one of the most hated times of the year for me; income tax time. Every year I fume and sweat over filing tax returns that terrify me. I have never been the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to math, and tax time seems a special torture reserved for those without a numerically developed brain. Wading through the IRS' website is more confusing than helpful, as it seems that their website was designed by egotistical accountants and mathematicians who have created this opus in order to see how many of us uninitiated will fall into the quagmire of obscure rules and vague regulations.

Spring. The time of year where rebirth becomes a reality, and the time of year where people begin to realize they need to divest themselves of unnecessary baggage, material and otherwise. It is amazing how much stuff people accumulate over the space of one year. My garbage cans have been working overtime as I seek to get rid off clutter and things that simply serve no purpose in my life any more. I have even caught myself throwing out things that I thought originally served a purpose, but never really did.

What is cluttering your life? What do you need to eliminate?