You're Going to Need Bags for This

All too often I forget that I live a life that is different than a lot of other people. Days like yesterday are a humbling reminder of that...

I jokingly added the following picture to my FB account and tagged all of my military wife friends in it (or most of them... I am sure there are plenty I forgot to tag, blessed to realize I have so many)!

Anyway, the tag read " Do any of my military wife friends know what season it is?!"

Laughter erupted because all of the girls knew what the picture meant. The picture means that someone you know is PCSing (moving) across the country, or further, and they are cleaning out all things... to include the pantry and refrigerator. They are likely, being in as long as we have, doing this for the third, fourth, fifth, or more times. They are taking what they can keep, parting with things they can't, and doing it all most of the time, singlehandedly.

You see, in the military you have two choices. You learn to make friends quickly, rely on them heavily, and allow them into your life full on, or you sink. There truly is no in between! Blood relatives are likely far away from wherever you are, high school besties are often the same... So, when you run out of milk and are struggling early in the morning you need a neighbor that you can go to with your pajamas on, no makeup on, grab the milk from their fridge, promise to run to the store later to get more, and then go home with no judgement! You learn that the phone may ring at any given time and you will gain one, two, three, etc. kids in the blink of an eye because your other neighbor had to run a sick child to the hospital or take their husband something he forgot that he absolutely has to have and can't come get. You learn to say, "Go, I have got this."

So, as funny as it is when the neighbor calls you up and says, "Come over and bring bags with you." It is also very bittersweet because, you see, she is not just the neighbor... she is a dear friend... she is your lifeline... she is your family.

In the last several weeks I have had to say goodbye to "family" too many times, and today it finally caught up to me. I adore the life we live. I don't adore deployments, I don't adore our medical insurance all the time, I don't adore three moves in eighteen months... but I do adore friendships made, lessons learned, unexpected adventures taken... the list goes on!

Even though tomorrow I have to say goodbye again, I am thankful still...