Mom. Wife. Military Life.

“I don’t know how you do it.”

I hear that more times then I can count. I hear it from strangers, friends and family. I have a simple answer, it can vary from time to time, but it usually goes something like this…

“I don’t either, I just do.”

We as spouses are masters of flexibility. Masters of being told that things are happening one way and reality reminding you they are happening another. Sometimes they fall in our favor and other times they completely sweep us off our feet. But one thing is tried and true, we always make it through.

I have days in this life where I sit and wonder what the hell we are doing. I watch my kids say goodbye to their daddy and family coming and going for visits and work and as I look in the backseat and see them crying I hear a “Momma, why does everyone keep leaving us?”… excuse me while I catch my breath because that felt like a punch straight to the stomach… followed by a simple answer from me of “Because your daddy is a rockstar, and we have an incredible country that he has to protect. And guess what… We wouldn’t have had the chance to go to these beaches, learn a new language and meet our awesome new friends if daddy’s work didn’t bring us here right?!”… Im half convincing myself of this as I repeat that to them.

I made a promise to myself as my husband left for this last trip that I wouldn’t only get through, but I would thrive during this time. When you think of thriving you think above average. You think a step above good. Thriving, to me, means living in a constant place of allowed growth. Stepping outside of my box and trying new things. No… that doesn’t mean I’m going blindfolded bungee jumping… to me it means keeping my mind in a place of happiness. It means that when things don’t fall into place, I find a lesson in it for myself and my kids. It means looking at the cup half full and seeing the silver lining. It means that when times get hard, because at points they will be really freakin hard, remembering I am the daughter of a greater God and that his plan has us in that moment for a reason… a reason I might not recognize in the moment, but a reason that will make it worth pushing through.

I’m a control freak… (insert insatiable laughter here, we all know how well that shakes out in this lifestyle). I have had to grow and adapt my thinking every single day. At this moment we are happy. We are tired from all the festivities of summer, but we are recharging to start a new set of adventures before school begins and we head into a whole new routine. ROUTINNNNEEEEE….. Did you hear the angel’s singing?! 2 older kids in school, and only one baby at home…. I just might start a presidential campaign, run a marathon and take up singing opera, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Thats what having only one kid at home feels like to me. So yes, bring on the school year.

So your idea of thriving and mine may be different…I fully believe you can control your perception of the place you are in, in life. Im not going to say sometimes life doesn’t just keep on coming by hitting you where it hurts, but there are other things to focus when things get hard… we are able and breathing.  The tiny pin prick of light at the end of the tunnel is a piece of optimism to me. I have no control over what can or will happen, but I can control today and this moment, and right now in this moment, we are thriving.

Inspire.Believe.Succeed.

-KINZY