How to hold it all together!!???

Oh hello! It's been a while!! My life has been twisted and turned, rocked and rolled these past few weeks and months. Let me recap. My husband's job forced us to move across the country. East to West. City life to the mountain life. Don't get me wrong. It has been a good change (although I still miss friends and familiarity with where we were at in Philadelphia area). But, life has been crazy. I had to pack up and move a house. Drive across the country. Take a stop mid way to visit family. Apply for jobs in my new state (that I had not even been to before moving) in places I've never been to or heard about except for online. Have telephone interviews while travelling in the car or at my mother in law's house with my kid's voices in the background. Life has not been easy, but it has been interesting. Someone recently told me, "You chose this life." I guess we did. The military life. This is what happens and I should know better by now. But, it still stings when others say this to you as you become so vulnerable with the changes. The heartache. The stress. Kids acting up as they feel it too. The unknowns in front of you. But yet you persevere and march on. Because you have to. As wife, mom, athlete, working professional, troubleshooter, you move forward and carry the family on. That is your role. No one else will do it for you. Especially not in my family. Some people are fortunate and have family that step in and help them all the time whether it be big or small. We have each other in our immediate family and stay strong. This means you have to be self reliant, focused, and most of all organized. Talk through it all, write it down. Have a plan. I started planning what I was going to pack with me for my trip weeks in advance. Started building a work bag with my resume, prepared interview questions in a notebook, and all of my licenses, credentials, and certifications filed away in my binder. There is no woe is me, I need a man to help me when you are a military wife. You learn to just do it and figure it out. I don't need an award for this, I just want to share with others the challenges, heartache, excitement, and roller coaster ride you go on when you are married to the military, tied to a professional work, and mother with kids who need you. A husband who needs you and you try to keep it all together. But, you do your best. You admit defeat on the days your life is a mess and sing from the rooftops when everything is working as planned. It can be a very lonely path being the only one going through this when you are not near military bases with other families going through the same thing. But, you have to have a schedule with your day. Schedule with your kids. Or you won't survive. Or at least I won't. I know it's summer and I am not presently working. But, I am still setting my alarm clock to get up early and do what I need to do before the pitter patter of feet come down the stairs and force me to break what I am doing. My time then is directed with them. We have a plan for activities for the day and reading and downtime and playtime. I need time to work on finding a new job, completing paperwork, setting up interviews. Our boxes need unpacking, laundry needs to be done, house needs decorating. So many things to do. What is for supper? When will I have time to work out. All has to be squeezed in for the day. As we now live in the desert, my workout times can only be early morning or late at night as it gets so hot here during the day. A workout during the middle of the day just isn't ideal with kids. As we are new here, our kids aren't in any summer camps or activities. So, I have to research activities to keep them busy and keep me sane!! Budget is a factor now living on one income for a few months. Moving is very expensive. We don't know any kids in the neighborhood and I don't have any friends yet here. Our neighbors have come by and introduced themselves and are nice, but not young. So, keep looking. We need childcare for the upcoming school year. Schools don't offer after school care here, next assignment. It is endless. I want to just read and take in the summer without all of the craziness. It will come I keep telling myself. We need to meet people, which means a possible grill out here for the 4th. People in my house? It's not ready, it's not done! But, you must just do it or you will find some other excuse. Friends, staying organized and trying to do it all is hard. It feels impossible at times. Some day I will look back and wonder what kind of super coffee I was drinking to make it all work, but, you have to make it work. That is how we progress and life and by having a plan you can stay focused and on task. Just winging it doesn't work and can hurt you in the long run. Because we've "winged it" before and we now know better. Patience, time, practice, drive, planning, reflection, and TIME FOR YOURSELF is so key. Keep plugging away. Think differently about your neighbors that just moved in. Maybe they look like they have it all together, but they probably don't. Say hi. Think of our military that are forced to uproot their lives constantly and serve their country. Yes, they and we all chose this life, but, as humans we want too want to connect. Reach out..... and don't look back.