This summer my hubby was overseas for almost a month…. Looong time! It was three kiddos & I on the home front (can we say outnumbered !?!?!)
First of all, major shout out to every single mom, military wife or those of you who carry the majority of the family responsibility on a regular basis – plain & simple …you’re a rock star!
I was dreading his time away but had no choice in the matter… so it was time to put on my big girl pants & deal!
Well, I lived to tell. The kids and I had a lot of fun and I learned several lessons along the way.
A couple predominant lessons I learned were:
1. Life is much easier when you have people “in it” with you!
Allow people to know what’s going on in your life … the good, the bad & the ugly. Sometimes we get frustrated that a friend or a spouse isn’t offering the kind of support/encouragement that we think we need… but the thing is, we need to remember that people cannot read our minds… they do not own a crystal ball… it is not fair for us to expect that people will just “know”… If we need support, encouragement, a helping hand, a listening ear … we need to share that! (I know, I know, that is not always the easiest thing to do… it requires courage & humility! But what a blessing to know that you are not in it alone & to allow others into your life!
2. Let people help you.
Like I said, I know some of us have a hard time asking for help & letting people in or sharing what we need… but we can all grow in this area! We can trust that there are people in our lives who really do want to help! When friends are offering to help, we need to believe them and not feel like we are a burden or a failure for taking them up on their offer! Also, you never know when someone will need you and you can be a blessing to them!
I can’t tell you what a blessing it was to have friends offer to watch my kids so I could work out, run to Costco or just have a moment to myself.
The text messages from friends just checking in or asking how my day was going mattered.
I was super thankful for the dinner invites, play dates, pool time & even a trip to San Clemente to go beach camping
This was all such a wonderful reminder & encouragement to me that life truly is better when people are in it with you. Also, a great example of the kind of support that I want to offer to the people around me! Sometimes it is those simple acts of kindness that really do go a long way! When we pay attention and look beyond ourselves there is always something we can do to be a blessing, to help lighten the load for someone else… to show friends around us that they are not alone!
We’re in this together!
(and YAY- glad to have him back!)
