reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.
Last week we spent a few days on the beach in North Carolina with family. That doesn’t sound extraordinary to most of you, but it most certainly is to us.
We are close enough to drive to see our family.
That wasn’t the case in Upstate NY
or Washington State
or Rhode Island
or Italy.
And it certainly won’t be the case in Alaska.
It’s a gift and one we’ve treasured the past 2 years.
But it’s time to move on to our next adventure.
Hi friends and Happy Monday!
It’s been a L O N G time since I blogged about reading. Well, I did my Favorite Reads of 2017 post but other than that I haven’t been doing my monthly posts!
As y’all know, I read a LOT. So instead of telling you every single book I read in the past 2 months, I’ll link you to my Goodreads Read Bookshelf and just highlight my favorites here. Sound good?
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
It’s going to take my heart awhile to recover from this book. I spent some time telling Jimmy all about it this morning and i cried the entire time. I won’t ever forget it. It made me spend a good long time examining my heart and my tendency to judge and condemn without knowing the full story. Absolutely shattering. My measure of a good book is how it makes me FEEL and whether i think about it often after i finish.
5 stars
Happy Wednesday y’all!
Today I’m blogging about planners. I answer most basic planner questions HERE , HERE, and HERE, although I do need to do a revised list.
I see so much negative talk about pretty planners on social media. And I used to contribute to it. I’d judge photos and even leave snarky comments. Yikes. Hard to admit, but true. Why? I have no idea. I just remember feeling so judgy about it.
SPOILER ALERT: Read all the way to the end. There’s a really great giveaway there!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Jord Watches. All opinions are 100% mine, and I wouldn’t type these words if I didn’t mean them.
I am married to the world’s pickiest man who pays attention to every single detail, no matter how small it might seem. And I mean this in the best possible way. It serves him well and helps him succeed.
But.
Sigh.
Sometimes it can be slightly infuriating.
He has been looking for a unique men’s watch for years. YEARS. Ever since we first met, which was in 2000. Yikes.
I have always loved the concept of One Little WordⓇ. I think it is enlightening, encouraging, and empowering. It holds me accountable and keeps me on track. Do I always talk about the word year round? No. Have I always shared it with you guys? Probably not. ffBut I totally believe in this idea and I have loved it since Ali came up with it.
I went back and forth on what I wanted my word to be this year. I thought about bloom. You know, like the name of this blog…Bloom Where You’re Planted. It’s always been my mantra. No matter where we go, no matter what the mission is, no matter how foreign and tough the soil may be, we grow roots and bloom.
But I have another mantra. It’s the less classy, more real version of bloom where you’re planted.
Embrace the suck.
If you know anything about me at all, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I’m totally a glass half full kind of gal. I choose happiness when there is a choice. I don’t like to complain, whine, or be negative.
But let’s be real.
The life of a military family (or the life of ANY family, y’all. I’m just speaking about what I know personally) isn’t all perfect, all great, all happy, or easy all of the time. There are challenges. And struggles.
During our time in VA we’ve had unlimited family time. We see J every morning and night. He helps me bathe Cora and get through bedtime in one piece (which with 5 littles is no laughing matter). We have endless “date nights” where we order Indian food and watch our favorite Netflix show of the moment. He answers his phone and he responds to texts. We have long, lazy weekends and he sees every single game, recital, and class play. We have gotten used to seeing his handsome face.
This summer that will all change. New state, new home, new school, new friends, new job, new expecations.
Don’t get me wrong. I KNOW Alaska is going to be an amazing, beautiful adventure. I know we will bloom. I know God always has bigger plans than any we could ever imagine and I know that we end up starting over and loving every new place we go.
However.
I will also be embracing the suck. Watching my girls leave their friends. Leaving a dear friend I love and a gym that has become home to me. Leaving a school we love and leaving the idea of having family within a driving distance.
Leaving behind guaranteed family time and a two year break where we were out of a traditional military life. No FRG, no mandatory fun, no goodbyes, no going on post, no fishhbowl environment. On the flip side, I’ve so missed the support system and a community of women that just…”get it”.
J will assume battalion command this June and he is so ready for it. He is going to ROCK it. In my eyes, there’s no better leader than J. I can’t wait to see him shine. But man….I’ll miss that face.
Here’s to 2018.
Embracing the suck.
Embracing change.
Embracing the unknown.
Embracing Alaska.
Embracing goodbye, hello, and see you later.
Embracing growth for our family and adventure.
xoxo
S