Guest blog by Julie Rivera, Julie Rivera Photography
As I write this final entry to my Military Motherhood series from our new home in El Paso, Texas, it is a year to the day from when we first rolled into Columbus, Georgia. The trauma from having all our worldly possessions boxed up, loaded in a truck, carted half way across the country then dumped into a new house is still very, very fresh. (In fact, there are seven boxes surrounding me as I type. I loathe the boxes.)
Every time we move, my husband and I determine how we are not going to squander the time in this new location. How we are going to take full advantage of everything this spot has to offer that is unique to it. How we are going to make the weekends count because we know they are numbered. We might not pass this way again and we need to seize the opportunity.
In the case of Columbus, we were going to take day trips into Atlanta to see Centennial Park and the Coca-Cola Museum and just experience a big city. We were going to visit the many parks throughout the city. We were going to take long family walks along the Riverwalk. We were going to see Calloway Gardens, especially their renowned Christmas light display. We would make frequent visits to my mom’s beach side house in eastern Florida and to my dad’s house in the Florida panhandle.
Then real life hit.
And we found ourselves giving baths and helping with homework and making dinners no one eats and using the weekends to simply lay around because we didn’t get that chance throughout the school week. And the big plans fade into the dim reality of Every Day Life.
But Every Day Life is what we live for. No matter where we find ourselves for any particular year, it is all part of the story of our life. Yes, we should take full advantage of the special opportunities available in each city we call home. But if the grandiose plans never quite come to fruition, it does not mean that year was a waste. If there was laughter and friendship and memories made I am content. If the girls went Trick or Treating and sang carols and told me crazy tales of things that happened at school it was a good year.
And I can say our year in Columbus was a good year full of the simple things. Especially after we found the frozen yogurt place!
Julie Rivera has lived within the military her entire life. First as a dependent of a Navy Supply Corps Officer, next as an active duty Navy Supply Corps Officer, and now as the wife of an Army Artilleryman. She has over seven years experience as a mother and over five years experience as the owner of Julie Rivera Photography. Her children might be among the most chronicled on the planet and she absolutely loves when she has the chance to turn her lens on new families and children. See more of her work on her website at http://www.julieriveraphotography.com.
Related Content:
- Military Motherhood: Hang the Curtains
- Military Motherhood: It’s OK to Leave
- Military Motherhood: Well, back in Virginia…
- Military Motherhood: The Routine that is Never Routine
- Military Motherhood: When the Orders Arrive
- Military Motherhood: Spring’s Surprises
