The military lifestyle can be so isolating at times. For the last four years I've felt like I've been on an island. With one foot in and one foot out of the military community. And I'll be honest, I've struggled with it a lot. Being a wife and mother means we need a village. We are not meant to do this life alone. And being without that community has really done a number on my mental health.
My lifeline has been social media. Do I love social media? Absolutely not. I think it can be extremely toxic if you let it. But, am I grateful it's brought me real life friends and community? Absolutely YES. And in what other group of people can you meet someone for the first time and make them your children's emergency contact? It's a uniquely military thing. Just like driving 6 hours to visit an Instagram friend for the first time and staying at their house is. In no other world would that be considered normal. But, that's just what I did this week. Last second, I packed up the youngest two kiddos, got up at 3:45am and hit the road to drive north.
We got to my friend Joy's house around 11:00am, and let's just say we were exhausted. But that didn't stop us! We knew we only had limited time with them, so we settled our things inside and got to spending time together. The kiddos hit it off pretty quickly and while Joy and I caught up and chatted the kids played. After we hung out at the house for a while we decided to visit the cute downtown. We went to two different antique shops and I found some goodies (I don't think it's possible for me to go antiquing and not find treasures to take home). After we were done shopping we headed back to the house so Joy's kids could take a nap. Meanwhile her and I just chatted while my two kiddos played.
We attempted some sourdough which was hilarious because her oven couldn't fit the whole dutch oven inside AND it wouldn't heat past 370º which was a challenge. And although it didn't rise like we wanted it to, it didn't taste bad! When her kids had gotten up, we all spent a little time outside. And then it was bath time for the kiddos. After that we watched a John Wayne western movie and cuddled up on the couch to chat some more. Before we knew it, it was midnight. Ellie had fallen asleep on my lap, so I carried her up to our room. We were all out cold and slept like babies that night.
The next morning I got up before the kids and went downstairs with my Bible. Joy was right behind me and we got to spend some quiet time in our Bibles and chatting. Not for long though, because the kids starting trailing in soon after. We made some sourdough blueberry muffins, got ready for the day and then packed up the car. Then we headed to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum which was such a blast! We definitely could have spent longer there, but we had to hit the road. So once we finished our lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed south. It took us about 6 hours to get home and we rolled into the driveway at about 8:00pm. We unpacked the car, took showers and fell fast asleep.
I'm so glad that we made the trip, even if it was only a two day adventure. My soul and heart needed it so much more than I thought. Having the opportunity to connect with a like-minded mama and fellow Marine wife IN PERSON was like medicine to my soul. I'm looking forward to more trips hopefully this summer!
