I just can’t quit you

So… a lot has happened since I last posted.

No, I didn’t run last year’s Marine Corps Marathon. But YES, I did defer it for this year, thus allowing me to skip over the newly enacted lottery. Hooray!

Yes, I finally have a treadmill. It is helping me to keep on track with running. Although, it gets boring. Fast. Let’s say at this stage my running is intermittent. Working on it.

No, I am not a volunteer for my husband’s unit new Family Readiness Officer… yet. But not at the fault of not trying on my behalf. The unit went through some changes like a middle aged woman going through menopause.

No, My husband is STILL (!!!!) not been retrained for a job with the USMC. I mean it’s only been three years. But he is the platoon Sergeant so it’s not like he’s not busy. Some of you are familiar with the term “the big green weenie.” My husband happens to be very familiar. On the plus side he’s been going through the process of applying for an aviator contract for Officer Candidate School. I’ll take bets on which happens first- new MOS training or Officer Candidate Course.

Yes, I’m still a stay at home mom. I’ve been really itching to get a part time job or go back to school but it’s just not a good time yet. Perhaps when our son attends pre-school in the fall. At least I can check off applying for the pre-school off my list. Next up: teaching him to pee in the damn toilet. You’d think it would be more fun for boys. Now if only someone could convince him of that. Geesh.

What does this all mean for me?

I’m going to start eating a no sugar diet. Read: no added sugar; natural sugar from fruits are fine. Although this may start out as a low sugar diet since I’m pretty sure I’m an addict. I guess I have to first convince my husband not to buy cookies and ice cream. I think this is going to help increase my energy because I’ve been super sluggish since turning 30… or maybe it’s since the moment I’ve had to be at the beck and call of a child every moment of every waking hour. It’s a coin toss really.

I also get to start shopping and looking into business licenses for my husband’s house in coastal Carolina. We’re turning it into a short term rental in order to offset the cost of mortgage. So far it’s not. At least everything we’re purchasing will be tax deductible. If we go the route of managing our own property I might take a course or five to make sure I have the professional background to keep it running smoothly.

Volunteerism… it’s a sickness

I’ll give you guys a little break from all this challenge talk. Don’t worry; I’m still pushing through but I somehow doubt you need to know what’s happening daily with it. If you’re really all that curious just ask in the comments section.

Things are about to get super busy soon. I’m going to start my marathon training in April in addition to moving. My husband has a couple trainings penciled in. (The Marine Corps likes to keep you continuously guessing.) And I’m trying to get involved in the unit by becoming a Family Readiness Volunteer. I’m doing what I can to fill the hours of my day with constructive activities and helping people just leaves me feeling like the Beach Boys… ya know… feeling those good vibrations?

Family Readiness Volunteers support the Family Readiness Program by welcoming new unit families, providing feedback from unit families, and assisting in information and referral services. When you’re new to the game, you need as the guidance you can get. We may not be on base to get access to all the resources available, but help is always just a phone call away.

When you’re associated with a military Reserve or National Guard unit, there isn’t as much of a sense of community like there is with Active Duty. Families are interspersed across a tri-state area (or sometimes further!) and you see each other twice a year. Pretty hard to forge friendships that way, but you know that when one of your own service members is about to be deployed you’re at that party 3 hours away to wish him/her well. You’re all about helping them pack up and move to a new place. And you’re making sure they come home to a delivery of flowers and congratulations when they have a baby.

So although our community is wide-spread and we don’t get to see each other that often, we’re all in the same situation and if anyone ever needed anything we’d all be there for one another in a heartbeat. I hope I’m not getting all “Army Wives” on you, but there is some truth behind the over-dramatization depicted. The family of my husband’s fellow Marines are the reason why I’m not afraid to encourage my husband to keep moving forward with his military career. Everyone has each others’ backs and that why I want to give something back to the unit. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have this special addition to my life. It’s like adopting 45 adults and their families.

Marine’s have three families; the one they’re born into, sworn into, and married into. The one he’s sworn into has become a family to me, as well. I wouldn’t want it any other way.