Just getting started!

Well... this is my first post... never thought I would be a person to have a blog!

I hope this is a place for all my military friends to share how we stay strong while our loved ones are away and for my non-military friends to learn more about how we do it and how you can support us...whether it is for a weekend drill or for a 15 month deployment (or longer!) Let's support each other positively! I hope to share resources and ideas that I get from my life experiences and my greater military family.

Here is my first real "light bulb went on" moment during our current deployment:

I recently had some time with my high school girlfriends for our annual "Girls Night Out". One of them asked me "How do I do it during a deployment?" My response was, "You know, I have a choice every morning when I wake up, I can be sad and miss my husband and be miserable or I can be strong and proud for him, my children, and myself." It is a choice I have to make everyday.

That doesn't mean I don't have times when I cry or get angry... but we have to learn something from those feelings. I find I have those feelings when I am alone and fearful. Tony Robbins (Check him out on Oprah's new show, "Lifeclass" on OWN) recently said on Monday night's Lifeclass, "When we fear something, it is because we are thinking about ourselves."

I challenge you to not be fearful or scared... think of others and how you can help them through deployments or other life situations. Whether it is your children, your spouse, your coworker, or a friend... when you start thinking of others, things are not so scary. By helping others and reaching out to others, you help yourself. Surround yourself with loving and caring people and think about how your actions (or reactions) affect them too.

Here is a link to Oprah's Lifeclass on OWN
http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/oprahs-lifeclass.html