Supportive

Anything boys can do, girls can do better! Ok, so maybe not better, but we can do it!

I have been pondering over what to write in my next this blog post because my days have been very mundane recently, but this article put a whole new light on them. While life can appear to be mundane with routines taking over and household chores and food shopping being daily norms, they are completely necessary. I may not be working full time, but I am getting my masters and the house is always in order, the yard work done, the pantry stocked, laundry done, dinners thought of and prepped, birthday cards sent and signed with love, etc. etc.... these things don't just happen on their own and I am honored to do them, but would they be done if I was working full time?? The answer is Yes, they probably would, but my free time now that I can spend with my family would be slim to none and I treasure that time because as a military wife, you don't know when it will be snatched out from underneath of you. As the article mentions, the military labels us dependents, and while there are some wives whom are just that, the majority of us are supporters. We make the home function smoothly while our best friend and soulmate is serving our country; we do a man's job at home because it's the right thing to do and we don't want to add any distractions to our husband's already stressful lives. We support them through and through. Ryan says that I make his life ten times easier and that without me he wouldn't be able to do what he does. We all know that he would still be able to do what he does, but knowing that you have a loving wife supporting you is the light at the end of the tunnel which gives him an extra boost each day. Without Ryan, I would not be the woman I am today. My level of independence, confidence and understanding of what loving someone through thick and thin truly means have grown tremendously this past year.

Back to cleaning: Cleaning is generally very calming for me and while I may not always enjoy it, the end result is glorious! Plopping down in a chair with a glass of ice water and a killer song on the radio in the middle of a clean house puts a smile on my face. While cleaning comes totally naturally to me...I think it's in my blood...trimming bushes does NOT come naturally, but you bet your booty, I trimmed the front bushes this morning!

Shaping the bushes was just fine, but my lack of height and extremely weak arms proved to be the challenging aspects. I was in my tippy toes much more than anticipated and one can only hold a trimmer straight out in front of her for so long...my breaking point was about 25 minutes and that was with a few breaks. Lesson learned: keep working on those push ups and pull ups babydoll! Ironically, last weekend I was bragging to my mom about how strong my arms are getting. Bahaha! Silly me!

Fun: M.A. Econ students can have fun too! A little cookout of burgers, veggie kabobs, homemade cookies in which phrases such as "these are the best cookies I've ever eaten...for real...they are" were dropped and I smiled, strawberry rhubarb pie and homemade whipped cream, and beer led to lots of laughter! I always seem to worry about having people over because I can only control the food, not the atmosphere, and I hate that, but I must say, this past Tuesday was a blast! The realization that people are having fun, laughing, chatting, enjoying good food and all with no effort, is a beautiful thing! Happy is an understatement as to how I was feeling Tuesday evening.

So, I'm still not great at capturing semi low light movement clearly, but practice makes perfect! I love these crazies!

Weather: Hail?!?! Really Mother Nature?!? Hail in May in Virginia? Crazy! It was quite ironic and scary because I was chatting with my mom and she was telling me that my brother had to go to a secure area for a tornado warning this afternoon when the skies got dark, wind picked up and hail started pouring from the sky. It was not a comfortable situation. Instantly I began thinking what do I do if there is a tornado warning? There aren't basements here...Oh my heavens, I hope my car isn't getting dented by the larger than marble sized hail... Then is all stopped, the skies cleared and the sun broke through. My car is fine, phew!

School: Well, as most of you know, I am getting my masters in economics and with that comes a thesis statement i.e. paper. This summer I am working on my reading/research portion and then late summer, early fall I will begin my writing. My topic revolves around consumer protection, economic theory regulation and the Dodd Frank Act. Thrilling eh?!?! It is to me, but not to most. Basically, I want to apologize in advance for future posts that revolve around venting my frustrations with the paper.

Much love.