As I sit here about to launch into this adventure with you I go back to my motto of "Embrace the chaos." I know you are probably thinking "If you only knew what kind of chaos I am facing you would tell me to run". Dear friend, running doesn't change the chaos. Running doesn't allow you the growth you deserve. Running doesn't allow you the peace you seek. Besides, running leaves you out of breath.
How do you embrace chaos? Isn't chaos something you don't want? Well, yes, I would hope you don't seek out chaos but the truth of the matter is life is in constant motion. Motion is never linear no smooth. I imagine there is a scientist out there that may prove this very non scientific theory of mine wrong but we aren't talking about theories here. We are talking about life. And life.... well... life gets bumpy.
Chaos is inevitable. The intensity of chaos is variable. There are so many things that happen to you that are out of your control. As a military wife, I feel like this is no truer statement! What you can control is your reaction to the moments of tension and chaos.
The Spring/Summer of 2018 was chaos for me. Pure chaos. Let me set the scene for you.... you may want to go pop some popcorn this is pretty entertaining! My husband was deployed and we have 2 little ones (well one child in elementary school and a toddler). In addition to our darling two legged children, at the time, we had a 3 legged child (my husband's retired military working dog), a 4 legged 6 month old puppy, and 2 guinea pigs. Deployments are never easy but you get through them. In the middle of said deployment dear husband drops the "Hey we are PCSing" bomb on me. Wait.... hold the phone... we can't PCS (for non military folks here that is military jargon for moving) you aren't here! But alas, we were. So my "normal" deployment turned into a deployment that now consisted of me selling our home and beginning to search for another one in a state/area I had no clue about, all while running the every day moments of the household. It was pure chaos.
How did I survive? I leaned into it. I knew I couldn't change the situation. I couldn't rewrite the orders (I would have it I could have!). I also leaned into friends, family, and neighbors. Did I have my moments.... YES! Just ask my husband. But I had to recognize what I could control and what I couldn't or I would have sat there in the middle of my living room floor paralyzed with anger, frustration, anxiety, and thoughts of what next.
My hope for you is that you are not facing pure chaos and that you are surrounded by those who are able to sit with you and say "it's ok to not be ok." However, if you are sitting there feeling alone and paralyzed with fear, with anxiety, with frustration, with thoughts of how did I get here, I would be honored to sit with you and tell you "it's ok to not be ok."
Life isn't meant to be overwhelming. Let's work together to find your peace in the middle of a chaotic storm.