Keeping Your Sanity While Getting it Done!

“You can do anything but not everything”

That quote quickly becomes a road map to survival when life becomes overwhelming and you feel like you are just holding your head above water. How is a military spouse able to do it all? Juggling life, family, career, children, and household responsibilities? 

With resources and delegation. Knowledge is power.

Find out what resources are available to you and make plans and backup plans in case the original plans fall through. Come on, we are military spouses! We know plans change a million times before they are set! Make sure to remain flexible, and be confident enough to ask outside your comfort zone for help when needed. 

Case in point - I was away on a business trip this past weekend. I had a family emergency and my parents who were caring for my children needed to tend to my family member.

For a moment I felt like I literally had NO ONE to take my children. Once I was able to process my feelings of panic, and helplessness from being unable to travel home immediately, I knew I had to get to work. I had to reach outside my comfort zone and blatantly ask for help. As spouses, sometimes we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, not wanting to burden others with our load - the thing is -people WANT to help, they just may not know how without a bit of direction.

My Solution?

I contacted a relative that we love, but I have never called to ask a favor from her before. My conversation was direct in that I needed someone to care for my children from Friday to Sunday, to be picked up from school, and have a place to sleepover until I returned to town. Her response?

“Thank you”. She thanked me for finally asking her for help, and she thanked me for trusting her with my children. How crazy is that??? Her reaction changed the dialogue that I had in my head from thinking I was a burden to her. The situation altered my mentality and now I feel that I would not be so uneasy about asking again in the future if needed.

Resources such as grocery delivery, emergency childcare, or pet sitters are all handy things to have in place in the case life throws a curveball while your spouse is away. Handling it all does not have to mean DOING IT ALL. Delegate, and make peace with that. Keeping your sanity during a deployment means avoiding burnout, staying with the long game, and focusing energy on the things that matter.