During deployments or long term rotations, TDY, time apart military or not it is so important for me to have things to intentionally fill my time so that I don’t get lost in the emotions or the anxiety. In the weeks leading up to time apart or deployments, I like to brainstorm all the things that I will fill my time with and sometimes these ideas are so out there they never make it past the brainstorm stage but having the ideas out in the universe is at least a first step. Another way to make sure the ideas come to fruition is to tell the children, the little humans forget NOTHING!! Having these things can also act as a countdown and give you something to look forward to daily, weekly, monthly. Another key component though is to not lock yourself into something that is a time or energy suck, nothing that is a chore because you will have plenty of those just living life. Make these fun and cup filling things while also allowing yourself time to feel emotions and GIVE YOURSELF GRACE!
A few things I’ve jotted down in my brain’s notepad (ie: wasteland because it is overcrowded and overwhelmed) are:
- Muffin Monday
- Fancy coffee Friday
- Workout
- walk 300 miles (as a family)
- Monthly countdown treats (local eateries)
- Home projects
- Charlotte’s room
- foyer table
- laundry room
- Brave Crate or monthly subscriptions
- Retreats
- Book clubs
- The Read Rovers (Instagram, IYKYK, or just ask me)
- Marne View (neighborhood)
- Bible studies
- Trips
- Movie Nights: themed dinner
- Watch TV shows that husband doesn’t love
- Love on other spouses that are going through the deployment with you
- Journal- BUT don’t keep emotions bottled up- lean in to your tribe!!
I don’t want to go into too much detail, I need blog content duh, so stay tuned
These are just some ideas, nothing too crazy and all do-able. It’s also a nice mix of daily, weekly, monthly; goal oriented, fun, countdown; self-care, for the kids, outreach. I hope when J comes home I can look back at the “solo” time and be proud of all I accomplished and see growth and change.
Army of Readers 
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