Thank you, Lew Corcoran, and Patricia Feager for hosting the December Active Rain Challenge, even in the craziest, busiest month of the year! I know this takes a ton of your time and energy, so huge gratitude from all of us.
Life is one long, twisty highway, isn’t it? Looking back, I realize my “Who am I?” question didn’t get answered in one dramatic Hollywood scene. Nope. It came in installments, like a binge-worthy series with cliffhangers every few seasons.
Season 1: Carefree College Gal → Navy Wife, Mom, & Professional Chameleon Fresh out of college, I married a Navy jet pilot. Overnight I went from sorority parties to squadron potlucks. We moved every 18 months, sometimes with 48 hours’ notice. The squadron became my village, my lifeline, my everything. We had our daughter Melissa, one of the first babies in our group to be born and brought a standard poodle named Mr. French home. I learned to pack a house in two days, make friends in three minutes, and smile through another goodbye party. Identity? Whatever the Navy needed me to be that week.
The First Big Aha Moment: “Wait, This Chapter Is Closing Whether I Like It or Not!” One day my husband looked at me and said, “The grass is greener on the civilian side.” Really?? I was ALL IN on the officer’s-wife life, mastered the protocol, the moves, the “hurry up and wait” lifestyle. And suddenly… poof. The runway lights went dark. That was my first real “Whoa, I’m not in control of this story” moment. I distinctly remember thinking, “Okay, girl. Time to pull up the big girl panties and figure out civilian life.” (Yes, those exact words).
Season 2: Suburban Mom, Business Owner, Texas-Bound We left the Navy, had our son John nine months later, brought a schnauzer home named Pepper, started a concrete company, and hauled the whole circus to Texas in 1981. Life smoothed out. Playdates, PTA, soccer-mom van, the whole package. I thought, “Cool, I’ve got this adulting thing nailed.” Plot twist: The universe laughed and said, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Eight years later another freight-train aha moment barreled down the tracks… but that’s a story for the next episode. (Stay tuned!)
The truth? I’m still a work in progress. Every move, every role, every “Wait, WHAT?” moment has peeled back another layer and whispered, “Here’s a little more of the real you.” Some days I’m the fearless pilot’s wife. Some days I’m the big-girl-panties entrepreneur. Most days I’m both, and a bunch of other versions that pop up.
So here’s to all of us on this wild road: still revising, still recalibrating, still having aha moments that make us laugh, cry, and pull those big girl (or big boy) panties up one more time.
What about you? When was the last time life handed you a plot twist and said, “Surprise, meet the new you!”? I can’t wait to read your episodes. #ActiveRainChallenge
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