Oh get a hobby!

I am NOT a hobby person, never have been.  I am not creative, have zero discernable talent and have no problem admitting it.  This made the hobby idea kind of a joke.  My point is, find something to occupy your time.  Whether it’s a goal to save a certain amount of money, pay bills or like me, write a book (or 2) make sure you have something to look forward to on a smaller scale.  The idea of the countdown to the end is daunting… I mean seriously counting down from 445 days is just DEPRESSING.  Having the smaller goals to measure the length of time seems more manageable and it feels good to cross things off your list. 

I have come across this HUGE blogosphere as well of women just like me that are trying to pass the time.  There are so many military wife blogs that there is something for everyone to associate with.  Blogging is a low maintenance way of getting yourself out there.  It’s easy to set up and you don’t really need to be all that tech savy to do it.  Just pick a name and you are on your way. 

For us the goals were set out before he left:

-         First was, pay off bills and save money for the purchase of our first home.  *sidenote* When your husband is in theatre there are a lot of small financial perks such as BAH, Separation Pay, Hazardous Duty Pay and it’s all TAX FREE!  Remember this when you make your financial goals.  He will spend less money deployed than home, and most likely you will too.

-         My second set of goals was more personal.  I wanted to get in the best shape of my life so I signed up for kickboxing classes, I wanted to be able to defend myself so I signed up for mixed martial arts classes, I have always wanted to write a book so I chose the two topics that meant the most to me and started writing and my final goal was win my state pageant. 

We had our daughter write down her goals as well.  She wanted to learn to tie her shoes and ride her bike without training wheels.  She had barely turned 6 when he left so I think she missed the concept and procrastinated until a few months before his R&R.  Her main focus every day was the daddy hugs and kiss jar.  She counted down with this jar.    

My husband had a goal of losing weight.  Once he got to country he started taking a spin class a few days a week, then it became every day and starting the New Year he was teaching his own spin class.  My husband had lost a total of 50lbs the first 5 months he was in country.  I was just amazed at his determination.  During those 5 months I did manage to locate 15lbs of it and put it right around my muffin top region, thanks honey!  To date he has lost over 60lbs!  I am so proud of him!

We both used our smaller victories to mark the time passing during his deployment.  It was much easier to see to next week than it was to see 16 months down the line.