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Guest Blog: What I Love About Military Life


Amanda
Amanda

Blogger Biography: Amanda moved around a lot as a kid but claims Oklahoma as home since that’s where she went to high school, college and met her husband. She has been married for almost five years and they have two wild and crazy boys. Together they have moved four times and currently live in Alexandria, VA.

For most people, a PCS move is bad news. Military spouses can think of more exciting things to do than pack up, find a new home, possibly a new job, new friends, a new school for themselves or their kids or both! I am a rarity. I get excited to research the new area, house hunt, look at the shopping and restaurants, and search social media sites for any long lost friends who might be stationed there now. I love to make a list of things to do, places to go and sights to see.

Don’t get me wrong; our recent move to Washington, D.C. hasn’t been the easiest. We don’t have a family readiness group, so there are no instant social groups. With my husband’s job, there are only 25 people in his program, and the families are spread out across the National Capital region. To get together with someone he works with, it can take us an hour or more to get to their house. Making friends is hard and I’ve been pretty spoiled riding my husband’s coattails on invites to barbecues and social functions.

When a job posting for a nonprofit that focuses on military families came across my social media feed, I stopped dead in my tracks. I’d been a stay at home mom for three years to my two boys and hadn’t really thought of going back to work, but I couldn’t help but consider this position. It was a cause I’m passionate about, family oriented and part-time. Perfect. I got everything in order and started about a month later. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and it just fit. This position helped me make friends, network and be active in the military community that is so widely dispersed here.

If you would have asked me three years ago, even two years ago, if I thought I would go back to work while having kids in the house, I would have told you no way! But each new place has new opportunities that we need to take advantage of. That’s what I love about military life.

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