During our time in the Washington, D.C., area, I practiced the power of saying “no.” Those three years were a time for me to focus on myself and my career, including going back to work full-time for the first time in a long time. After returning to the United States, after three years overseas, I needed to take a breath. I was burnt out and had some grief packed away that I needed time to process. Between the end of the long workday, shuttling my kids to various activities and going to sleep, I had no interest in getting involved in anything. The fact that we weren’t conveniently plopped next to a base helped. “Out of sight, out of mind,” was the only way I was going to keep my focus on home, on my career and on me.
My Story Is Better
If you’re a military spouse, you have no doubt been in the “who had it worse” conversation competition. PCSing, deployments and general military life can give us a lot of material for …