Friday Fill-in

I would just like to say that three Fridays from now I will be back in the States.  That thrills and terrifies me at the same time…

1. What is your must have gadget? submitted by Flying High With My Flyboy  Gonna have to go with my iPhone.  It’s my phone, email, internet, calendar, music, contacts, entertainment, weather, book all in one.  How did I ever function without one of these?
2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like when you were a little kid? submitted by L to the Third  I think I imagined being married, working full time, living somewhere in the midwest, going on vacations, being involved in a church, having a few close friends, etc.  I never in my wildest dreams imagined being married to a fighter pilot who is a far better husband and father than I ever could have imagined.  I never thought I’d be living in Italy, move 5 times in 5 years, be dealing with deployments and TDY’s.  I never thought that I could be so secure and comfortable in my marriage, and yet be completely independent at the same time.  I didn’t think I’d be a stay at home mom, and once I figured out I would be, I never thought I’d love it so much.  I definitely never thought my daughter would visit 9 countries before her 2nd birthday.  I couldn’t even have dreamed of going to half the places we’ve been to already.  I thought I’d be traveling during our retired years, not in our late 20’s/ early 30’s.  I didn’t imagine having so many close friends and people who I can trust and rely on scattered literally throughout the world.  My life is far better than I could have ever imagined.
3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe?  submitted by Our First Deployment  Honestly I really like the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle’s chocolate chip bag.  Yum!
4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be to much or to hard? submitted by Combat Boots And Pointe Shoes  I vent to friends about it.  I write about it on my blog.  (That’s therapeutic for me.)  I try to remember all the positive things there are about the military lifestyle and how they definitely outweigh the negative.  But really, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and pray for strength.
5. What piece of advice would you give a new Military spouse facing their first deployment?  submitted by The Albrecht Squad  I’m not a new military spouse, but I am facing my first deployment in the very near future.  What I’ve learned from long TDY’s is that attitude is everything.  If you have a negative attitude, you’ll be miserable.  If you try to remain positive and look for the good in your situation, life is MUCH better and 10 times easier.  But it does take some practice, that’s for sure.  Having them gone never gets better.  It still majorly stinks every time they leave, but dealing with your emotions does get easier.  At least for me.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to enter my giveaway!!  I’ll be choosing a winner tomorrow (on Saturday).