Lately my life seems to be turned upside and not necessarily in a bad way. I am a 34 year old woman and the thought of my life still experiencing firsts in anything is something I did not think could be possible but alas it is. Whether my life is experiencing firsts because of the Army, because of school, because of my health, my life or whatnot I am in a flux of experiencing first times through it all.
Last week my family went on a mini retreat/vacation. Oh it was wonderful. It was our first time up in a mountain lodge. It was the first time I got a "free" vacation because it was covered through the Army. You see the Army in an attempt to help families deal with the stresses that go along with this lifestyle gives out these Marriage Retreats to allow couples to find their way back to each other. I learned a lot not only about myself but about my marriage in this retreat and even though my husband and I have been blessed to be together in our marriage for the past 13 years we still had a lot to learn about communicating effectively with one another and how to be successful in this thing called love. I laugh because a soldier was there with his family and wife (mind you they all were soldiers with their families) but he worked for the Army newspaper here on post and was not only attending the retreat to learn more about his marriage but was covering the retreat to write about it for the newspaper. My husband and I were the couple there who has been married the longest (aside from the Chaplain that is) and so on our last day there this soldier decided to get our take on the retreat. See if it really was beneficial for a couple who has been married past a decade. First let me stop you there. I find it funny that being married past a decade now a days is a big deal and I think it speaks volumes for our culture now a days but I believe this is another topic for a another blog post. He asked us what it is that we learned the most in this retreat. My husband and I looked at each other and we answered almost simultaneously that we learned about communication. This soldier looked at us like we had lost our minds. How can you possibly be married 13 years and not know how to communicate? Well we explained that we learned how to "better" communicate with one another. This retreat also served to get me out in the real wild for the first time ever. Readers I am not now nor have I ever been a "nature" person. I do not enjoy long hikes through the wilderness, I have never been camping, I do not even enjoy critters of the wild except for on TV or in pictures but here I was up in the mountains and there they were: CRITTERS! Oh my lanta did I almost have nervous breakdowns but in hindsight I am glad I was able to experience this at some point in my life.
We were up there and had gotten released for some family time to enjoy the area and so my husband who was the happiest I had ever seen him up there decides to just take us out driving around. We go through this one street where we see another lodge and what looks to be deer. Later on we find out that they were not deer but Elk. They were so docile and allow you to get within about five feet of them to take pictures. I had never seen this. All my encounters in the past with deer have been that they see humans and take off faster than you can get your smart phone camera out to take a picture. These guys were among people, large crowds of people and as happy as can be. Then we drive a little further down and my oldest daughter mentions that she sees a bear! A BEAR!! That is right. You see when we first checked into the lodge I noticed ALL the decorations were bears, I mean ALL the decorations but never in my wildest dreams would I imagine we would see one, let alone FIVE bears and these too were up close and personal. Oh my fear kicked in full force and my husband and kids decided hey this is a fun way to tease mom! Needless to say I am writing this blog post and so I survived my close encounter with critters in the Wilderness.
Then it is time to drive home. Mind you readers this place is about 2 1/2 hours from where we live here in the massive heat of the desert but on our way home while still fairly high up on the mountain it begins to rain which the rain turns into snow! Snow 2 days before JULY! Never have I experience snow even the slightest amount in the SUMMER. I mean this past winter was my very first snow ever!
We arrive home with only an hour to spare before Relay for Life. How is this surviving Wilderness you might ask? Oh let me tell you. So Relay for Life is about a 12 hour event through the night. The night people! So you are permitted to set up tents and "camp out" per se at the track! I have like I mentioned early never even camped and the thought of putting up a tent, setting one down, or even laying down inside one is something I have never, ever done! I have to be honest, I did not set the tent up. I saw my husband struggling with that thing and was never ever grateful in my life for taking laps around a field like I was this time. Relay for Life was wonderful though. It was not only my first time even participating in the event but my first time participating and being a SURVIVOR. Oh it was beautiful. I was able to talk to other survivors and hear their stories and find encouragement through them. I can see why Relay for Life is done as an over night event where you feel the anguish and despair of the night creeping along and the tiredness you feel as you are there and even though some could sleep through a portion of it for someone like me it was not a possibility. I could not sleep because of all the lights up in the track, all the noise going around whether it was the DJ, the music or even the talking, I could not sleep due to the immense heat outside and the hard floor but it was an experience I am surely never going to forget and already know I plan to do this every year until they find a way to end this miserable thing called CANCER. My son, my 9 year old son, impressed me beyond words when he not only stayed up all night but he decided to walk the track and walked/ran 6 whole miles! It made my heart soar to see him and my husband actively participating in something that meant so much to me. My daughters blew me away too by actively taking over watching all the little ones and entertaining them so the grown ups did not have to worry about them. Writing this and remembering all my family did for me that night is actually making me cry because it showed how much they care about something that I care so much about.
I do have another first that has happened and that I have kept to myself but I will continue to keep to myself for the time being until I sit down and disclose it to some of my really close friends here first. Thank you for reading along with my craziness and I hope you enjoyed my stories.
"I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don't you
recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on
dry land." Isaiah 43:19. I like this verse because I am in the desert and I know God is making a way for me and this is why I am experiencing new things, new firsts in my life. Again readers thank you for coming along with me on this ride through my life and as always:
Be Blessed in HIM!
