Looking at my social media accounts, you will see a highlight reel of my life. I have painted a picture of family, military life, and adventure. Mostly, I try to keep things lighthearted and happy on my social media accounts because that is what I enjoy seeing on my newsfeed. From the outside, looking in military life looks like one big adventure. My friends and followers get to see when we move. They get to see snapshots of the adventures we go on when we explore the new place we call home. They see pictures of military balls, homecomings, promotion ceremonies, and unique opportunities for military families.
Military life does have its perks. I am blessed to be a part of the military lifestyle and play a small role in supporting my husband's career. I love that I am bound to make incredible friends no matter where we move. I love raising my boys to take pride in our country and teaching them firsthand that freedom doesn't come without sacrifice. I love sharing with others the highlight reel of my life to shed some light on our lifestyle. From the outside looking in, it's as if military life is easy and fun.
But... people don't see the countless tears shed leading up to a deployment. They don't see the sleepless nights that consume my mind with anxious thoughts. They may see a picture of the day we say see you later, but they are not privy to what happens that day. They have no idea what it takes to comfort a child's broken heart, while dealing with your own broken heart. I do a lot of this life on my own. From big moments to small moments, there have been numerous times when I am trying to fill the void of dad missing out.
I don't write all of this as a woe is me post. I am writing it as a reminder that what we see on social media only touches the surface of what is actually going on in other peoples lives. For example, this picture above is of my family. You see the smiles and the big hugs. What you can't see from this photo is that we were just minutes away from telling my husband goodbye for his third deployment. My boys at the ages of 5 and 2 were having to go through their second deployment. Just because social media feeds are filled with beautiful pictures and grand adventures doesn't mean that the people behind those accounts are not hurting in some way or going through something. The pictures and posts that we are privy to on social media are only a tiny fragment of what peoples lives actually entail. The moral of the story here is be kind. What you see is not always what you get and you have no idea the battles that people face.
I am curious, do you have any questions pertaining to military life that you would like to know about? I will answer them to the best of my ability in the comments section.
Until Next Time Friends,
Valerie
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