Blossom Where You Are Planted

I went to a milso support meeting recently-ish and was inspired by a big eye opener.

Going in I was nervous and outside of my comfort zone, but if I was being honest with myself, I did want the support, answers to questions, and insight.

Mingling with the other spouses in attendance, I also began to feel like I didn’t belong. Why? I very quickly realized that I didn’t have the answers to very basic acronyms, processes, and/or questions about my husband that every other spouse but me seemed to have down.

As the group got rolling that stuck with me, many other questions rose to the surface, and a lot of emotion and self-awareness set in.

What I realized is that I had been subconsciously fighting the reality. With the exception of being physically away from loved family and friends, up until a couple of months ago, I was able to seamlessly just transfer every other aspect of my day-to-day to another city. Plop. And, with that, I was able to drown out any new concerns, lifestyle, and reality pretty easily. It wasn’t that I was ignoring my other half by any means, but extra long workdays, errands, and running around like an anxiety-driven crazy person trying to make everything perfect definitely kept me from having to embrace both the known and unknown.

Leaving the group that night and specifically on the drive home, it set in. Timelines, worries, fears, and concerns, all of a sudden felt much more in my face. I of course knew these things would be different, but it actually hit. I had been standing on the shore, and I knew the water was going to be cold, but I had been staying in the sun. Now, I actually had to step in and the cold-water reality couldn’t be ignored anymore.  

In this light switch flipping moment, there was one phrase shared that really struck a cord: “blossom where you are planted.” Whether it’s location, career, family, or otherwise, blossom. Make the most of it. Make it work for you.

Pause here with the note that I of course wouldn’t change a thing. I never thought this would be my reality, but I feel truly blessed everyday when I look around and realize how lucky I am to have the other half that I do and the lessons it has taught.

Whether virtual or physical, any amount of time with family and friends is invaluable. I’ve connected with old friends, made new friends in new places, and, with that, make the effort just to check in or offer support whenever they might be in need of some, faced anxiety after anxiety, learned to use gentler words and have patience with everyone and everything, tried new things, and seen new places.

There’s a lot in life that you can’t control. The one thing that you can control is how you handle each experience and soak it in. How you blossom wherever you might be planted.❤️