Editor’s note: Thank you to Westgate Resorts for providing airfare for Chrissy and Sarah to attend this event in exchange for a blog review.
In December 2021, Westgate Resorts continued its decade-long tradition of honoring our military service members, veterans, and their families. Westgate, a collection of 27 stunning resorts located all across America, hosted 900 military families at their Westgate Town Center Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, for their Military Weekend event.
I have always considered myself to be a Type A personality. I have a penchant for schedules and details and a dislike of chaos and running late. The thought of missing a deadline at school or work is enough to send my heart racing. Lists and calendars bring me inner peace, while last-minute plans give me a stomachache. Some might say, kindly, that I am just a driven, focused woman. However, after more than 30 years of living and nearly a decade as a milspouse, I have to give credit for these behaviors to a different cause entirely.
Anxiety.
Happy autumn, AWN! Whether you spent the summer navigating the uncharted waters of a pandemic PCS or spent it having socially-distanced BBQs, we have finally crossed the threshold into autumn. Now is the time for cooler weather, pumpkin patches, and cozy chats around warm fires.
But as the ever-pragmatic Ned Stark used to say, “winter is coming.”
Under normal circumstances, winter brings to mind the joys of the holiday season and spending lots of time indoors living our best hygge lives. Unfortunately, 2020 has been anything but normal.
Picture this. Your spouse comes home from work and surprises you with news that their job is changing.
Immediately.
So, they begin their job in a new place while you and your children say goodbye to friends, neighbors, and teachers, unsure when your next face-to-face meeting will happen. You cancel your plans for your daughter’s birthday party, for summer vacation, and for your best friend’s wedding. You try your hardest to settle into a new normal, but nothing is the same and you long for the life you had before.
Pop quiz: Did you imagine this story as a military-related PCS or as the events that unfolded this past spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Fear not, you didn’t fail the quiz. That stressful scenario could have easily described either situation.
Mission: Milspouse is a
501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
EIN Number: 88-1604492
hello@missionmilspouse.org
P.O. Box 641341
El Paso, TX 79904
