Independent Women

Independent Women- 06/22/11

So the other day while I was mowing the lawn (for the first time ever!) I got to thinking about all of the things I've learned how to do since meeting my husband, whether from figuring it out on my own, asking for help or looking it up online. I always thought I was pretty competent before meeting him but have I ever learned a lot!

Here's the list of new thing that I came up with:
1. I have now learned to mow the lawn.

2. I learned how to check the air and fill the truck tires.

3. I learned how to jump start the truck (the old battery died over 10 times between both tours my husband was on).

4. I learned how to deal with a leaky roof.

5. I learned how to install cupboard doors- hinges and knobs.

6. I've painted a room.

7. I've put together furniture

8. I've changed the tire (with help!) on the truck.

9. I even learned to take myself to a movie (without feeling strange about it!)

I have always been pretty independent and relatively self sufficient. I started to buy things for myself with babysitting money and when I got a "real job" I really tried to avoid asking my parents for things. I loved that I was really able to do things for myself. And that's still how I feel now. I have always been proud of my independence and honestly found it hard to give a bit of it up when my husband and I got together. The idea of sharing the cooking, cleaning, and pretty much everything else felt like I was losing something. It wasn't that I didn't love where my life was going but I just wasn't used to not doing things on my own.

But when I was mowing the lawn that day I realized that, while I am sharing my life with a wonderful man, I still have been able to keep my independence because there are times (sometimes months on end) that I really only rely on myself. The times that he's away are times when I'm responsible for the house, the truck, Titan, and all the little things like groceries, bills and cleaning. So now I don't feel like I lost any part of my independence because I know there are times where I'll get it all back (whether I want it or not!) and I'll be on my own to take care of things. That's a pretty awesome part of military life.

At the end of the day, we military wives are strong, successful, supportive, independent women. We can do pretty much anything and handle anything and everything that comes our way. How cool is that!