I Lost My Child’s Social Security Card and I’m Still Killing the Game
I called the DEERS office Friday before my appointment on Monday to verify what time it was since I never received an email. “Wilson?” “No, Weldon. W-E-L-D-O-N.” “Oh, okay… I don’t see any appointments. Wellons, right?” This went on for over a minute. Since changing my last name, I had never had trouble spelling it for people, which is what I liked about it after growing up with a name evident of my Nigerian roots. She didn’t have an appointment for me even though I had called a week prior, but she put us in another slot on Monday and told me to bring the baby’s birth certificate. Here comes…
Hi Ho, Hi Ho- Back to Work I Go!
The funny thing about being given 12 weeks of maternity leave, paid, is that it means there’s a job I should return to. I actually found myself back at my desk two weeks early in order to save the last two weeks of leave for going home when my husband’s unit takes leave. When I envisioned having a child over the last 3 years I imagined I would be in a position where I was freelancing as a writer and able to stay home. When I envisioned having a child eight months ago, I thought I would just quit. I was so in denial about the fact I would have…
Dis Tew Much
About a week ago… This is officially too much. My fantasy is to evade work for a week. Actually, on my 40-minute lunch, and 20-minute break I lean all the way in and literally pretend like I don’t work. Something about not working because I can’t stop coughing or crying feels off base of that dream. I had a rough weekend with physical exhaustion, stress, and nosebleeds and was finally motivated to figure out how to use my FMLA benefits at work. As soon as I initiated the process, I called out work for the second half of Monday. On Tuesday, I managed to stay clocked in for 30 minutes. Then…
Update: Some New Friends
A lot has happened since my last post lamenting the scarcity of friends and opportunities to make them. Namely what has happened is that I have made some. Knowing my husband would be leaving for a few months, I had to decide to set myself up for success and put myself out there to make friends. I realized that after I’ve written an essay about having no friends, I couldn’t get away very well pass up opportunities and decided I would need to say yes to everything. PWOC First of all, I went back to Protestant Women of the Chapel. PWOC is a biblestudy that is held on almost every…
The State of Hope
I wasn’t going to post anything this week because I’m feeling so hopeless right now, but the prospect of missing a post was making me feel worse about myself. More importantly, I bet this place I am is a typical experience of being a military spouse. Here’s what is going on: I haven’t lost any weight, still no job, yet another side hustle opportunity has evaporated, and Bae is gone. I can deal with anything when my husband is here because he makes me happy and he gives me purpose, but what is my purpose right now? I don’t need to clean or cook. I decided to take my fitness…
A Lady in the Streets and a Freak with the Bleach
I couldn’t sleep well the night before beginning my tenure as a Stay-at-Home Wife. I was nervous about how I would do and if I would earn my keep. Even though I had been married for two months by then, this was my first day as a fully functional wife. I didn’t really know what that looked like. I texted Christy early in the day. Christy is an adult I used to work with who has three teen-aged children. She knows how to be a wife, and I knew she would be there for me. She walked me through making stir fry. I don’t know if I would have ever known…
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
The first day my husband leaves is usually a tough day. It is gloomy and boring and I usuall y plan on eating a lot of carbohydrates that day and watching “The Office” on a loop. I usually don’t cry, but if I felt like it, I would. After I adjust to his absence, I revert back to “single” mode and start taking my clothes off in the living room and letting dishes pile up in the sink. I stop really cooking and just go buy a rotisserie chicken and frozen vegetables. There are days I miss him in a very real and physical way. When I feel like that,…
A Day in the Life
The alarm goes off at 5:30. I usually don’t hear it, but my husband eventually gets up and gets his little PT outfit on– black Army shorts and black t-shirt, girded with a yellow, reflective belt– and reports to wherever it is they are meant to work out, by 0600. They work out and Spencer makes it back home around 7:30 or 7:45. He eats cereal, showers, and gets back in bed. I used to wake up to cook him a hot, nutritious meal, but my husband prefers cereal. He prefers cereal. I usually get up around the time he gets back in bed and head to Crossfit at about…
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Should You Live on Post?
