This new venture with insurance led to another dream come true today. This method of sales involves presenting in front of a group of people. My partner and I did the presentations this week and have started moving into the appointment phase of the process. Because of our early success with the program, we were invited to speak on the national conference call this morning.

As I've gotten older, I've noticed that my fear of things has increased. I would now describe things that might have just made me nervous a few years ago as a full-blown fear. I've seen it in real-time with our rock climbing.

In a way, it feels like the night before Christmas. Tomorrow will be a brand new day, and hopefully, the day will include a few gifts I really wanted. All of the holiday stress is behind us as we settle down to fully enjoy the holiday in front of us. Although I guess you could say that before any exciting event. I have the first two events for the new insurance thing I am doing tomorrow. It has been a crazy couple of weeks preparing everything, and today is no different. I have finally crossed the threshold, though, where I am not stressed anymore. I am undoubtedly prepared, but I think that feeling more so comes from the fact that it’s happening tomorrow whether I’m ready or not, so there isn’t time to worry.

Our dreams all follow a similar cycle. I am going to pull a lot of this from The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson, but we see the same sentiment across many books about goal setting and achievement. We all have to serve our time somewhere, and the people who excel quickly often do so because they've put in the time somewhere else. It is also beneficial to identify where we are on the journey. When we recognize the complex spaces we find ourselves in as natural pieces of the puzzle, it is easier to manage those moments.

I fully stand behind the idea that all of the world's secrets are hidden in books. And they can be found anywhere within those books. Fiction books open us up to learning through our imagination. Some of the most profound quotes that live rent free in my head, come from the books that were designed to teach very little. Nonfiction teaches us through information. Both are important ways to learn, and I think the most important thing when it comes to books is that we read them in whatever way is best for us to process that information.

When we formulate our plans, it is tempting to go big. We often overestimate what we can do in six months while underestimating what we can do in two years. I’m sure many of us discovered this when we reached the six-month mark of the year. Many of us have realized that we need a new plan, but I would implore us to focus purely on the basics of our dreams.

If our ship has gone off course, then it's time to correct it. It's important to note that the longer we have been off course, the harder it will be to get back on track. And even just a few seconds going the wrong way can dramatically change our path. I don't say that to discourage anyone. I say that to make sure we enter these seasons with grace for ourselves.

I hope you got an excellent grade on your report card regarding your dreams. That means that you are on the right track, and if you maintain this, you will soon see your dreams come true. However, if you were more like me and didn't see the grades you wanted, it is time to make the adjustments. It is never too late for a fresh start.

We officially have one week left in June, which means we have one week left until we are halfway through the year. This year has gone shockingly fast for me. Maybe it's because I'm getting older or have a toddler who changes dramatically every day. I also think it can be attributed to the fact that we have a pretty hard deadline for when we will have to PCS again (we are hopeful of extending, but that is definitely something we won't know for at least another year). Hitting the six-month mark in Georgia means we will be 1⁄6 of the way through our time here with only 2.5 years left.

My dad always says, "You can do anything for 90 days; you can even stand on your head for that long." I proved that I could do anything for 75 days; if the challenge had been longer, I would have done it for longer. As military spouses, we prove that we can do anything for 90, 180, 365, or however many days a deployment lasts. The problem, at least for me, is maintaining that level of activity and accountability when the challenge is over. The problem is transitioning from activity to habit.

A little over two years ago, my family got on the 75 Hard kick. It started with my sister and dad doing it, quickly convincing everyone else in the family to join in. My husband and I completed the challenge during the winter of 2021. It was a great achievement and something we never really considered doing again.

We have to be all in on whatever we are doing. It's often relatively easy to answer when people ask us what our job is. We are quick to say doctor, stay-at-home parent, accountant, or whatever else. That should not be the only label we use to identify ourselves, but it is undoubtedly an important one that takes up a decent chunk of our time.

We are visiting family near D.C. this week, so we took the opportunity to go to the National Children's Museum. Our 18-month-old was limited on what he could take advantage of, but it is a massive facility with lots of learning-based toys and games to play with. It isn't free like the Smithsonian's, but I think it was worth the price we paid, especially to escape the brutal heat.

Today, I got to bear witness to one of my best friends getting married. While the ceremony may have been nothing like what she pictured or planned for, it was perfect for what they needed today to celebrate their love and commitment to one another. This is definitely going to be a sappier post because of how essential Taylor is to me and for the many things she's taught me about military life while bearing no connection to the community.

I apologize for the delay in getting this post back up. It was a long week, and I've been processing some stuff that will definitely be discussed later this week. I had a friend reach out to me on Thursday after I ran the post on military bereavement policies. She wanted to clarify that there are guidelines in place for bereavement in the case of miscarriages and stillbirths. She had personally experienced the care provided during one of those times and wanted to share that women were being cared for in these circumstances.

Unfortunately, I have been researching the military's bereavement policy this week. We had a loss in the family and were lucky enough to be able to travel (which meant booking last-minute flights, hotels, and rental cars) to be there for the wake and funeral. Quite frankly, it's because we are in Georgia now that we had the ability to do that relatively easily.

One of the biggest keys to our success in military life, dream chasing, relationships, etc., is knowing where our breaking points are. We need to know where they are, see them coming, and then know how to course correct before or after they hit. We live in a hectic and overstimulating world, and at one point or another, it will get all of us.

I picked up the keys to my very own office last night! It was a considerable step to sign that lease agreement. For the next year, I will be the owner of an office space in Georgia. I hit a point where my dream required me to go to the next level. My goals were converging in a way that I needed an office space, and I needed to make a more significant commitment.

One of my biggest gripes with the PCS system is how much out-of-pocket costs families face. In theory, the military pays for everything, and they do cover a decent chunk of it. However, there are so many minor start-up and change costs associated with a move that are not covered.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! That really feels like an oxymoron to me, given that the reason we have Memorial Day is to honor those who died while serving in the military. For most people in the U.S., it represents a three-day weekend, but for those of us in military families, we almost always know someone who was there one day and gone the next.