Thursday marked the first Thanksgiving I’ve spent away from my family back in Iowa. That being said, this Thanksgiving probably was the best I’ve had yet.
You can bet I missed the usual family traditions. I missed seeing all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. I missed getting dressed up with my little sister before heading out to see everyone. And I especially missed Iowa sweet corn, because — sorry — the Georgia stuff just doesn’t compare.
But this Thanksgiving I had more to be thankful for than ever before. My husband was home, a very welcome change from last year. I was able to spend the day with the loving friends who have come into my life since the military brought us to this amazing new place. And most importantly, it was my first Thanksgiving with my sweet baby girl.
Change is always hard to face, and in the military we face plenty of change. This year, for me, Thanksgiving came with many changes. Often, I’ve noticed that the military life brings changes for the worse. At the very least, that’s how we view them at first. Families who choose the military life face changes in location, changes in friends, changes in family dynamics and more.
Now, with this new and wonderful change that’s completely turned our world upside down, I absolutely can say that change isn’t always bad. In fact, most of the changes that had us cringing at first have turned out pretty OK, too.
Sometimes when you’re overwhelmed with a life that never seems to settle down, you forget to look back and see how far you’ve come and how much things have improved. You forget to be thankful for the hard times and the crazy times. Well, this Thanksgiving I remembered. And I have to say, the little life we’ve made here has turned out fantastically so far, so I can’t wait to see what happens next.