25 Little Things I Live For

1. Getting so immersed in a book that I stay up all night reading it

2. That first cup of hot chocolate in the winter

3. The smile on my husband's face

4. Spoiling my little sister

5. My parents telling me how proud they are of me

6. Waking up to see my dog wagging his tail and smiling at me

7. Lazy days watching Disney movies


8. Writing my blogs and/or stories

9. Driving with the convertible top down on a gorgeous day

10. The pride I feel when I tell people my husband is in the army

11. The first steps onto Main Street U.S.A. in Walt Disney World


12. That first sip of coffee in the morning

13. Hugs from my sister

14. Finding the perfect dress when I'm out shopping

15. Reminiscing of my amazing wedding day

16. Visiting my grandmother and hearing her stories

17. That moment when I cross everything off of my to-do list

18. Lunch dates with my friends at school

19. That feeling I get when I finish a workout


20. Learning more about myself

21. That carefree and worry-free feeling I get when I swim in the ocean

22. Connecting with someone on a personal level

23. Reading nice comments from my readers

24. Spending quality time with my family before I move away

25. Appreciating the little things in life



What do you live for?

-Chelsea

Yearning

                                                            After our first kiss. :)

Today while I was at work, a whole bunch of people from the navy came in to eat. It's a special that the restaurant does once a month for them, so they all come in at once. There must have been at least 50 of them. I'm still new at work, so the sight was something very odd for me. Everyone else was so used to it that it didn't phase them. It didn't bother me though; it just made me sad.

Of course, everyone was in full uniform. Now, my husband isn't in the Navy but it made me think of him even more. I think about him all the time but it's so hard to be strong. It's hard not to break down and cry every second of every day. But I've never seen my husband in uniform because he went to boot camp after we got married and we've been separated ever since.

The thought of seeing my husband dressed like that one day is what got to me and made me tear up. The next time that I see him, he will be in full army uniform. I am so incredibly proud of him and who is he becoming while he is away. That's what has been able to get me through this.

Not gonna lie, even though I know that my husband isn't in the navy, a small part of me was hoping that he would walk through that door and surprise me. Hey, a girl can dream. Even though I know that's impossible, it's hard to think with your head and not your heart sometimes, especially with something as emotionally trying as this.

So I know that it's not smart to drive yourself nuts over something that you can't have but I couldn't help it. I kept yearning for him to come and see me and I yearn for him to be with me every night. Today makes it three weeks exactly that he's been away. So that means only seven more weeks until graduation. I wish that I could say that everything has been getting better with time but I'd be lying. If he was only staying away for those 10 weeks, then it would be a lot easier; but because he is leaving for another 9 months after that, it doesn't help much.

But every time someone asks me about him or what he is doing, they all think that it's so cool and that he is so lucky to have the job that he has. So it makes me forget, for a brief second, about the sadness and it turns back into pride. This has been the toughest thing that I've had to do and everything I see or do reminds me of him. But I have to get through it. I have to. There is no other choice.

If he is going through all of this, the least that I can do is be strong for him. It just hurt so badly today to see a sea of military uniforms and know that my husband being there wasn't an option, or even a possibility. I just wish that I could stop yearning for the impossible and be as strong as I want to be for the both of us. It's easier said than done but the same goes for a lot of other things and hey... it sounds like life to me.

Memorial Day!

I´m sure that if you looked at your calendar today, you have probably noticed that today is Memorial Day! Today is a day that we set aside on our calendar to honor, respect and think about the people that have sacrificed so much or even their lives for their service to their country.

I have quite a few people in my family that have served in the military, so this holiday and ones like it, such as Veteran´s Day, have always warranted a lot of much-deserved respect from me and my other family members. This year, however, that respect is getting magnified. Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 people in my family that have served in the military. I´m sure that there are tons of others that I don´t even know about or remember. It´s always something that I´ve been very proud to say about my family, that I have military lineage. What more noble profession is there than to serve your country?

This year though, the tables have turned. Three of those 5 people that I mentioned earlier, I never even met. They were my great-uncles Don and Ron and my Grandpa Jack. They all passed away years before I was born. Still, I was proud to be a part of their lineage. The other people live very far away and I don´t see or hear from them very often. So, even though the respect and admiration has always been there for them, it´s been less personal because I never got to see their sacrifices first-hand.

If you have read any of my previous blog posts, you know that my husband is currently away at boot camp and will be gone for about another 10 weeks. For me, I still don´t think that the concept of him being in the military has completely sunk in yet. But with all of the love that has been given for the military on things like Facebook or on television commercials, it really started to sink into my brain. Although my husband being in the U.S. Army still is a foreign concept, I feel so much pride when I tell people about his sacrifices and what he is being put through.

Now, I am not only witnessing the sacrifices that someone in the armed forces has to go through and deal with, I am a part of them. I´m a small part but a part nonetheless. It really puts things into perspective. Anyone can say that joining the navy, the marines, the army or any military branch is hard and worth respecting; it´s another thing to see those sacrifices first-hand and deal with the heartache of waiting for your soldier to come home safely. Then and only then can you really understand.

So now I think about a day like this, Memorial Day, and realize that after he graduates and he really starts his army career, this holiday will be for people like him and his friends. I am not a religious woman but I am praying to the universe that no matter what he will be safe and not have to ever go into any sort of a war situation. That is the only thing that I can think of that I truly wouldn´t be able to handle.

But even though he hasn´t been through any sort of war situation yet, he still deserves all of the respect and support in the world for himself and for everyone else with him at boot camp right now. So despite what a lot of people think, it is not National Barbecue Day. I know that I feel as if I´m going through my own personal hell right now, so I can only imagine what every other military family whose sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, etc, must be feeling, knowing that their loved-ones are in places like Iraq and that they aren´t safe like my husband is.

I heard a saying earlier today that really spoke to me, ¨We are the home of the free because of the brave.¨ Remember the brave men and women who gave up their families, their home, their safety, their comfort and in so many cases, their lives, so that you could wake up every morning and go to work, the beach or Disneyland. It doesn´t matter how you choose to spend your time. Just know that a lot people sacrificed a lot so that you could enjoy each and every day of your life to the fullest potential. Remember that, because everyday life isn´t perfect but you are free because of the military´s sacrifices and they never asked for anything in return.

There is nothing that I want more right now than to have my husband home but he needs to do this and we will both have to sacrifice some more time apart so that he can serve his country. It still continues to be hard but hey... sounds like life to me.