I always have this nagging feeling that I have no idea what I’m doing. Am I supposed to cut the crust off my child’s sandwich before I cut it in half? Is it normal for my toes to go numb on the elliptical? Do I need to make eye contact with the guard whenever I show my ID at a military base? 

Side note: I never feel more powerful than I do when I whip out my military ID. It’s basically a golden ticket that allows me into secret locations that the general public can’t access. Like Meghan Markle’s baby shower. Or Hogwarts.

Anyway, pretty much everything in life seems to be a giant question mark-- but I think that’s a good sign. It means we’re facing the unknown. A new challenge. A new level of self-awareness. A new experience that will break through the static.

I’m one of those special snowflakes who loves change. I mean, not the kind of change where my husband randomly decides to buy a new flavor of spaghetti sauce that my child would never touch-- but I do believe our lives should always be in transition. Because when we’re transitioning, we’re growing. 

Turns out, my love for relocating and personal growth is pretty well-suited to being a military spouse.

I married a Coastie in 2015. (You other military branches are allowed to make exactly one joke about the Coast Guard before I cut you off.) The timeline of our relationship was ridiculous, and you can read about it HERE. In the summer of 2019, we moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Ketchikan, Alaska. A-freakin-LASKA, in case you didn’t hear me the first time. Now, in 2022, we find ourselves once again facing a new world at our latest station in the panhandle of Florida.

What I’ve noticed-- especially since marrying Aaron (Ay-ay-ron)-- is that living a life full of momentum means finding comfort in transition. And by pushing ourselves into unknown territory, we’ll always be a beginner.

A beginner wife. 

A beginner mom. 

Beginning a new career. 

Beginning the next stage of your career. 

Beginning life in a new city. 

Beginning a harder workout routine. 

Beginning to tackle the next hurdle to reach your dream.

As an expert beginner, I’ve found that embarking on a new beginning implies you’re stretching, striving, dreaming, and achieving-- but never stalling out. Never coasting. Never putting a ceiling on joy.

I hope this blog helps you find that joy in change (both the inevitable and the purposeful). It could be moving to a new city, entering a new stage of motherhood, diving into a new job, or learning how to love your husband in a new manner after he Miley Cyruses (v.) his way back into your well-kept home on a post-deployment wrecking ball.

Besides some solidarity, inspiration, and humor, I hope this blog provides a little practical advice and adoptable perspectives to make your life simpler—or at least more manageable— on a daily basis.

Long story long, I’m glad you’re here. Let’s begin.

<3 Shannon