Chapter 21 "Soldiering on, for dummies" 07/09/2012

When all else fails, I know I can blame deployment, for all of my problems, misgivings, shortcomings, and failures. I can point a finger to the big elephant in the room and be exonerated to some degree, but I don't. I don't do this for myself and I don't do this for my kids. At the end of the day, the only reason any of us will need a crutch is if we somehow broke a leg. I mention this because recently we have been struggling. We are all at the end of our ropes in respects for patience. It has been tempting to explain away our behaviors with "we just can't help it, we are tired of waiting" until the husband/Daddy comes home. There have been numerous occasions in which I have thought that continually taking the high road simply allows others to behave poorly, but at the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror and be proud of myself. Take tonight for instance, someone posted something on Facebook suggesting that it really isn't that tough to run a home and be a parent if you don't also have a job, okay, fine, I get that to some degree, BUT don't spout that off when you have a husband, or wife, who comes home to help out every day or night, or if you have family that is helping you make your "ends" by helping with your children. Typically this type of thing doesn't get to me, I give said person, whomever it may be, their moment to complain, I mean we are all entitled to air our grievances and we should all try to support one another, but tonight this just got under my skin. It has taken every ounce of willpower to not respond with, "try doing it all 24/7 with minimal help, then check back, m'kay?" I know it is simply that I am at the end of the proverbial rope and soon such things won't bother me, but in the meantime, we soldier on!