Though I intend for this blog to be anything but cliché, I still feel the need to start with a very cliché "why I'm starting this blog" post. Particularly given that I always said I would NOT be one of those moms who sat at home blogging! Yet here I am, a new mom...sitting at home...blogging. Go figure.
Yes, this blog was in part born because following the recent birth of my first child, I find myself at home most of the time (read: all of the time, and this is something I am still getting used to) and in need of an outlet for my thoughts. But this blog is not (solely) about my role as a mom. As I hope the title and future posts will convey, it is about that role but also much more.
Speaking of titles, perhaps that's a good place to start: Ever Changing, Always Anchored. As I pondered a title, I thought about the best descriptors for me and for my family. I think that "Ever Changing, Always Anchored" hits the nail on the head. Ours is a proud Navy family, as my husband is active duty and has been since well before I met him five years ago. Because of that, we seem to always be on the move, settling in somewhere new, or anticipating where our adventure will take us next. In the relatively short time that we have known each other, my husband and I have been a geographically split couple for a while when I lived in Atlanta and he in Florida, we have lived together in Jacksonville, Florida, and we have PCS'ed (military speak for moving - a "permanent change of station") together to northern Virginia where our first child was recently born. I have worked as a judicial law clerk to a federal judge, passed two bar exams, waived into a third jurisdiction, been in private practice for several years, and have recently taken on what is turning out to be my most challenging role - stay at home mom. In another year, we'll be waiting to hear where the Navy will send us next. Our life is Ever Changing.
But our family is also Always Anchored. I feel the stability of many anchors in our lives, and that, I think, is what allows me to love and embrace this ever changing military lifestyle. And for the record - as I'm sure there will be days when I'm venting about it - I do love it. I am anchored by my marriage and by my husband whose love is a steady, constant, never-changing force in my life. I am blessed to be the daughter of parents married almost 39 years who showed me by example what to look for in a husband and a marriage. I am equally blessed to have found it. We are anchored by our Navy family; no matter where we move, the military community embraces us, and we find friends, confidantes, and helpers where they are needed. I am anchored by faith; though we never seem to find a church home as we bounce around the country such that organized religion does not play a big role in our lives, prayer and faith play a big role in mine and help keep me grounded. And these anchors - faith, family, and community - are but a few of many that keep me feeling secure in an ever changing life.
So, that's the gist of this blog. A place for me to share my thoughts through the many lenses of my life. Sometimes, my viewpoint is that of a new mother, struggling, striving, and rejoicing every hour of every day. Sometimes, my viewpoint is that of a lawyer. As an aside, I briefly considered whether I still got to claim that one now that I have stepped away from the practice of law, but it didn't take me long to determine that: hell yes, I do. I went to law school. Passed the bar exam. Worked for a federal judge. Passed ANOTHER bar exam. Paid my dues as a first year associate and then some at a law firm. Got admitted to practice in multiple federal courts. Waived in to yet a third jurisdiction. I worked my butt off to earn the the title of lawyer, and it is mine whether I use it daily or not. There's my first two cents for you! Sometimes, my viewpoint is that of a Navy wife, facing all the challenges and the triumphs that come with loving a servicemember. Sometimes my viewpoint is that of a sister, a daughter, a friend, a colleague, a sports fan, a writer, or something else entirely, for I am all of those things too.
I am really looking forward to reading your blog Thea. I know you and I certainly butted heads in college as roommates, but I am glad that we have been able to move past that and reconnect over pregnancy (you giving me great advice really!) and (yikes) adulthood. If I had to describe you in one word (at least the Thea I lived with), it would be ambitious. This obviously still applies, as evidenced by your list of accomplishments above (and you left out a whole bunch more that I am aware of...i.e. Teach for America, etc.) but perhaps now a better word for you is "adaptable." You have been challenged with more roles--personally and professionally-- in the last few years than most people get in a lifetime. I'm sure none of them have been undertaken without great inner struggle and difficult emotions, but all of them have been taken in stride with grace. Very admirable. I look forward to reading about all the challenging but worthwhile changes life brings you and your family.
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