Guest Blogger: Wife on the Roller Coaster

Hi everyone! I’m Wife on the Roller Coaster, and I’m thrilled to be guest posting on Flip Flops and Combat Boots this week! Thanks for having me Nicole!

It Will All Get Done

“Git-R-Done” ~Larry the Cable Guy

Have you ever added a task to your to-do list AFTER you’ve already completed it just so you could cross something off? It’s ok to admit it. I do it all the time. Some days my to-do list is so ridiculously long that I need that visual validation that I’ve accomplished something, anything. One check mark is always better than none, right?


Since my husband returned from deployment a few weeks ago, my list of daily chores has increased exponentially. How is it possible for one person to triple the family’s laundry? Why can’t I remember to pack his lunch? Do I really have to iron his uniforms again? I don’t have enough space in my day planner for everything I need to do!


But at times like these, when life seems overwhelming and I wonder how I’ll ever find the time to complete my to-do list, I think back to the sage advice of an old college friend. I remember complaining to him about being bogged down by calculus homework, psychology papers, and Latin conjugations (yes, I actually took Latin). My friend interrupted me mid-complaint and said, “Roller,” (well maybe I didn’t go by Roller Coaster back then, but work with me here). “Everyone has a killer workload. But it’s pointless to stress because no matter what, it will all get done.” And he was right. The work always did get done.


Over the years, I’ve never forgotten those 5 simple words: It will all get done. I repeated that mantra when we were PCS’ing to Japan and I thought I’d never be able to divide all of our worldly possessions into 3 different shipments before the movers knocked on our door. Those words repeated themselves when I went into premature labor with my son and I was frantically packing my hospital bag in between contractions. Now that I’m about to start my new job as a kindergarten teacher and I’m wondering if I’ll be ready by the first day of school, those words are once again on my mind. It will all get done.


Of course I have days when it doesn’t all get done, when I don’t complete everything on my to-do list. But at some point, whether it’s the following day or the following week, I do manage to schedule that dentist appointment or refill my prescription or return the library books. And maybe I cheat a little by adding an already completed chore to my list, but if that one check mark motivates me to tackle everything else, so be it.


I know that I’ll get used to the extra laundry, meal preparations, and ironing now that my husband is home, just as I know I’ll be ready for that first day of school. And in a few short weeks, I’ll probably look back and laugh at myself for being so worried. Whether we’re preparing for a deployment, a PCS move, a new baby, a new job or we’re just trying to knock out a blog post, we have to pause, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves: It will all get done.


After you get it all done today, come on over and visit me at my blog Riding the Roller Coaster (http://militaryspouserollercoasterride.blogspot.com/).