You know that January slump they talk about? I think we’re in it. You race through the holidays with eager excitement and, in a year like 2020, there was almost a frenetic excitement. We were eager to be filled with the joy of the season, and we were just as eager to say goodbye to the year, even though 2021 is really just a change in date. Yet, here we are, a week into 2021, and the January slump is here in earnest. Although, I’d hazard a guess some of this slump is in no small part thanks to the military waiting game.
We’re in a weird season right now – both literally and figuratively. I’ve mentioned before that waiting is a part of military life, but the time right before PCS season is definitely one of the harder parts for me. We hurry up. Then we wait. And, in all honesty, we’re almost always waiting for or countdown down to something…and for a planner, that’s hard.
I’m okay with the endless countdowns. They suck, but again, they’re reality. The harder part is when you don’t know how to count down. When to count down. When everything is so up in the air that all you can see is the three weeks in front of you, and even that could change at any given time. Waiting is hard – even when things are fairly certain. And, if you think about it, living this way is so strange. Very few average folks know zero details six months out from a huge move…but that’s standard for us.
This past week and weekend have been an emotional vacuum for us. Between the state of our nation, the military waiting game, and the weather being less than stellar, we did our best to lay low and re-center this weekend. We went outside. We played. We walked. We lived in the moment. Washington graced us with two beautiful days this weekend, and I tackled two incredible shoots (which you can see on my photography instagram!), and we took a world-class nature walk.
There’s not much else you can do. The waiting game is a psychological suck, even if you’re not in the military. It can be all-consuming if you let it be, and you almost have to strategically seek the good. I’m eager for the changes ahead, but I’m reflecting on the good, and I’m grateful for what we have right now, too, because I know I’ll miss it.
Tell me – how do you deal with waiting? Are you good at it, or are you impatient?
