1) You are stronger than you think.

I know this is cliche, but sometimes cliches exist for a reason. My daughter was born nine months after we moved across the country and my husband’s job went full-throttle. I consider myself fortunate that he was not deployed and was there for her birth, but it wasn’t an easy run initially. I didn’t have a baby shower or even a baby gift list (who would come? It felt selfish to ask for anything. I was in a new duty station, knew no one and was very far from family). No one from my past, aside from my parents, actually saw me pregnant and I spent most of my days puttering around alone.

I will never forget the printed pages of phone numbers my husband taped to every wall: his CO, the number for the front desk, the Red Cross, literally any helpful number placed in any spot in case I had gone into labor in the bathroom, the kitchen, at the front door while he was in the field. When my daughter was born, my husband had to move off to the field for weeks at a time and my daughter, bless her heart, had severe colic. My days were overwhelmed with hospital visits, carrying her around every second of the day and no sleep. After those first couple of weeks with no parents or friends nearby to take a breather, man, was I a mess.

But you know what? I got through it. Today, I can barely remember the days without sleep. The overwhelming frustration and exhaustion all seems to blend together in the image that is my beautiful daughter.

If you asked me if I would do it again, my answer would be, “In a heartbeat, sign me up.”

I consider that hardship the greatest gift I’ve ever been given, a gift that taught me the kind of mother I could be and a gift that taught me how much I can love another person(s). I am stronger than I ever realized I could ever be – I was strong for my family.