• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

  • Home
    • My Disclosure Policy
    • My Privacy Policy
    • Contact Me
  • Advertise
  • The SWCL Shop
  • Duty Stations
  • My Writings
  • Military Life
    • Movies & TV
    • Disneyland
    • Books
    • Fort Campbell
  • So Your Spouse Just Deployed??? Click Here!!!
  • Looking for Writers?
You are here: Home / Military Life / Bloom Where You Are Stationed

Bloom Where You Are Stationed

June 13, 2016 by Julie 9 Comments

Bloom Where You Are Stationed“I hate it here.”

“We just got orders there and I am scared. I have only heard bad things.”

“I really don’t want to leave here and have to move there. It is the worst place we could go.”

“I really just want the next three years to pass quickly so we can move somewhere else.”

“This place is so boring. There is nothing to do here. I hate it.”

Have you heard people say things like that before? Maybe it was you? I am not going to lie. I was so ready to leave Germany after we had been there a few years. That was hard for me. Very hard. And it was Germany. A place many people would LOVE to go and who never want to leave.

It was the end of 2007. I was standing outside a bookstore with my Mother-in-law in California during our post-deployment vacation. “I don’t want to go back to Germany. I really really don’t” I told her. And I didn’t. I just wasn’t excited about going back. I knew another deployment was coming and didn’t want to be over there anymore. However, my husband still had a few years left before we would move back to the US.

I did what you have to do as a Military Spouse, I sucked it up and got on the airplane and we went back “home” to Germany.

A few months later, we moved to a different duty station in Germany. Our housing was a lot better. So much so that I cried happy tears when I walked into our new home. But still, I was missing the United States and just wanted to be back there. I didn’t want to still be in Germany. Then I bought a new camera. I started taking pictures every day and started really noticing where I was. From the trees to the flowers to the old buildings. I was in a magical land. I needed to take advantage of that.

Things being what they were, having two little kids, I wasn’t going to be able to travel every week or even all that often. But I could put them in the stroller and walk around my village. I could walk them around town and into the country a little bit. So that is what I did. One Sunday my husband had to work so I decided to take them for a long walk. It took us five hours there and back but that walk was amazing and one I will never forget. We passed by forests, rivers, fields, apple trees, sheep and old buildings. I still enjoy looking at the photos I took that day.

If you are feeling like you are hating your current duty station, maybe you should try to change things up.

Grab your camera, grab a friend or just go and explore. You never know what you might encounter. Remember that once you leave, you might never be able to return. Try to find the positives in where you live, even if they are well hidden. Of course, some places are easier to do this than others.

When you can bloom where you are stationed, you can have good experiences anywhere you go. You will learn how to find the positives in every situation and figure out creative ways to enjoy yourself even if you are not feeling too happy at first. If you are set to go to a duty station most people don’t like, see if you can talk to people who do like it there. Find out what they have to say and find things about that place to look forward to. Make a list of positives and get ready for your next adventure as a military spouse.

Have you ever lived somewhere you couldn’t stand? How did you figure out how to bloom where you are stationed?

Filed Under: Military Life, PCSing, Stationed in Germany, Stationed Overseas Tagged With: stationed overseas

About Julie

Owner of Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life. Writer, reader, coffee drinker. Mom to three boys, wife of a National Guard soldier. Living life in Tennessee.

Previous Post: « 15 Years of War by Kristine Schellhaas
Next Post: What To Expect At MCAS Iwakuni, Japan »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kara @ Moms Don't Sleep

    June 20, 2016 at 9:25 am

    My husband is just starting his military career so we haven’t moved yet and I have mixed feelings. I want to get out of my hometown SO bad, we love to travel and have new experiences..but I don’t want to get stuck somewhere like Texas where its 106 degrees lol

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 10 Truths Military Spouses Learn About Military Life! says:
    September 28, 2017 at 8:00 am

    […] the “worst” duty station may be your favorite place. Maybe you have figured out how to bloom where you are planted or maybe you just made some amazing friends, but whatever reason you will always look back at that […]

    Reply
  2. The Perfect Duty Station Wish List says:
    January 15, 2018 at 8:00 am

    […] of place you want to be. If you don’t get your first few choices, remember, you can still bloom where you are stationed and can make the best of any duty station you might end up […]

    Reply
  3. The Truth About Military Duty Stations says:
    January 18, 2018 at 10:00 am

    […] If you do get orders for one of the less popular duty stations, try not to get too upset about them. You never know what your experience will be like and you may just figure out how to bloom where you are stationed. […]

    Reply
  4. 7 Things You Don't Have To Do Even If Other Military Spouses Are Doing Them says:
    January 25, 2018 at 8:00 am

    […] you how awful that place is. However, some people love unpopular duty stations. Maybe they just bloom where they are stationed; maybe the place just fits their personality. Whatever the reason, if you like your duty station, […]

    Reply
  5. The Secret to Not Hating Your Duty Station says:
    February 16, 2018 at 8:00 am

    […] that you have been there a few years, you really can’t find the love? Maybe you are trying to bloom where you are stationed but coming up […]

    Reply
  6. The 10 Worst Duty Stations says:
    January 24, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    […] I also strongly believe that you can “bloom where you are stationed” anywhere you might end up. That doesn’t mean you have to love your duty station, but […]

    Reply
  7. Bloom Where You Are Stationed During a Pandemic says:
    August 7, 2020 at 10:00 am

    […] want to get out and explore but how much can you really do right now? How can you figure out how to bloom where you are stationed if you can’t do what you normally do to get to know a new […]

    Reply
  8. Getting PCS Orders to a Place You Really Don’t Want to Go says:
    February 17, 2021 at 8:53 am

    […] to talk to that live or have lived in that location. Most places have Facebook groups. I have duty station guest posts you can read. Ask for real-life advice on social […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life

Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Welcome to Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life! I am so glad you are here.

My name is Julie and I have been a military spouse for 17 years!

My husband of 20+ years has served in the active-duty Army and now the Army National Guard. We have lived in Germany & Tennessee during our time as a military family.

We have three boys and have been through four deployments together.

I hope that you can find support for your own deployments, PCS moves, or anything else military life brings you 🙂

~Contact Me~
Military Life Products
Favorite Books!

Sign up for your FREE Guide to the First 30 Days of Deployment!


Thank you!

Check your email for confirmation!

.

Footer

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life on the Foodie Pro Theme

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT