I was pretty blindsided by the initial conversation. In the almost 4 years that Taylor and I had known each other, he had only mentioned his desire to join the military a couple of times. Most of those discussions were tied to his high school days, and his desire to enlist when he graduated. He obviously didn’t follow through with those plans and chose to pursue collegiate track and a career as a Physical Therapist instead, which is where I entered the picture. But that desire never really went away for him, and when he discovered that he had the option to combine his dream of becoming a Physical Therapist with his dream of serving his country, it was a no brainer for him.
I, however, wasn’t convinced. I didn’t necessarily have the specifics of our post Physical Therapy school life figured out, but I knew for certain that it did not include the military. In fact, I couldn’t think of anything scarier. I have never really felt the need for an adventurous life. I would be perfectly content to never go anywhere. I mean, what could possibly be better than central Nebraska? And how on earth was I going to tell my mom that Taylor was going to pursue something that could put us on the other side of the world?
With all that being said, Taylor is currently applying for a very competitive position (15 spots nationwide) to serve as a Physical Therapist in the Air Force. We don’t know if he’ll get it, but the further he gets into the application process, the more I can see his dreams for his career coming to life. And you guys, he’s so stinkin excited about it.
I still have my days where I want to settle in and buy a house and live there for the rest of our lives. But that’s the thing with marriage. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the dreams and plans in your own mind to make room for the dreams and plans in your husband’s mind. And eventually, you no longer see them as his and hers, but rather as ours.
And that’s where we are right now. I’m still scared out of my mind, and the thought of moving far away from my family makes me want to hide under a blanket in my childhood bed and never come out. But wherever we go, I’m not going alone. I’m going with my husband, and we’re bringing with us some pretty crazy dreams and hopes and wishes for ourselves and our family. And if this doesn’t work out, we’ll bring all those things with us back to central Nebraska and spend the rest of our lives chasing dreams that are equally exciting.