Some mornings I promise myself I will just make coffee at home and then somehow I am pulling into a gas station anyway, wishing I had planned ahead with a strong cup from Black Rifle Coffee Company waiting for me instead. 

Nothing crashes. Nothing spirals. It just gets a little chaotic. A little “I will deal with this later.” Then, spring shows up, the weather softens, and I realize it is time for my annual life reset.  Not a full reinvention. I am not waking up at 5 a.m. to journal or suddenly becoming a budgeting influencer. It is more like sitting down with my coffee and having an honest conversation with myself about how the last few months actually went. 

The first thing I do is look back at what drill season really cost us. The extra gas stops. The convenience meals after long weekends. The small purchases that felt completely deserved in the moment because sometimes you just need life to be easier for five minutes. I do not shame myself for any of it. Winter is the survival season. I just take notice because awareness is where better habits start. 

Then, I switch from reactive mode to prepared mode. I start planning for drill weekends instead of winging them. I stock up on freezer meals when sales hit, because Sunday evenings are not the time for ambitious cooking plans. Sometimes that means keeping simple meal options from Home Chef on hand so dinner is already decided before I even walk through the door. I actually check rewards apps before grocery shopping and make sure I am using military savings programs instead of remembering them halfway home. 

Spring is also when I reset the practical side of my Guard life.  Uniforms get properly checked. I reorganize my gear and inevitably find something I almost repurchased because I thought it disappeared into the void. Replacing things calmly is always cheaper than replacing them in a panic.  After that, I zoom out and look at the bigger picture. 

Are we still moving toward our savings goals? Did winter utilities quietly attack our budget? What do we need to adjust before Annual Training sneaks up on us? Writing everything down helps me see patterns instead of stress, so I sit with my planner and map out the next few months. Lately, my planner has become part budgeting tool, part life checkpoint, and part reminder that I am actually doing better than I think. 

Guard life has its own financial rhythm, and pretending every month looks the same just does not work. This seasonal reset helps me feel in control again instead of constantly trying to catch up with life. 

What I have learned is that financial organization is not about perfection. It is about maintenance. Small resets. Gentle course corrections. Giving yourself credit for managing a lot while still choosing to be intentional. 

Spring, for me, is less about fixing mistakes and more about setting future me up for success. I stock easy snacks, toss a few Liquid I.V. packets into my bag for drill because hydration somehow becomes optional when weekends get busy, and try to remove as many small stressors as possible before they start. When there is a peace of mind, a stocked freezer, and knowing drill weekend is already planned out? That is the kind of luxury I actually want now. Oh yeah…I will probably still buy the occasional gas station caffeine. It’s about growth, and not perfection.

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Sometimes our drill weekends overlap. That means both of us are in uniform and away at the same time. It is a beautiful kind of chaos. Some years we have spent the Fourth of July apart. I am at drill. He is at training. The kids celebrate without us. Other years we get lucky. We come home together and watch fireworks while holding onto every moment. 

Being a dual-Guard family means juggling schedules and roles every day. We trade off parenting like a dance. We lean on each other to keep the house running. There isn’t a big military community nearby, so we built our own support system with family, friends, and a lot of resilience. 

It is not always easy. We miss moments. We sometimes feel stretched thin. But through it all, we teach our kids what commitment means. We show up even when it is hard. We make space for joy no matter the chaos. 

July hits differently for us now. It’s not just a holiday. It’s a reminder of why we serve and who we serve for. Our life is not perfect, but it’s ours. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

Remember…you are never alone in this journey!

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Annual Training season hits differently when you’re in the National Guard. For the service member, it’s a shift out of your civilian routine and into full “Army” or “Air” mode. For the family at home, it’s two weeks of managing life solo, while hoping everything runs smoothly and that the phone charger actually made it into their duffle.

Even with a solid packing list, something always gets left behind. We all know about the last minute Walmart run, but don’t sleep on the Commissary or PX. Most of what you need — snacks, hygiene kits, caffeine, extra socks — will be right there and usually way cheaper.

For those staying behind, it’s a whole other operation. Schedules shift. Kids ask questions. The dog acts like it’s the end of the world. It’s not dramatic, it’s just real. However, for the Guardsman, it’s tough knowing you’re missing home while still needing to stay locked in. 

Now that AT season is finally coming to an end for this year, we can all breathe a little easier. The two weeks may seem short, but they bring a unique kind of stress, and the adjustments don’t always feel temporary. Don’t worry though…Guard families are built for this. We juggle, we adapt, and we show up, even when the plan changes at the last second. 

So, if you’re wrapping up AT this July, take a moment to relax. You made it. And remember, you’re not alone. Guard families stick together, no matter the distance. 

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In 2006, North Dakota resident, Shelle Michaels Aberle decided to take action in order to honor United States Military Service Members whom are currently deployed. This came about because of her cousin, LTC David Hosna, who had been deployed. She petitioned North Dakota Governor (at that time) John Hoeven to proclaim the first official “Day of the Deployed” on Oct. 26, 2006, which also happened to be her cousin’s birthday.

Soon after, the Day of the Deployed celebration spread to other states throughout the nation, and in 2011, Hoeven (who by then had become a senator) led the efforts to establish it as a national day of recognition, thus honoring all deployed Military Service Members and their Military Families. In 2011, the U.S. Senate passed an unanimous vote to make the day a National day of honor. By 2012, all 50 of the United States celebrated the day every year on October 26th.

I think this is a really awesome thing that was started by a Military Family Member.  It just goes to show you that whether you’re a spouse, child, parent, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew or grandparent; that there are ways to honor not just your family’s Military Service Member, but every families’ Military Service Member as well as all of your fellow Military Families!