Coffee Shop Talk

Hey there! Super stoked to be here with you all. I almost wish that we could meet up at a cool coffee shop somewhere, find a great table in a quiet area, and have low jazz playing in the background so we can carry on with great conversation while taking a much needed break.

I love coffee shops. In fact, back in the day, I used to be a barista. Funny thing, though, I don’t drink coffee! I’ll order the coffees, lattes, and teas for you all while I snag myself an extra hot chocolate. It would be rad if I could actually be at said coffee shop right now so I could write this in that cool vibe they all seem to have, but my current reality is drastically different from that.

To my left is the partially filled box I’ve been working on filling for the past several days. My goal is to send at least one care package about every week to my service member overseas. So far I’ve got treats, the kiddos’ art pieces, toiletries that you just can’t get at a PX, and other randomness.

To my right, front, rear, and beneath me… toys, toys, and more toys. My 3-year-old princess is almost over her croup and feeling well enough to cause total destruction with her brother again. I’m not sure who leads whom. She may be the youngest, but she knows how to command a room better than her 6-year-old brother!

Upstairs are my teenagers. The oldest is waiting to hear back from her Air Force recruiter and would be offended at my calling her a teenager. My 16-year-old is on the phone again with his girlfriend. This home is full.

Because this is our first deployment, my husband and I opted to have us stay with my parents. Let’s all pause for just a moment to process that.

I am incredibly grateful for having a parent, much less a set of them; that they opened up their home to us for one year; and getting to spend this time here with them before we head out again to who knows where and for who knows how long.

I’m the first in the family to have anything to do with the military. This whole thing has been an eye-opener for them. Actually, when my husband was trying to get into the Army, no one in my family believed he could. Fortunately, he skidded in just a month or so before his 35th birthday.

That’s right! We’re old. Most would say we’re crazy. He opted to resign from his career of being a Mechanical Enginerd (I swear I need to copyright that) to join the U.S. Army as a sergeant. “What?!” you ask.”Who in their right mind would do that?!”

I bet you have tons more questions than that though. I know because after seven-ish years, I think we’ve finally heard ’em all. Thing is, he’s always wanted to serve. One day, on his college campus, he saw a recruiter set up at a table. My husband walked over to him and would have signed up right then and there, but the recruiter, in essence responded with, “What?! Who in their right mind would do that? Finish college first, then come talk to me.”

But the job offer came right away, he accepted, and there he stayed. I call this career change his midlife crisis, but people keep trying to tell me that happens even later in life.

Then there’s me. This is the part of this blog post that I’ve been avoiding. How does one capture who they are, their identity in just a few paragraphs? There’s so much to say.

Do I share about where I was born and to whom? The circumstances of my family finding their home in the United States? I’m not where I want to be, thought I’d be, and I’m definitely nowhere near where my parents expected me to be.

My journey has been rough, at the very least, but it’s mine and I own it and claim it. I am the first generation from my family to be born in the United States, as is my husband. Only, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and I still haven’t zeroed in on precisely who it is I want to be when I grow up.

I changed my major five times in college—it’s bad folks. If I could be paid to go to school to learn, grow, and become a better human being, I’d go for the rest of my life.

I’m excited that I’ll be sharing parts of what I’ve learned about this milspouse life with you. I will toot my own horn and say that I’m very resourceful, tenacious, and open to just about anything. I’d love to hear from you about what it is you really want to know, and I’ll go figure that out for you or with you.

Thank you for stopping by this page, and I truly hope I made you smile.

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Elisa

Elisa

Elisa is a mother of four, a college student, the first generation of her family to be born in the United States, and a wife to a Soldier. While her husband's story is very similar, he is 2nd generation military as his father served before him as an Airborne Infantryman in the Army. Elisa's work has been featured in The San Diego Union Tribune as well as various social media sites. She is currently attending school with the long-term goal of obtaining her Masters, but being an involved mom is her biggest joy, passion, and motivator. When she’s not doing schoolwork, she volunteers her time in her children’s scouting troops and offers her support to her husband’s unit. Her true passion though, lies in the worlds of dance, acting, and writing.

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