Take a Break then Take Another
Life can be exhausting . . . but imagine being thousands of miles away from home and close family with a toddler and new baby. You could say our hands are full, especially since it’s just the four of us on our own to support each other.
Hey, I’m Kira! I’m married to a military man and we live damn far from home. Germany to be exact. We couldn’t get much further from our native Florida. The transition was hard, especially with the language barrier and the way of life here. It was just different.
When we moved here with our 10-month old son, we thought the hardest part was over. While we were still living in a hotel as we searched for a home (a story all its own), we found out I was pregnant again. We just moved away from everything we knew and now I had to have a baby in Germany?!
At this point, I barely knew what was going on. I was so nervous about what the doctors and hospitals would be like here and how it would compare to my birth in the U.S. What about communicating my concerns to the doctor?
I ended up finding doctors who spoke great English and were very kind about questions I had. I was well taken care of! It’s been an experience, for sure, with a lot of emotions. Not having someone around to help in those first few weeks after the baby was difficult and lonely. It was my second cesarean and trying to take care of my body after surgery with a toddler at home, taking care of a newborn, and having my husband at work was stressful and painful.
With lots of Breaks and grace—and, let’s be real, crying—we’ve made it work.
I want to note that we didn’t do this completely alone. As much as our family couldn’t be around, and especially now during a pandemic, we had and still have our close community. We are at a small base where everyone knows everyone, and I’ve made some of the best friends here. We all understand what it’s like, and we all need a helping hand occasionally. It’s always okay to ask for help!
The challenge of raising kids in a foreign country is just one of many I’ve been taking on. Alongside this I am a student and working (Ready to reinvigorate your accessory game with stunning jewelry? Check me out!).
We like Kira’s Bad to the Bone Hoops so much that we snagged a 20% Discount! You’re welcome. Shop here.
With online school so readily available, it just made sense to finally kickstart my degree while we’re here for four years.
I would absolutely deem myself lucky to have my husband as my support system while I’m at home and doing my classes, but it’s not easy. I thought “the older the kids get, the easier it’ll get; I’ll have more time then.”
Nope! Now that the kids are older, I’m trying to give them the attention and value that they deserve while teaching them and somehow making three meals a day. You never can truly plan for or know what the future holds until you get there.
This is all what spurred my Break. My continuous, ongoing, but never-ending Break.
You have to give yourself grace and take much needed time off. And not just once! You have to take time off whenever you need it.
You can’t be your best self or the best mom you can be without time to rest and reset! The best Breaks I can give myself in these times are to step back from work and just be.