#Ulog #6 - Taking a Detour

The best laid plans....often go astray.

When I started college, playing basketball and studying for a degree in Criminal Justice, I had no intention of signing up for the military and requesting an overseas deployment.

But then my little brother enlisted and was deployed to Afghanistan. It's hard to explain, but I felt the need to go as well even though practially everyone, including him, tried to talk me out of it. So I spent a year deployed to Iraq in Operation Enduring Freedom. Big detour.

When I got home, I planned on pursuing my career in Criminal Justice. Instead, I stayed active duty in the military and worked full time at Camp Lincoln for almost 2 years. Until I got reployed to Afghanistan. Another big detour. But this time the deployment got cancelled before we left. Unfortunately, my full time job at Camp Lincoln had gotten filled while I was on the deployment track. Being jobless was certainly not in the plan - yep, detour.

Of course, I found another job, though not in Criminal Justice, and had a son. Now that was a huge detour. Unplanned, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Along came my daughter, this time right on track. A true blessing.

But becoming a single parent with shared custody was NOT part of the plan, perhaps the biggest detour of all. I miss very much being an everday part of their lives, but it makes me appreciate all the more the time that I do have with them.

So detours are a part of life, best to enjoy the change of scenery.