A Choice

By Kate Fosson

What will become of us, 
we wondered,
when we were young.
What kind of life will we choose?

Then we discovered that what came to be
was not of our choosing. 
But we believed in love
so we embraced it.

We did our best 
to be brave when facing uncertainty,
to be strong when times were hard, and
to be honorable in the commitments that we made.

And we learned quickly 
that bravery is about being scared and doing it anyway,
that strength is built one day at a time, and 
that honor is never selfish. 

A military spouse knows this best:
a life isn’t chosen, 
it’s made. 

In the Pacific Northwest, where the snow-capped mountains stand guard over the sea,
In Southern California, where the cacti bloom in the desert night,
In the Lowcountry, where the smell of pluff mud seeps into the soul,
Or even in a foreign land, where ancient festivals fill the darkest days with the glow of a
thousand lanterns.

We stay long enough for those places to feel like home.
They become our home. 
And then we move on.

But they remain with us,
those places, 
the challenges we faced,
and the people who walked beside us,
they all become part of who we are,

Not because of the life we chose, but 
because of who we chose to be.

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Kate Fosson has been a military spouse for 15 years. She is an entrepreneur, community builder, and mother of two daughters. She holds an MBA from American University and often writes and speaks about the value of resilience, collaboration, and personal development. Kate has moved nine times (so far) for her husband’s career with the U.S. Navy. They currently live in Japan.