By Selena Conmackie
Guest Blogger
I work from home and use the TV as my way to hyper-focus on my tasks. (Weird, I know). I decided to put on The Mandalorian for background noise and my mind felt a “ding” as I heard that line we ALL should know by now: “This is the way.”
1. This is the way.
Plan, but don’t plan. The Military community knows this. In my short almost seven years as a MilSpouse, we’ve had to change our wedding plans, duty station plans, vacations, and holidays. My husband has been gone during birthdays and anniversaries. And, most recently, a newly assigned unexpected deployment during his retirement year. THIS IS THE WAY.
2. Mando, the Mandalorian was just there to do a job.
As the show goes on, he grows fond of The Child (Baby Yoda-ish) who’s now more than just a job. Hear me out. I knew where we were going was temporary and so I know for myself I didn’t have any expectations other than getting our house set up and getting the kid in her new school. The first place I was before I left, I met some amazing new friends that had a shared childhood. I connected with a wonderful local who shared her large property and story of her family who had been in that place for many generations and one of the original foundations of her grandfather’s home in what is now a pasture for her cows. Each place has sprung a fondness that I didn’t have on my radar.
3. Baby Yoda is not really a kid, but much older.
This made me think of my kid and other military kids who have experienced many things some adults wouldn’t get to in their lifetime. I have friends who were stationed in Africa, Germany, Korea, and Japan. Their kids have gotten to learn from and immerse themselves into a culture that is not their own. They’ve had to say goodbye to their parents and deal with that absence during deployments. And some have many childhood homes as they’ve followed in tow where their servicemember parent is assigned.
4. I imagine MilSpouses are like the Mandalorians.
I mean, we aren’t bounty hunters or mercenaries. Mandalorians are comprised of members from multiple species, all bound by a common culture, creed, and code. If that doesn’t describe the MilSpouse Tribe, I don’t know what would. There’s the scene in one of the episodes where a group of the Mandalorians show up to help the main character despite any differences they had. Do you know why? THIS IS THE WAY.
5. Okay, total spoiler alert here. STOP reading right now.
Okay, so you know that epic scene where Luke Skywalker shows up and it’s like OOOHHH.MMMYYY.GODDDD. I’m sure more hard-core Star Wars fans shed some tears. And this scene is like all the military homecoming videos we see where the servicemember surprises their loved ones at the office, school, a football game. That excitement of OHHH.MYYY.GODDD is exactly what my body goes through along with tears of happiness for all parties involved.
6. “Mandalorians are stronger together.”
That was said somewhere in one of the episodes. I’ve been a milspouse for almost 7 years and in that time, I’ve realized in this life, if we help each other we are stronger. When you move away from your support network, as a MilSpouse, you lead the charge with your spouse deployed. Perfect strangers become emergency contacts, drive you to medical appointments, sit with you on the porch as you are struggling. THIS IS THE WAY
So, yes, I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole and got very distracted from my work. But This is the way. (Don’t tell my clients.)
About Selena Conmackie
Some call Selena their Social Media Gal, Website Designer Extraordinaire Guru, Genius (their words, not hers). But she’s also a Military Spouse following her husband with her kid and dog in tow to wherever the Army sends them. So, just add Rockstar Mom and Ah-mazing Wife to her list. H A U O L I is the name of her small boutique business. It means Happy in Hawaiian and has a special meaning that became the inspiration for her new journey. Her goal is to help your business to succeed — and social media plays a part in that. She enjoys the game of hashtags and algorithms and helping her clients optimize their online presence.
