Recent Reads: August

It's time for another Recent Reads post on the last 3 books that have occupied my nightstand! I read 3 pretty different books and honestly enjoy each one!

It's Not Okay

By Andi Dorfman

Hi, my name is Chelsea, and I love anything to do with The Bachelor franchise. No shame in my Bachelor-loving game! I watched Andi's season, and like all seasons, thought she and Josh would be in love forever. They broke up, but she turned her experience into a best-selling tell-all for our benefit. She writes about her experience on the show, the exes leading up to "number twenty-six" (she never actually names the men in her book), and keeps it all raw and honest along the way. If you like The Bachelor, you'll like the book. Plain and simple. 

Most Wanted

By Lisa Scottoline

If you've read my Recent Reads posts in the past, you know there have been quite a few Lisa Scottoline books included. I just really love her style as an author. Her books are mysteries but just realistic enough that they have you saying "oh my gosh, what would I do in that situation?". In Most Wanted, a couple uses a sperm donor and becomes pregnant. They then see that sperm donor on TV being arrested for serial killings, and thus unravels a mystery and thriller about uncovering the truth. I love all of Scottoline's books, and this was no exception. 

Bloom
By Kelle Hampton

Kelle Hampton is a lifestyle blogger who became really popular after opening up about her journey with her daughter, who has Down Syndrome. She went through her entire pregnancy thinking her daughter was perfectly healthy and then learned she had Down Syndrome minutes after she was born. She is open and honest about her journey to accepting and loving her daughter for who she is. I appreciated how candid she was. There were moments in the story where I wanted her to be more positive, but I've never walked that journey and can't judge how she handled it. This was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.

What's something you've read and loved lately?

Friends To Framily

I've said before that one of the greatest, if not the greatest, aspect of military life are the friendships you make along the way. These people become your "ride or die" (that's still what the cool kids are saying now, right?), and nobody will understand the unique challenges military couples face quite like your fellow spouses. 

Because most of us don't have the luxury of living close to our families, our friends become our "framily". I knew I had a great support system here, but I was quickly reminded just how great this past Friday. Story time!

Thursday, Parker flew a routine mission to the boat and was supposed to be home that evening. At about 7:30 PM, I got a call from the officer on duty that Parker's plane was stuck on the boat for maintenance, and he would not be coming home until Saturday. These things happen and are normally no big deal. However, I was scheduled to have eye surgery on Friday morning to correct a problem I've had since I was little. It is a quick procedure, but I do have to go under general anesthesia for it. With Parker on the boat, there was nobody to take me to the hospital or, more importantly, watch Preston while I was having the surgery. 

I am usually a fairly calm person, but I panicked. It was too late in the day to call in and cancel the surgery, but I had no idea what to do. Yall, within 10 minutes, I had a friend to take me to the hospital and another friend to stay with Preston while I was gone. I asked them both at the eleventh hour to wake up at 5 AM the next day and spend 9 hours with me, and neither hesitated. They had nothing to gain, but they were there for me when I needed them, and I was again reminded how great it is to have "framily" in the military life. 

I had surgery on Friday, and all went well. I was able to take care of Preston Friday evening and Saturday, and thankfully Parker got home Saturday evening and has been able to help ever since. I am still recovering, but there is no way I could have done it without the help of these two friends. 

Military life can be hard and will have its share of negatives, but the people you encounter along the way will be unlike any other. So thankful for my framily and the way they loved on my son and me throughout this whole ordeal.