When Wildland Man made the shift from his previous career to one of wildland firefighter, I was super excited for him and this new adventure we would be exploring together. I was even pumped about his first fire season.
Man, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was green and naïve and just oblivious to all the hard stuff that comes with being a wildland fire wife.
Wow, I mean, is it just me, or did the past four weeks just fly by? I can’t believe we are here at Week 4 of the Wife on Fire Challenge.
How have you been doing? Are you surprised by the reality of an intentional marriage? Would you claim to be a Wife on Fire by now?
Regardless of whether or not you’ve breezed through the past four weeks or if you’ve struggled to get each week’s task accomplished, you made it. You have reached the final week of the Wife on Fire Challenge. Which, I think, is cause for celebration!
Woot! Woot! If you started with the Wife on Fire Challenge two weeks ago, you have officially made it to the halfway point!
If you are just reading this post and you’re new to Country Wife Chronicles or you have just missed a few weeks of updates, please check out the first two posts of this series here:
In Week 1, I took some time to explain this idea that I hatched about bonding together to be better wives and encouraging one another in the process. It’s all about choosing intentional marriage and making the effort.
What does it mean to be a Wife on Fire?
At face value, directly from Google, here’s what you get:
Ok, that’s good, there’s our English lesson for the day.
But what does that mean in the context of marriage?
Do me a favor. Stop for a moment and think about the vows you said on your wedding day. Were they traditional vows? Did you write your own vows? Do you remember them?
What did you promise?
Do you still mean it? Do you still practice it? Do you live out these promises in your marriage today?
Let me take it a step further…
…hold up, I know what you are thinking.
“Well, it’s not like my husband lives them out either.”
“This is just how marriage looks after awhile.”
These past few weeks here at Country Wife Chronicles have been all about marriage. Strengthening Your Marriage, specifically.
Today, I’m super excited to be able to share a little resource with you that I’ve created. I’m sharing a template for a DIY Marriage Retreat designed to allow you to get away for a weekend and strengthen your marriage with intentionality.
But first, let me give you an idea as to what exactly a Marriage Retreat is.
One thing I know for sure. Our marriage is nothing, if not intentional. Day in and day out, we choose to make it a priority.
Even on the days I really don’t want to.
Even on the days I’d rather just be lazy about it.
Wildland Man and I decided early on in our relationship that marriage would take work and that it would require effort to keep the flame burning bright.
I’m a believer that a marriage in a not-so-great place can be turned around with a single act of kindness by one person. It has to start somewhere, somehow. What is there to lose by trying?
The next few weeks here at Country Wife Chronicles are all about marriage. I decided to write a whole series on “Strengthening Your Marriage.”
Not because I’m an expert or anything. Not because I know all there is to know about marriage. Not because Wildland Man and I have endured the deepest of depths in a lifelong marriage.
No, I’m not an expert. Or a counselor. I certainly don’t know it all, because I’m constantly trying to figure it out. Over and over again. Day after day. It is an intentional effort on my part to make this marriage not only work, but be great.
So last week on Country Wife Chronicles, I shared Part 1 of this post, “Lessons Learned After 5 Years as a Wildland Firefighter’s Wife.” You may want to check it out to get a little bit of insight as to how I ended up 5 years into this Fire Life.
Over the years I’ve learned a few things to help me cope with the absence of Wildland Man while he is away fighting wildfires during fire season. It is always an adjustment and takes some intentional preparation, but I sort of feel like I’m getting it figured out.
It was the spring of 2012 when Wildland Man got his first taste of fire. He was hooked immediately and ultimately began to pursue his passion in the field of wildland firefighting and prescribed burning.
You can read more about how we found ourselves in this reality by checking out the post, “Living the Fire Life.”
Not long after that initial experience, I found myself spending my first summer alone while Wildland Man fought wildfires out west. It was an adjustment I wasn’t quite prepared for. And, now, after five years in fire, I can say that while I am certainly more prepared for each fire season, that first fire call still stings just the same.