Military life has taught me a lot about goodbyes.
Even still, here I am after four years of leading The Military Mom Collective and I still haven’t figured out how to make this particular goodbye easier.
In 2022, Rachel and Amie entrusted me with this incredible community. I knew I was stepping into something special, but I don’t think I could have understood back then just how much it would come to mean to me.
I came into this role with ideas and goals. Lots of them, actually. I knew I wanted to continue to grow this community, create meaningful resources, tell more stories, build partnerships, and find ways to remind military families everywhere that they weren’t doing this life alone.
What I didn’t know was how much this community would grow me in return.
This role and community has traveled through PCS seasons and time zones with me. It has lived on my laptop at kitchen counters, in hotel rooms, in airports, and probably more than a few places where I should have been doing something else.
Together, we created resources, told hundreds of stories, welcomed new voices, worked alongside incredible military affiliated organizations and businesses, started and grew The Red White and Boo Podcast, and created/hosted Monarch: From Cocoon to Crown.
But when I think about these four years, those aren’t actually the things I think about first.
I think about the people. I never lead alone.
I think about the women who were always right beside me. Nicki, Joanna, Maura, Taylor H., and Kailyn. At different points throughout these four years, each of them stepped into leadership and believed in the mission and what we were building. They carried the weight of it, talked through ideas and some times hard decisions. We celebrated a lot of wins together. But, also navigated challenges with tears in our eyes. So much of what happens behind the scenes never make it to the website or the social media posts you know and love MilMC for. But, I know. And for that, I will ALWAYS be grateful that I got to do it alongside of each of you.
I think about all of the contributors along the way who trusted MilMC with their words and voices. Women who shared the funny, the complicated, the heartbreaking, and the beautiful realities of our military (motherhood) journies. Every one of you brought something different to this community and together, your voices became the heartbeat of The Military Mom Collective.
I think about the friendships formed across duty stations and oceans.
I think about the conversations behind the scenes, the laughter and of course icebreakers during meetings, the encouragement during hard seasons, and the women who continually showed up for one another.
That has always been the heart of The Military Mom Collective.
Military life can be incredibly beautiful, but it can also be lonely. We rebuild our villages over and over again. We learn new places, find new people, and create home wherever the military sends us.
My greatest hope during my time here was that MilMC could be a place where you could come and find someone who understood. Someone who had been there. Someone willing to say the quiet part out loud.
Somewhere along the way, while trying to create that place for other military families, you created it for me too.
Knowing all of this and even somethings still left unsaid is what makes walking away so incredibly bittersweet.
There was never one moment when I suddenly knew it was time. But, I can say that I have been feeling a nudge toward a new season. My family has grown and changed. I’ve grown and changed. And in that growing, I’ve learned and realized that loving something well doesn’t always mean holding onto it.
I’m excited for this next season of life with my family, to pursue new opportunities, and serve our community in different ways.
—
On August 1st, I officially transferred ownership of The Military Mom Collective to Rebecca Lane.
Rebecca isn’t a stranger to this community. She has been part of our
community, understands the heart, and believes in its mission. Knowing that this community is moving forward with someone who genuinely cares about the people behind it made saying yes to this next chapter so much easier.
My hope is that you’ll give her what you’ve given me over these last four years. Your encouragement, your ideas, your stories, your grace, and your support.
—
To every organization, business, speaker, podcast guest, and partner who believed in our mission and what we were building, thank you for helping us serve military families in bigger and better ways. Truly, making MY dreams come true.
To every person who has ever read an article, listened to an episode, attended Monarch, shared a post, sent us a message, recommended us to another military family, or simply followed along, THANK YOU!
Thank you for letting me lead this community.
Thank you for trusting me with your stories.
Thank you for allowing something that started as a new business venture to become one of the most meaningful chapters of my life.
I’m leaving incredibly proud of what we built, but even more so with a heart full of gratitude for who I got to build it with.
This may be the end of my chapter as owner, but it certainly isn’t the end of The Military Mom Collective story. What an honor it was to have written a few pages of it.
So from my little corner of the world here, “where America’s day begins”. I’m sending each of you all of my love and more gratitude than I could ever fit into one final post.
Si Yu’os Ma’åse, MilMC.
Taylor
