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New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that time of year where we pause our hectic lives and press the imaginary reset button. Of course, we know those reset buttons by their more familiar name, New Year’s resolutions. Time to say goodbye to the could-have-beens and the should-have-beens for the current year. Time to look forward to the what-could-bes and what-should-bes. I’m talking about a new year. And in a year in which so much was canceled and delayed due to COVID-19, we are all looking forward to the first day of the new year. While I’m not sure about New Year’s resolutions, January 1st is a vestige of the days when the Roman Empire lorded…
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Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
But Do They Appreciate All They Have?
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
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You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
Let me begin by recounting an experience that is probably going to leave your head shaking, especially if you are a military family. Military families understand how to move themselves, their family, and all their belongings across the country and across the world. Part of that process is identifying high dollar value items prior to the move so these items can receive special notation on your moving manifest. This all seems very obvious and simple. Until it isn’t. As I’ve mentioned previously, I came late to military life. My wife and I were full-on civilians until my 45th year on this planet. Unless my wife works until I’m 91, the…
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Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
Thinking About Living Overseas?
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Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
In 2024, Vermont will recognize the 300th anniversary of the first continuous European settlement that was built in what would eventually become Vermont.* During those 300 intervening years, many houses have been built with generations living and dying— sometimes dying within those actual houses. It is quite uncommon in Vermont for your home to only have two digits in its age. Saying your home is 100 years old makes your home the youngster on the block. When my wife and I bought our first home, long before deciding on a military life, we chose a two-story 125-year-old duplex. It was located in a small village, and many years previously had…
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My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
But Do They Appreciate All They Have?
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Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
If you are looking for the American pioneering spirit, you can find it all around you as a military spouse. During a recent luncheon with my community and spouses’ club, I had the pleasure of meeting two new Army spouses. These two ladies were a perfect blend of similar and differing Army experiences. Martha was at her second duty station, like myself, and Amanda had moved many times. All three of us have children, and the discussion turned to the unique experiences our children have while one or both of their parents serve in the Armed Forces. Amanda is currently homeschooling her children because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, she…
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The Never-ending War
But Do They Appreciate All They Have?
New Year’s Resolutions
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But Do They Appreciate All They Have?
If the title of this piece caught your eye, a number of things could have crossed your mind. Because you are most likely part of the military family, you may have thought it referred to civilians whose spouses are not at risk of dismemberment and death on their “work trips.” Or perhaps you thought it referred to other military spouses whose active duty member hasn’t deployed seven times in the last ten years. No, I’m referring to the children many of us are raising today. Like many Americans I cannot get enough of Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers. He perfectly captures what Tom Brokaw coined “The Greatest Generation.” Following World…
Don't stop here....keep reading!
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
ARMY WIFE NETWORK INTRODUCTION
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The Never-ending War
Every two or three years a battle happens for military families who are PCSing. That battlefield is your home, and the casualties are not only your possessions, but your sense of calm, serenity, and sense of right and wrong. I’m talking about moving. Some battles are so epic, it spawns a Facebook group with thousands of members consisting of military families that have faced moving horror stories. They turn to this group not only for retribution solutions, but also to simply share their grief, anger, and bewilderment. In my short military life, we have only “suffered” two moves; however, if there is one common discussion you will have with friends…
Don't stop here....keep reading!
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
New Year’s Resolutions
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Thinking About Living Overseas?
Maybe you thought about living overseas before you had kids. Maybe you thought about living overseas before you were married. Maybe you thought about living overseas before you stopped dreaming. What this piece is not about are those Facebook and Instagram posts you’ve seen from your friends stationed or living overseas where the entire family is standing in front of the Eiffel Tower or in the Neuschwanstein Castle upon which the Disney castle is modeled (see featured image). If living overseas was filled with those type of moments every second of every day, then who wouldn’t want to live overseas? No, this piece is about the little adjustments we as Americans must make every…
Don't stop here....keep reading!
The Never-ending War
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
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My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
There’s an old saying in real estate. Location, location, location. When you arrived at your current duty station, you and your spouse went house hunting to buy or rent and understood the importance of location. Location to schools, location to parks, and location to post. But for those of us with wanderlust, it’s also about location, location, location. Either we are reminiscing about the locations we have visited or planning for the locations yet to come. My colleague Tiffany is one of those infected with the travel bug but recently discussed living in the time of COVID-19 as an American in Italy unable to travel, let alone leave her apartment. It goes…
Don't stop here....keep reading!
Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
New Year’s Resolutions
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ARMY WIFE NETWORK INTRODUCTION
While standing with my wife in a social military setting the question is inevitably asked: “So how long have you served?” When my response is, “she has served since 2016,” with the emphasis on “she,” you can see the confusion on their face as they try to process what I have just stated. It doesn’t help that I cut my own hair using the No. 2 attachment, generally keep my face clean shaven, and run marathons often enough that my 48-year-old body is still in decent shape. I look Army. But I’m not the active duty spouse in our relationship, nor have I ever served in any branch of the…
Don't stop here....keep reading!
But Do They Appreciate All They Have?
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
