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What I Will NOT Miss About Germany
Author’s note: As I near the end of my time living in Germany while my wife serves in the United States Army, this is part I of a III part series examining my thoughts and feelings as I prepare to head back to America and leave Germany behind. Part I examines what I will not miss about Germany. Part II examines what I will miss about Germany. Part III examines what I’ve learned during my time in Germany. My wife Jules, myself, and our three children Hunter (12), Eva (10), and Acadia (8) were scheduled to be stationed in Germany for three years, and the way my wife’s Army career was looking, it was possible we could…
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The Never-ending War
Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
ARMY WIFE NETWORK INTRODUCTION
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Choosing Battle Lines
Have you felt as if battle lines were drawn on the virtual learning front with your children over the past year? I have some thoughts on that, but first, how I got there. Having left Facebook several years ago due to the incivility that was present (how tame those days were), I eventually found my way back to the social media platform. It wasn’t due to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). It wasn’t because I regretted my decision. Hardly. No, it was because the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, gymnastics, and a host of youth sports teams only communicated to families through Facebook. Technically, I didn’t have to rejoin Facebook. It would…
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You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
Empower Yourself Through Finance
ARMY WIFE NETWORK INTRODUCTION
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Empower Yourself Through Finance
From a young age I have loved numbers. I suspect this passion for numbers contributed to my interest in finance. By the time I turned 15 and had my first W-2 job working as a dishwasher, I was ready to start investing in the stock market. What a different world it was back in 1987. Back then, there was no discount broker, no online, no internet. There were only full service brokers where you had to stop by your broker’s office or phone them and place your order that came with a commission usually in the $30-50 range per trade. My first investment was made on Oct. 19, 1987, a…
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The Never-ending War
My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
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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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Choosing Battle Lines
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
Empower Yourself Through Finance
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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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What I Will NOT Miss About Germany
Choosing Battle Lines
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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ARMY WIFE NETWORK INTRODUCTION
Empower Yourself Through Finance
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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What I Will NOT Miss About Germany
Empower Yourself Through Finance
The Never-ending War
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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…
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Finding the American Pioneering Spirit
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
The Never-ending War
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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…
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What I Will NOT Miss About Germany
Ghost Stories for Dinner Parties
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
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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…
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My Piece on Travel For The Army Wife Network
You Can DECIDE To Change Your Life
Empower Yourself Through Finance
