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 squeeze in a fourth year. Then the military does what it always does, and our world was turned upside down. Jules was selected for a position at Fort Lee in Virginia and our three or four years living and traveling in Europe was cut short to two. How do I help the children cope with learning that, at 18 months and in six more months, they will once again have to pick up...
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 just mean I would have no idea when youth activities were canceled or if times or locations were altered. Sure, that would work with three active children. In my return to Facebook, I used a fictitious name so I would not pop up as a “suggested friend” to friends and family on Facebook. I did not want to get caught back up in the time suck that...
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 day in the investment world known as Black Monday, because the Dow Jones Industrial Average would go on to shed 22.6% of its value in one day. ***Interesting geeky note. This day is known as Black Tuesday in Australia and New Zealand as well as other parts of the world. Can you figure out why?*** While some may look back on my initial interaction with the stock market as unfortunate luck, I could not consider...
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 over much of Europe and the Middle East and imposed the Julian Calendar upon its global empire. To this day, New Year’s celebrations hold a special place in American culture that is ingrained from a young age. As schoolchildren, we are given January 1st off each year, though it is neither a religious holiday nor a national holiday recognizing a solemn occasion such as...
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 civilian portion of my life will always be the majority and dominant part of my life. The problem I had with identifying high dollar items prior to the move is that many of these items are simply possessions of mine that have been with me my whole life. These are possessions that hold far more emotional than monetary value, and because of this, I forget to...
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 been a restaurant as well as an apothecary, among other things. Oh, the history this home could tell if it could talk. And would I want to hear all that it said? As children, we grow up on ghost stories told to us by our parents, told around campfires, told through early cartoons like Casper, then told to us again through movies, such...
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 was discussing a book with her 6 year old that covered amazing places across the globe, including the Eiffel Tower and the Roman Colosseum. Amanda was explaining to her child that most people will never visit these locations in their entire life, and that at 6 years old, this child has already been there. I shared this previous post with...
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 War II, these giants of American history returned home to build the greatest nation the Earth has known. Because they fought through so many unfathomable horrors next to so many brothers who died on foreign soil, they may have been the first generation, and only generation, in history who could not be told by their parents that life was harder...
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 you make or colleagues your spouse works with at your new duty station, it will be about the troubles both they and you suffered during the most recent move, as well as previous moves. These discussions are fruitful for learning tips and tricks to make your next move go better. And like most things in life, what doesn’t get better with...
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 day when living as expats (patriots living outside their native country). Keep reading to find out more about living overseas, but bear in mind this is not a hate piece about living overseas. I love living as an expat and wouldn’t trade this experience for myself and my children for...
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 without saying, for myself as well as all those mentioned in this post, that leisure travel is insignificant to the lives lost and suffering that currently exists due to COVID-19. However, we must continue to pursue and explore passions that make life worth living for each of us. Please note this as you continue to read my...
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 armed services. To read the rest, visit Army Wife Network here.
