military family
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Resilience
We always say it’s not going to happen. We’ll be there for each other, even after they move. Or we move. Or we both are flung to opposite sides of the world. And we swear, “This time. This time will be different. This time we’ll really stay in touch.” Military friends are a special breed.… Continue reading
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April Fools’ Day
“Hey Hannah,” I said, motioning her over to her Easter basket loot. “Do you remember eating these?” I asked, pointing to the Cadbury mini eggs. “No….well, kind of…” she replied. “These are your dad’s FAVORITE Easter candies. I thought you’d really like them, too,” I explained. Ever trying to include a deployed parent into daily… Continue reading
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Wonder and Joy
I need to say thank you. Thank you to the internet for inspiration. Thank you to all the people who do the holiday season up big. Thank you to the Heather Lands of the world who make me belly laugh about our silly traditions. Thank you for the conversations of dear friends as we eat… Continue reading
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Ready
To say I hate bugs would be an understatement. I’ve dealt with cane spiders (the size of my hand!), centipedes, and B52 bomber cockroaches in Hawaii, large and small spiders that crawl up the bath drain in Washington, water moccasins and fire ants in Florida and of course the beloved scorpions, mutant mosquitoes, crickets, wolf… Continue reading
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I Was Wrong
I remember writing about solo parenting many times throughout the last deployment. Reading many parenting blogs, military support websites and feeling overwhelmed by it all, but still armed with strategies and support to muscle our way through. As we prepared for this round, I kept thinking how much easier it was going to be. The… Continue reading
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Day 55
I have not had a drink in nearly 2 months. In 5 days I will have earned my 2 month chip. In that time I have also switched to a plant-based diet. I would like to say that these 2 decisions are miraculously making me into the fabulous version of myself that I always knew I… Continue reading
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Paradox
You know what I love about life? I love the part where the lessons have been gleaned, and the lightbulb moments have happened. I love the victory, the happy ending. I suppose it’s human nature. We love the finish line celebration, but cringe thinking of the work of the actual race. Slogging through the rough… Continue reading
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Crap Week
Grit is something we military spouses have in spades, whether we want it or not. Facing another deployment, I’m finding that they never get easier. It’s so easy to talk about deployments in abstract terms when living shore duty life. We make plans and assure ourselves that the kids will be fine, we’ll get through it,… Continue reading
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It’s Time
When I was pregnant with him, I was sicker than I’ve ever been in my life. I read all the books, studied up on exactly how he was developing and growing. We dreamed about what this little baby would be like when we were able to finally meet him, like all parents-to-be surely do. When… Continue reading
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Deployments ARE Marathons!
Having a few races under my belt including a marathon, as well as a few deployments – I couldn’t help to note some striking similarities. During shore duty, the duty stations where deployments are not a factor, my mind goes to what I call the “shore duty mental bubble”. These are the tours where deployments… Continue reading
Life and Other Stuff 