Christmas is still nearly four weeks away. Plenty of time to bake, shop and make plans.
But, if you are mailing cards and gifts, your deadline is now. If those gifts are going overseas, your deadline was last week.
While the U.S. Postal Service can still guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve for domestic items, overseas shipments, especially those going to forward deployed troops, need to be sent asap.
Here are your deadlines:
I am trying to learn German. I really am. On year six of living in this country, you would think this would be easy by now.
The Germans are fond of compound words. And using two layers of language – the “formal” vs. the “informal.” There are also different dialects that have many different words for the same thing. Add to this the fact that Germans are fond of correcting you when you speak incorrectly, and the language only becomes more intimidating.
Ask most anyone what would be the best thing about having his or her own business and you are likely to hear: Being my own boss.
But, when that business is a franchise and you have to follow someone else’s rules on almost everything, are you really the boss?
My husband has spent many a Thanksgiving underwater.
Being a submariner, duty doesn’t stop for holidays. So he’s deployed for so many turkey days – eating government issued stuffing and cranberry sauce with his fellow shipmates – that I often lose count.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; I love food, and I love my family.
I have a series of rather sad photos, commemorating our Thanksgivings, most of which he is missing in.
And, sure, it’s sad.
During our past 26 years as a military family, we have learned that after all the ‘firsts’ - the first Thanksgiving of our marriage, the first one with one child, the first one with two children, the first return from deployment, the best Thanksgiving ever is always the one right in front of us.
I can’t say for certain when we all actually first noticed it, but I’m pretty sure it was around the time we’d all really gotten into eating our side dishes.
At least, that’s when I noticed it. I remember reaching for the salt, and stopped with my hand mid-air. The salt was forgotten the moment I realized that my best friend’s cousin (we’ll call her BFC) was feeding teeny bits of her Thanksgiving dinner to a tiny, furry face in her cleavage.
My most memorable Thanksgiving as a military spouse actually happened the day before Thanksgiving.
The day my husband returned home from his very first 12-month deployment was also his birthday. I had cleaned the house, I had washed the dog and I had primped and coiffed. My then 2-year-old was excited though she wasn’t quite sure why.
I had planned my Thanksgiving menu. My returning soldier is also a huge cook, so I allowed for variations once he returned. I had even hoarded away some special ‘fun cash’ to present to him for his extra grocery shopping pleasure.
The muppets of Sesame Street have been long-time supporters of military families.
They’ve created several videos to help children deal with deployment, PTSD and battlefield injuries. They’ve toured military bases around the world every year to give kids a free, fun-filled afternoon with all those furry monsters.
Now, the Muppets are here for military families, 24-7, through a new website and set of apps launched this week.
If you want to attend a military spouse only hiring fair in December, you may be out of luck.
The popular hiring fairs are held around the country and sponsored by the U.S. Chamber Foundation. The employers who attend are there to hire military spouses because they recognize the assets these men and women can bring to their companies.
In December, there are only three events, nationwide: in San Antonio, Miami and through a virtual hiring fair.
They tell you labor gets easier and shorter.
Well, I had a 10-hour labor with my first child, a four-hour labor with my second, and a 48-hour labor with my third.
It was long, painful and shocking. My son was born at home after almost two days of labor. He came into the world face-up, with both arms by his head, weighing nine pounds and a full inch longer than both his older sisters.
He also was born hours before his father deployed.
It was the biggest shocker about his birth entirely.
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