Suddenly I am completely grateful for my crappy on-base housing.
To be fair, in many locations where military housing has been revamped and even scrapped for new construction, the houses are better than what you could buy locally for the same amount of money. Still, living in someone else’s house, especially someone who has the right to dictate every move you make, gets old fast.
Think it was hard being one of four kids named John in eighth grade?
Try having the last name Payne in basic training. Or Love. Or, Dick. Yes, I’m certain Private Dick was happy to be promoted. These are all real individuals that either I or my friends have come across in our travels.
Occasionally, military life can be pretty funny, or painful, depending on your last name.
This is the big PCS move year in Hawaii. Our entire street has nearly emptied. Most of my friends have already packed and flown.
There are just a handful of us left, all with only a year or less to go before our boxes are shipped too. And as new families move in around us, and jumpstart their adventures in this new duty station, it’s terrible to admit, I’m just not interested.
PCS season - a time to say goodbye to old friends, miss seeing their smiling faces and time to snap up their slots at preschool, swimming class and that shady parking spot under the tree!
I am officially all-awared out.
Anyone who has spent more than four weeks in a military base knows that each month is designated as (insert cause here) awareness month!
There are seminars. There are lunches. There are cultural events. There is sign-holding at the gate to promote, or discourage, that cycle’s chosen cause/nemesis.
I get it. The official designation can help spread the much needed word about conditions, disease, history, etc. But it can be a little overwhelming.
Last week the White House hosted the National Conference on Mental Health. President Obama announced that money, specialists and efforts would be poured into the Veterans Affairs Department in an effort to get help to every veteran and family member who needs it.
It is a gallant step in the right direction.
Moving to far flung locations is great for your scrapbook. It’s not so great if you have no idea how to prepare for a hurricane, tornado, tsunami or other natural disaster common to your new home.
We were in Hawaii all of six months when the tsunami sirens wailed. Ummm. Huh. And on an island you, go, where?
Exactly.
Spring is a good time to be a military family member. April saw the celebration of the Military Child with activities and programs around the globe. Last Friday marked Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
I got nothing.
I feel like I have nothing to write, nothing to say because I am buried under a giant pile of everything.
There is so much to do that it can be impossible some mornings to decide where to begin. And this morning, I’m feeling just a little lost.
The radio announcer said a curious thing last week. He interviewed a fantastic local personality and when he was through, sighed and said, “I want to do that when I grow up.’
But you’re a successful radio deejay, with a steady income, in a large, successful market. That’s the definition of grown up, right?
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