Get your passports ready! You’re headed across the pond, any pond, to Outside the Continental United States!
Headed to the castles of Germany, the vineyards of Italy…. Or keeping it in country and headed to the beaches of Hawaii or the Northern Lights of Alaska? Wherever the military has told you is home, Mission: Milspouse will have you hanging with the locals in no time.
From the beginning of your journey to your trip back to the continental U.S., we have the information you need.
Whether it’s baggage allowance at the airport, living minimally while your stuff leaves before you, how to find your tribe in a different country, or just how to emotionally and practically prepare for the move, Mission: Milspouse writers are ready to speak from experience and get you where you need to be.
Your adventure of a lifetime starts here at Mission: Milspouse!
When I began this three-piece series regarding my time in Germany, I immediately struggled with what I knew would be a conundrum in the final piece. But here’s the surprising lesson I learned stationed in Germany.
Here we are again, about to move and start a new chapter. At five and a half years, this has been the longest we have ever lived in one location.
As I near the end of my time living in Germany while my wife serves in the United States Army, this is Part II of a three-part series, examining my thoughts and feelings as I prepare to head back to America and leave Germany behind. Part I examined what I will not miss about Germany and can be found here. Part II, below, 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 their lives and move? How do I cope with picking up my life and moving at the two-year mark?
I have a confession to make:
I’m ready for winter to be over.
That realization hit me hard the past two weeks. I’ve been dreaming of summer here lately. We had a warm spell in Alaska, and by warm, I mean in the 20s. Never in my life did I think I’d be saying 20 degrees is warm, but here I am.
The best (and by best, I mean most hilarious) lunch I’ve ever had from the commissary was macaroni and cheese. I’ve gotta hand it to these folks, really, because they got me pretty good. Now, if you know me, or have known me for more than five minutes, you know macaroni and cheese is my favorite food. I eat a lot of it and often…a habit I’ve had for years.
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