It’s said that we only have a few seconds to make a strong first impression when meeting someone new. Is that also true when it comes to reading the writing of a stranger? Let’s find out as I introduce myself to you as a new Experience Blog Contributor with Army Wife Network—and I think I’ve already used up those few seconds of time…

Newell? I’ve never heard that before…

My name is Newell Dickerman, and I currently live in Overland Park, Kansas. I was born and raised in Dunwoody, Georgia, until my family moved to Kansas in 2000. My younger sister, Beth, is my only sibling and best friend. I spent my formative years here in Kansas, and I met my lifelong friends not long after that. We’re still connected to this day.

I went on to receive my undergraduate degree in 2012 from Kansas State University (Go Cats!) and moved back to Overland Park following graduation. Since that time, I’ve been working in the retirement living industry, and I’m currently a sales director at a top-rated Continuing Care Retirement Community selling apartments to seniors. Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve loved spending time with and serving our aging population—often forgotten in our culture today. I should go ahead and tell you, I’m 80 years old on the inside.  

These women are family and chosen family (my lifelong friends).

Over the last seven years living in Kansas City, I’ve had the chance to focus on getting plugged into the local arts organizations. I grew up playing viola and guitar, but my heart lies in vocal performance. If you’re ever in Kansas City, please join me to see an opera or symphony performance at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts! Believe it or not, the opera ended up being the way I met my husband. That is a blog post for another day…

Enter military life.

In the last decade, my worldview has taken a tremendous topsy-turvy emotional shift. I went from a new college graduate living at home with her parents to a married woman working full time as a sales professional with a husband who was overseas. The last person I thought I would be married to was a service member, and I certainly did not expect to be living alone when I got married.

Photo by Mary Beth Russell with epagaFOTO.

In early 2018 I became a new “milspouse,” and it wasn’t more than a month before I became the wife of a deployed service member. My husband, James, is a part of the Army National Guard. Before he and I met in 2015, my understanding and interactions with the military were limited to what I saw on the news post-9/11 and the very basic knowledge that both my grandfathers served in WWII. I knew very little of service and sacrifice other than through movies and my faith background.

My husband and the rest of his brigade came home safely, and now we’re starting life together where we aren’t waiting for him to leave again. It’s pretty weird to be living with someone indefinitely, isn’t it? Any other milspouses deal with this weirdness? This is the moment where I pay homage to the active-duty spouses.

Our lives today are focused on finding our balance. It includes enjoying the things we love like swing dancing, playing music together, nights on the town in Kansas City, and traveling. And don’t forget the arts performances!

Why do I write and what can you expect?

As I’ve grown in my relationship with James, so has my understanding of and appreciation for military service. Before James, my life was separated from any individuals who were affected by military service—or so I thought. I had some false narratives going about service members and a misunderstanding of why people would choose to serve. Understanding the level of sacrifice our service members and their families make has changed me. Since then, I’ve felt a personal mission to connect those who may lead a life seemingly disconnected from the military and those whose lives are deeply rooted in military service. Just as I feel it important to stay connected with older generations as they age, I believe it’s vital for us to stay connected to those serving our country.  

James’s first day home after 391 days apart on deployment.

Writing was a tremendous coping skill for me to help my loved ones understand what I was going through while James was deployed. I’ve previously used social media as an outlet to write about these topics close to my heart. I hope that, as you read future blog posts from me with Army Wife Network, you’ll know that I hope to bring our heartstrings to the surface in order to connect us together.

I hope you find my writing encouraging, vulnerable, positive, heartfelt, and meaningful. And, if all else fails, maybe there will be a meme that makes you LOL. I feel a yearning to have a chance to write to you about things that are difficult sometimes—challenging, even.  

With all that said, and although this took longer than a few seconds to read, I hope this left you with a positive first impression!

Here’s to future blog posts to come…