Ah, February: the month of Valentines and all things hearts and love. As I was thinking of this charming holiday, I began to ponder all the things I love about each duty station in which we’ve lived or some of the extra places we’ve travelled in between. There is so much to admire about each: the attractions, museums, beaches, restaurants, and oh, those coffee houses and treat shops—what I really adore the most!
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.
Yes, that title is a favorite Less Than Jake lyric of mine. But this month, it is most definitely true. February holds my favorite day of the whole year—the day my husband and I met. And this year, we’ll have known each other for 10 whole years. More than a quarter of our lives, by just a smidge. Gosh, I love that so very much. Congratulations to us!
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.
For many years, my husband and I discussed attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service. He and I attended a few growing up or when we were married and didn’t yet have children. Once children came into the picture, the idea of attending a candlelight service sent me into a panic. These services don’t correlate well with the kids’ dinner and bedtime routines. The candlelight services hours force us to drag hungry or cranky kids into a church. Furthermore, to ask a very young child to sit quietly in a pew for an entire service, and prevent them from eating an unlit candle, tearing the paper shield, or touching the flame, is nearly impossible.
Living at a small military base overseas, I feel like it is only natural for everyone to know everyone.
The housing communities are small and nestled into local German towns and villages. It is a wonderful experience but can also feel isolating. I have to say, in our nearly five years of living overseas, this has been one of the most welcoming and close-knit communities we have ever been a part of. You run your errands on post or on the local economy, and you are bound to find someone you know and are bound to strike up a conversation.
How are we already into October? Where have the last seven months gone?
This is our final year in Germany, and we were going to go out with a BANG! Big plans for traveling and exploring things we couldn’t easily do before because the triplets were less independent. However, here we are, seven months after the pandemic first started to cripple normal life as we knew it.
And to be honest, I don’t think I have recovered.
The perfect sunny day hits after two rainy weekends and a string of tropical storms. He wakes up happy because it’s day two of golf plans with friends. She wakes up happy because she thinks they’re having a day date full of sunshine and tea.
Disconnected, much? I’d say so.
If you’re already registered to vote, you’re probably prepping for the next part of the election cycle: requesting absentee ballots.
Active-duty service members and their voting age family members can request absentee ballots rather than physically voting in their home state. There is still time to request absentee ballots for the general election!
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