The Military Wife

I've seen this posted many times by several of my friends/fellow Military Wives. So, I wanted to post this to (1) pat myself on the back a little ;0), and (2) to thank all the Military Wives for what they do, and for being such woderful friends!

What is a MILITARY Wife?

They may look different and each is wonderfully unique. But what do they have in common? They have THIS IN COMMON!

Lots of moving...Moving.

Moving far from home.

Moving two cars, three kids and one dog - all riding with HER, of course.

Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.

Moving curtains that won't fit.

Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.

Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends.

Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.

Often waiting...Waiting, waiting.

Waiting for housing.

Waiting for orders.

Waiting for deployment.

Waiting for reunion.

Waiting for phones calls.

Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.

Waiting for him to come home for dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.

She can balance a checkbook, handle the yard work, fix a noisy toilet, bury the family pet. She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.

She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move - all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her. Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home.' She MAKES them all home.

She is fiercely IN-dependent and somewhat hasty; leaps into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships. She doesn't have 15 years to get to know people.

Her roots are short but flexible. She plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other. They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.

Military Wives have a common bond. The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' - he can't decide to quit - he's on-call for his country 24/7, but for the military wife, he's the most unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign:

TDY

PCS

OPR

ACC

BDU

And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his. She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments - She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia. But she pulls herself together. Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture...and she goes.

She packs. She moves. She follows.

Why? What for? How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind. But actually it is be cause she has lost her heart. It was stolen from her by a man who puts duty first, who longs to deploy, who salutes the flag and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, she will remain his Military Wife.

Re-United

...after 4 months

Deployment 2006-2007

...after 4 1/2 months

Deployment 2008

Home Sweet Home

So, I have figured out very quickly that I may not be a daily blogger!...but, I suppose I could give it a positive twist and say that if my life lacks enough drama to write about on a daily basis...well, then I guess things could be worse!

Anyway, I have had some friends request that I post pictures of Jon and my new digs (and Alix's too! ;))...so, I shall oblige.

We live in a little village north-west of Kaiserslautern where we found a newly built house (2009) to rent.

Lots has changed since we moved in - our driveway has only been there for a month!

 

We love our place, and it's a huge change from our 300 year-old rental house in England (which we also adored!)

We love, love, love that it feels like we're in a little German village (well, actually we are) with beautiful views.

View from the driveway

View from the back porch of our village

The nearest big village (Weilerbach) is only 5 minutes away, and we are within 15 minutes of 3 military bases.  

Beautiful fields on the walk to/from Weilerbach

We are loving living in a large, modern, open house...life is tough, I know!

Alix really is an integral part of our life! :)

Some things have changed, even since I took these pictures.  We're about 95% done with "making it our own."

If you're ever headed our way, consider this an open invitation!

It's Mother's Day...

...so, obviously, my mom comes to mind.

My mother and I aren't what you might call close - I live in another country, and we may talk to each other for 5 minutes 2 or 3 times a month...maybe.

My mother and I don't see eye-to-eye on LOTS of things.

My mother was probably not the most nurturing by today's standard - but I turned out OK...right?

She didn't come to my High School soccer games, she didn't encourage me to "prepare" for college, she was not pleased with my decision to enlist in the Navy, and I am quite certain she could do without us living overseas. In fact, she's made that rather clear!

I tell you all this, but I will also tell you that I have NO doubt in my mind that my mother loves me and my sister.

She did the best she knew how. She put all her heart into raising us, and I can only say that the fact that I can see our differences - and appreciate them - is because she is the one who taught us to be "our own person" whether she realizes it or not.

So, on this Mother's Day - although I feel this way EVERY day - I want to wish my mom the happiest of Mother's Days.  I want my mom to know that I love her VERY much, and I think she's the best mom out there.

After all, she raised me to be the person I am today...and I'd have to say that I'm rather pleased with the outcome.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there.  I hope today is a great one!

Happy Mosel

Could I live in a cooler place?!

This passed weekend Jon and I joined the Robbins, great friends from our time in Lakenheath,

and went to check out the annual Happy Mosel.

One Sunday every year, at the end of April or beginning of May, 140km  (70km on either side of the Mosel River) of the Mosel Weinstraße (Wine Street)  is closed to motorized traffic for cyclists, in-line skaters and pedestrians.                                         Just driving out to the route offered breathtaking scenery, not to mention the great weather we had and the gorgeous scenery along the route!

don't worry I took the picture while Jon drove...by the looks of the guard rail, that may not always be the case!

Bernkastel Kues - the castle (above) and the village (below) - on our drive in

One of the many beautiful, small villages we cycled past

...and the vineyards

A gorgeous view of the castle along the route

...along with more cute little villages ("and their beirgarten" says Jon)

We only suffered about a 10 minute window with light rain, when we decided to stop at a road-side stand for bratwurst mit pommes (sausage with fries) and to share a bottle of wine between us.  Tough life, I know! ...and, apparently, there are several of these traffic-free events throughout the summer.

Count me in!

Ich liebe Deutchland!

Jon & I have been in Germany now for 3 months...wow, how time flies!

It broke my heart a little when we were preparing to leave England - I left many good friends behind (only physically, though!). I suppose this is the age-old story of being married to the Air Force.

I can't complain too much, though. Jon and I chose to come to Germany. We fell in love with England, and all the travel opportunities. So, when the time came to ask for our next assignment, we knew it had to be Europe. We arrived here in early February.
Jon and I had a couple of weeks to find a place to live before he left for Las Vegas for a month of training. We found the perfect house in a beautiful little village, and I was left to unpack, figure out how to get utilities up and running and figure out the lay of the land (for those who know me well, that alone should make you chuckle!). Jon made it back at the end of March. After a few weeks of growing pains (ie. convincing Jon that it was OK that he couldn't speak fluent German yet), we're loving every minute of it!

We've started to explore our little village, and one Sunday even found and followed a trail up the mountain and came across this cool tower (Aussichtsturm Eulenkopf). I'm sure there are so many other things for us to discover!

Jon's only been back for 5 weeks, but we've managed to do/see some pretty cool things...

Berlin

Jon has taken a serious liking to the German bier

I, on the other hand, have never been a big beer fan...until we got to Germany, that is!

Although, I do prefer mine with a fresh baked brezel!

We also managed to fit in some tourist attractions:

Checkpoint Charlie

the crossing point between the American and the Soviet sectors while the Berlin wall was still standing.

The Berlin Wall

Of which, surprisingly large portions still stand. This is the East Side Gallery which spans over 4,265 feet. One hundred and six artists put their talent to it. It is currently being restored from damage and graffiti from (damn) tourists.

I thought this fresco was especially cool!
...and the wall is still marked by plaques and cobbles where it no longer stands.
One of Jon's favorite sites (and not only because it was close to one of the 23 Dunkin' Donuts in Berlin...there's only 29 in the WHOLE country!) was the Holocaust-Mahnmal, a memorial to the millions of Jews assassinated in death camps.

Amsterdam

A couple of weeks ago my friend T came for a visit. No better excuse to travel than to entertain your company! So, off to Amsterdam it was for Jon, his friend Dave, T and me...

for the scenic

...and the seedy

(I like that T caught this man - not hiding his shame, just his face. HA! - in the RLD)

And there is no better way to re-fuel after a late, LATE night in the Red Light District than the Pancake Bakery! I can't say enough - check it out if you're ever headed that way.
After my ham, pineapple and cheese pancake (it was DELICIOUS!) we headed to the Heineken Experience. This was a "must do" on the boys list. T and I went along for the ride...and it was fairly interesting. I still think Heineken beer leaves lots to be desired!

And last, but not least, I managed to convince the guys that they too wanted to see all the pretty flowers at Keukenhof.

Now, if you're not in the know, Keukenhof has an annual festival in the early spring which consists of a HUGE spring garden.

This year they celebrated 60 years! The whole set-up reflected on the historic relationship between the U.S. and the Netherlands...am I the only one who didn't know that New York was originally New Amsterdam?! Yeah, maybe I should brush up on my history, but the gardens at Keukenhof are absolutely beautiful!

I'm so excited about our time here - compiling lists of all the places we want to go. Anyone want to join us?

How do I turn this thing on?

So...

We (I) have decided that we are going to jump on the blogging bandwagon.  I'll fill Jon in on this later...I'm am absolutely certain he'll be thrilled! (Did you feel the sarcasm?!)

Jon and I have been stationed away from family & friends for the past (going on) 4 years.  And as much as I absolutely love being in Europe - let there be NO mistake - I also love keeping up with the lives of family and friends (whether long-time or Air Force aquired!). If you know me, you will know that, for me, the internet is a God-send, as I have a cordial dislike for telephones, at best.

Enter, our (my) interest in starting our own family blog to keep everyone posted (even when life really isn't so interesting) and to quench my own curiosity as to wether I'm up for the blogging challenge.

On that note...

Here goes nothing!