Deployments sucks, there's no doubt about it. It sucks for the service member and it sucks for the family in the rear. Both my husband and I have both been deployed twice before and we both remember getting on the bus to head to the plane on both ends. On one end, you are nervous, but ready to just get there and get started in your job to make the time go by more quickly. Then the time comes that your replacements show up and you start the process of showing them the ropes.
Both times, for me, I was focused on the suck of it. The fact that I was leaving again. It doesn't matter that this is the life we chose, it still has moments that just plain aren't the highlight of it. The thing I hadn't thought about was the other side. Just was much as we looked forward to the time when our replacements came so we could go home, the families that were waiting for us to come home were as well.
I don't think I realized that as much until I watched my husband say goodbye to our boys again. And honestly, when you are enduring that hurt, it's hard to think outside of your little bubble at that moment in time. But then it hit me, down the road when it's time for him to come home, we will be so excited. There will be banners made and homecoming shirts ordered, the house will get a good final scrubbing and the puppy will get a bath. We will all load up and drive to the ceremony and rush into our soldier's arms and our family will be whole again.
Our time is down the road for that, but for another family when my husband hit the ground there, another soldier was packing his bags and looking at that picture that has been hanging up of his family one last time before packing it away. In a few short days, that soldier will no longer need that picture because he will be running into his family's arms and their little family will be whole again.
So while that doesn't fix the hole in our hearts while our soldier has to be gone, today was a little easier thinking through it that way. And when our soldier is backing away our picture, I will make sure to say a prayer for that family that is saying 'see you soon' so we can be whole again.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Kansas sucks...
Kansas sucks. I have heard this more times than I can count. As military service members and spouses, we often follow where the Army sends us. This may end up with a less-than-stellar location. One thing I have learned though is that locations are all about what you make of it.
Sure, Kansas sucks, if you don't like being outside, if you don't like history, if you don't like nature, if you don't appreciate the appeal of a small town. No different than Hawaii sucks if you don't like being outside, if you don't like surfing, if you don't like sunshine, if you don't like the beach. It's all a matter of taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.
When we were in Germany and even since then, I've had so many people that talked about how lucky we were to be stationed there. I loved our time there, BUT there are cons in being stationed in places like that as well. We had the opportunity to see places that we probably would have never been able to otherwise. We were able to actually live in another culture, not just visit it. However, roughly 95% of my medical appointments required specialists - the nearest of which were two and a half hours ago, on the Autobahn, so that would equate to closer to a four hour drive here in the States. Wearing anything with the American Flag on it were frowned upon because you made yourself a target to those that weren't a fan of American's. There are many other things I could list, but I will stop there.
I'm not trying to focus on the negative, that's not my point here. My point is that every location and I mean EVERY location, has good and bad depending on your personal interest and experiences. The key to enjoying your time is to do some research, find things off the beaten path. Everyone knows where the mall is or the zoo, but what about the other places to see. I make a point to follow as many of the small towns in the area on places like Facebook or Twitter. They are always posting pictures of places within their area that most people don't know about or they post about events going on.
You have to make a conscious effort to make the most of the situation. I know with my boys that their take on places and situations is found much in the way my husband and I respond. If we find a better way to view things, our children will too.
On that note, for those that are in Kansas, these are a couple lists of both events and places to see within roughly an hour from the Fort Riley area and the Wichita area :
Events: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L3S-3rNzNRPXVc7rd2WqIS0qI1sz0wn87FieFzvCoSE/edit?usp=sharing
Places to see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Ai8bjU34UuYhN2aAILFnldgvo1it6XrvgQTqUCHLwk/edit?usp=sharing
Please note - these docs are a work in progress - if you know of something going on that isn't listed here or something to see, please comment below or email me at mindy.k.king10@gmail.com
Sure, Kansas sucks, if you don't like being outside, if you don't like history, if you don't like nature, if you don't appreciate the appeal of a small town. No different than Hawaii sucks if you don't like being outside, if you don't like surfing, if you don't like sunshine, if you don't like the beach. It's all a matter of taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.
When we were in Germany and even since then, I've had so many people that talked about how lucky we were to be stationed there. I loved our time there, BUT there are cons in being stationed in places like that as well. We had the opportunity to see places that we probably would have never been able to otherwise. We were able to actually live in another culture, not just visit it. However, roughly 95% of my medical appointments required specialists - the nearest of which were two and a half hours ago, on the Autobahn, so that would equate to closer to a four hour drive here in the States. Wearing anything with the American Flag on it were frowned upon because you made yourself a target to those that weren't a fan of American's. There are many other things I could list, but I will stop there.
I'm not trying to focus on the negative, that's not my point here. My point is that every location and I mean EVERY location, has good and bad depending on your personal interest and experiences. The key to enjoying your time is to do some research, find things off the beaten path. Everyone knows where the mall is or the zoo, but what about the other places to see. I make a point to follow as many of the small towns in the area on places like Facebook or Twitter. They are always posting pictures of places within their area that most people don't know about or they post about events going on.
You have to make a conscious effort to make the most of the situation. I know with my boys that their take on places and situations is found much in the way my husband and I respond. If we find a better way to view things, our children will too.
On that note, for those that are in Kansas, these are a couple lists of both events and places to see within roughly an hour from the Fort Riley area and the Wichita area :
Events: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L3S-3rNzNRPXVc7rd2WqIS0qI1sz0wn87FieFzvCoSE/edit?usp=sharing
Places to see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Ai8bjU34UuYhN2aAILFnldgvo1it6XrvgQTqUCHLwk/edit?usp=sharing
Please note - these docs are a work in progress - if you know of something going on that isn't listed here or something to see, please comment below or email me at mindy.k.king10@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
A very special project
One thing I have learned along the way is that every veteran has a story to tell. It doesn't matter what branch they served in or what era, whether they saw combat or not - there is always a story.
Over the past few years, during my time in the Army I became involved in the American Legion and then after my first deployment, the VFW. I've heard many stories of some of the older veterans, most are the funny kind of the 'you won't believe what this guy did' type of story. The occasional chance that you hear a war story from one of the more seasoned generations, it's the time to really sit down and listen.
Veterans of our past are a walking part of history, they have seen things and know stories that you will never find in any history book. They have witnessed a true spectrum of emotions that no one else could ever imagine. Many of them have carried that weight of those emotions for years and for many, it has been carried to the grave. Once that happens, that part of history remains forever unknown and becomes forgotten at the moment of that last breathe.
I know I have been guilty of this in the past... my grandfather was a career service member with a total of 21 years between the Navy and Air Force. With the exception of the summarized final retirement papers, I know nothing about his history. My mom was so young when he was in the service, that she doesn't remember much besides a couple short years in Japan, which for the most part is a blur. That is history we can't get back. I can't google it or go to the library and look it up - it's just simply gone.
This has prompted something in me.... something I want to preserve. Over the next few months, I'm going to be working on a project that will hopefully capture some of this history - so when these veteran's families look back, they don't regret what they don't know...
Over the past few years, during my time in the Army I became involved in the American Legion and then after my first deployment, the VFW. I've heard many stories of some of the older veterans, most are the funny kind of the 'you won't believe what this guy did' type of story. The occasional chance that you hear a war story from one of the more seasoned generations, it's the time to really sit down and listen.
Veterans of our past are a walking part of history, they have seen things and know stories that you will never find in any history book. They have witnessed a true spectrum of emotions that no one else could ever imagine. Many of them have carried that weight of those emotions for years and for many, it has been carried to the grave. Once that happens, that part of history remains forever unknown and becomes forgotten at the moment of that last breathe.
I know I have been guilty of this in the past... my grandfather was a career service member with a total of 21 years between the Navy and Air Force. With the exception of the summarized final retirement papers, I know nothing about his history. My mom was so young when he was in the service, that she doesn't remember much besides a couple short years in Japan, which for the most part is a blur. That is history we can't get back. I can't google it or go to the library and look it up - it's just simply gone.
This has prompted something in me.... something I want to preserve. Over the next few months, I'm going to be working on a project that will hopefully capture some of this history - so when these veteran's families look back, they don't regret what they don't know...
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