The Worth Of Warm Lemonade

Source

While on an evening walk around the neighborhood with Gunnar and Zach, we came across three little girls with a roadside stand in the form of a small side table adorned with drink mix and bathroom-sized Dixie cups. Eyes alight, they watched us approach until we were close enough that they were sure we would hear their cries of "lemonade!" Of course, we had no cash or change on hand, so with assurances of return, we headed across the several blocks separating the lemonade stand from home. We raided the change jar for quarters and cut across the freshly mowed lawns to shorten the return trip. At an 80 degree 9pm (in New York,) lemonade sounded amazing. As we rounded the curve into view once more, the girls squealed and jumped with excitement for their first customers of the night, seemingly convinced that we were not going to return. Asking 50¢ a cup, we took four - one for myself, one for Zach, and two for Gunnar. Zach dropped four dollars or so in quarters into their Tupperware bank and grins broke out all over. Unable to resist the adorable appeal of a modest, classic lemonade stand run by eager children, he then proceeded to drop our entire stash into their plastic container - $10 worth of quarters. Eyes like saucers, they thanked us and whispered excitedly behind our backs as we walked contentedly away with our $10 half-cup of over-sugared, warm lemonade, loving every single thing those little Dixie cups represented to a few bite-sized entrepreneurs.

PCS to Germany... The Beginning?

Zach has been out fishing all morning, and I've been at home with Gunnar, who is being a little terror. I love him with all my heart, but the boy definitely knows how to be bad. It never ceases to amaze me how something so small can make such BIG noises, messes, disruptions, and just so much general chaos.

Besides the grumpy toddler-induced headache, things have been moving forward. After some appointments with the relocation counselor on post, our family is finally starting to feel ready to leave Fort Drum and PCS to Germany! We learned a lot from her - especially since Zach's command caused me to miss the overseas orientation - the information was all-new to me. Travel allowances, deferring orders, meetings to make, optional ideas and allowances, shipping our POV, and getting on our way to command sponsorship seems so more possible now that somebody has actually sat us down and explained how everything works! Now, as long as they don't accomplish messing up our EFMP appointments (and trust me, they are trying... qualifying at the range) we will be well on our way to Germany late this summer!!

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!!

There is literally a holiday for everything now. Though it hasn't made a good impression for me, I don't really feel the same way that most people think I should, as a military wife. I don't think my job is especially hard most of the time, and I deal with deployment just like I dealt with every day of my life before I was married - taking care of myself (and my son, this time!) In fact, those twelve months flew by me. I love my husband and I respect what he does for a living - I would stand by him in any situation, and I do respect what military wives do - waiting faithfully for a man who is gone for extended periods of time, packing up and moving every few years, dealing with long work days and often overnights, taking care of miserable children because Daddy can't come home, and dealing with constantly last-minute changing, and then changing again, schedules - plus so much more. But I've experienced all these aspects of being married to a soldier, and he appreciates me for what I do for him and our family every day - and that is all I need, and so much more! So wives, I'm not undermining what you deserve, but remember - the appreciation that your husband gives you, and even more importantly, the appreciation of yourself for all that you do for your family, is the most important thing of all ♥

It's Been A While...

I've been a terrible blogger lately. Hopefully my extended absence is at it's end now, though. Things have been crazy in our house, with decisions, more decisions, changing the decisions, and then changing them again. We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to keep up with everything from Army gear to moving prerequisites - on top of our extremely full appointment calendar. Hopefully soon things will start to fall into place so that I can settle down and devote some more time to blogging about some of the amazing things that have been circling around in my thoughts lately, but unfortunately for now I'm just checking in. I promise to do my best to be back soon, friends!

I shall leave you with a Panic at the Disco cover of the classic 

Kansas song "Carry On My Wayward Son." 

It's kind of been my theme song lately.

Happy Easter ♥

Babies Having Babies

"'Many teenage pregnancies aren't accidental but intentional because of girls who see no life goals other than being a mother as realistically within their reach,' says Andrea Parrot, Ph.D., a Cornell University women's health and human sexuality expert." [source]

It's everywhere. On television, on the streets, and on the internet - especially tapping into personal blogs and social networking sites. It's no secret that teen pregnancy is at epidemic proportions in this country - we do, after all, have the highest rate of teen pregnancy of all the western world. But what so many people fail to see is that so many of these girls (and guys) are doing it on purpose. (For my general monologue here, I'm clumping in the people who are my and Zach's ages [20 & 21] if they are living at home, unemployed, etc - living as a teen off their parent's support.)

Yes, on purpose. I'm sure that's not something that your teenage son or daughter told you when having the "Mom, I'm pregnant" discussion, but it's a strong possibility. Many of these young people today aren't using protection when their "accidental" pregnancies occur. Not saying that some children aren't still oblivious enough about birth control to believe that the various wives' tales against conception work, but let's face it - we live in the information age, and most really just aren't that uninformed. Rather, the back of their minds, and sometimes even the more open and obvious areas - have decided that for whatever reason, they want to have a baby when they can barely support themselves. 'Do that make you better than other parents your age?' they snip. No, I'm not saying we're better parents - just better-equipped to deal with all that can be involved in pregnancy and parenthood - no matter whether everything goes smoothly or not. ('Not' seeming to be a possibility that few young girls seriously consider, believing that it will not happen to them or their child.)

This is a controversial topic for me, as Zach and I are both young, and with a one year old son. Many people seem to think that this makes my arguments and opinions invalid. In their eyes, that may be so. But my husband and I also live on our own dollar, with full health insurance, our own multi-bedroom apartment, and a steady, almost guaranteed paycheck for the long hours that Zach wears his uniform. Gunnar wants for nothing, and nobody helps us in any way to support him, feed him, clothe him, house him, or make sure he receives proper medical. We are young, yes - but we live our lives as self-sufficient adults.

I don't think of myself as especially old-fashioned, but I really just cannot understand a young girl wanting to get pregnant at 15, 16 - even 18 or 19 when a future doesn't seem secure. I would have hated every day of my life having to raise a baby out of my mother's back bedroom, or sleeping with a crib next to my 10th grade math book and trying to rush to feed the infant at night before it awoke my mother and brothers. That's just me, though - obviously some people see no problem with that life, and that's completely up to them, I suppose. (Perhaps not, honestly, as many parents definitely could take more initiative against this issue in most situations.) The blame belongs to many, I believe, but it's not my place to point fingers. I'm not trying to condemn, only to understand, because this... I have tried and failed, so many times. Why is babies having babies such a joyous thing in our society? Life should be celebrated in all situations, definitely - all babies are precious. But I guarantee, they'll be just as precious in a few years... 

Gunnar / Shun Gon (Aristocats)

When Gunnar was little, he used to make a funny face when he fake-laughed (the "I'm laughing because I know you think you're funny, not because I think you're funny" laugh.) It was an expression he grew out of quickly, but has recently grown back into, after many months. Today, while watching him laugh at his Daddy, I had a small revelation.

His funny little face reminds me of Shun Gon from one of my favorite childhood movies, 

Disney's The Aristocats!! Too funny, and way too cute!! ♥

Luckily, I was able to snap a photo for this first time!