TAKE IT SLOW

It's FINALLY March! That long-awaited month before the return of our loved ones - the majority of them anyway.

I hope this has time hasn't been too difficult for you? It's strange though, isn't it, when our lives take on this familiar/different pace? Ours is measured by "The Deployment" - Is it near the middle yet? Will I miss his phone call if I go to the store? Why even clean up the house today, whose here to see it anyway? Did I make the right decision about the car, the house, the move - whatever? Etc. etc. etc. But it's a common bond we all share, and a common goal - to live victoriously through "The Deployment" . . . and as we look BACK on the whole experience - hopefully - having become a better person once we're united again.

Now we face the daunting task of reuniting after a life that has been put on hold . . .

for almost a year. For some, more daunting than for others, I know! Yet, no matter what, it is an adjustment - for all concerned! So, here is a little reminder of a few reunion basics:

Best rule of thumb -TAKE IT SLOW!!!

Soldiers
• Take time to listen and talk.
• Make time for each child and for your spouse.
• Support the good things your family has done.
• Remember - romantic conversation can make
re-entering love relations easier.
• Manage money carefully.
• Don’t overdo the “reunion parties.”

Spouses
• Avoid a busy schedule.
• Go slowly in making adjustments.
• Remind your spouse that they are still needed.
• Discuss division of the family chores.
• Stick to a budget until you have time to talk
about money matters.
• Make time to be alone with your spouse.
• Be patient in rebuilding your relationship.

Children
• Slowly resume the old rules and routines.
• Be available to your child, with time and
emotions.
• Let the child be the first to renew the bond.
• Expect some changes in your child.
• Focus on successes; limit criticisms.
• Encourage your child to tell you everything that
happened while you were away

EXPECTATIONS FOR SOLDIERS
• Even though you may want to talk about your
experiences, your family may not.
• Roles may have changed with regard to basic chores and household duties.

http://www.pdhealth.mil/library/downloads/RedeploymentFamilyTrifold.pdf

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Think every morning when the sun peeps through

The dim, leaf-latticed windows of the grove

How jubilant the happy birds renew

Their old melodious madrigals of love;

And when you think of this, remember too,

'Tis always morning somewhere, and above

The wakening continents, from shore to shore,

Somewhere the birds are singing evermore.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Blessings,

Tamera

The New Year!

Where does the time go?

Interestingly, when we were stationed in Japan and I was teaching English, one of the favorite idioms was: "Time flies when you're having fun!" Or shortened to: "Time flies!"

It rarely happens as we're going through the time, but when we look back on it, we may say something like: I can't believe your daughter is old enough to be in junior high school already! How time flies! Or as is the case for me today, "I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! My, how time flies!"

Today, I will appeal to Walt Whitman ~

"You must not know too much, or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and water-craft; a certain free margin, and even

vagueness - perhaps ignorance, credulity - helps your enjoyment of these things."

Perhaps Mr. Whitman has a point. If we over analyze it - whatever "it" may be - this can, never better said than in the immortal words of Henry David Thoreau, "suck the marrow out of life" - and, sadly . . . Time will fly by!

Sometimes we may think that we will start to enjoy our lives, or be happy, "when" . . . but that's not necessarily true! We must choose to enjoy life right now; each and every day!

The New Year, like a new born child, is placed in our hands as the old year passes away. The days and weeks to come are a gift from God; they carry His blessing.

Our hope for the year ending is that all that was good in it remain with us and all that was not be left behind.

(((hugs))) and blessings,

Tamera

Cheaper Than Plastic Surgery

Whatever a man's age, he can reduce it
several years by putting a bright-colored
flower in his buttonhole.

~Mark Twain

Foolish Fears

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what might pass,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the rustling of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born --
Out in the fields with God!



~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Smile

Nothing on earth can really smile but man. Gems may flash reflected light, but what is a diamond-flash compared with an eye-flash and a mind-flash? A smile is a light in the window of the face by which the heart signifies that it is at home and waiting.

There are persons so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel, in their presence, that they do you good, that their coming into a room is like bringing a lamp there.

Cheerful people are like sunshine, cheering up everybody around them . . . Good cheer, based upon joy in the heart, gives wings to the feet, sinews to the legs, muscles to the arms, elasticity to every motion.

. . . Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. Grim care, moroseness, anxiety - all this rust of life ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth. It is better than emery. Every man ought to rub himself with it. A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs, in which everyone is caused disagreeably to jolt by every pebble over which it runs.

~HENRY WARD BEECHER~

Beautiful Butterfly

Look at the beautiful butterfly, and learn
from it to trust in God. One might wonder
where it could live in tempestuous nights,
in the whirlwind, or in the sunny day;
but I noticed it is safe and dry under the
broad leaf while rivers have been flooded,
and the mountain oaks torn up by their roots.

~ Jeremy Taylor

What to Expect on an R&R During Times of Deployment

Making the most of a brief visit home

"A colonel describes the common problems he sees during R&Rs:
service members spend out of control, eat out of control, and don't get enough sleep. Here are some ways to avoid such problems and make the most of a home visit:
Communicate ahead of time if possible about how you would like to spend the time that you are together .
In phone calls, emails, or letters, share ideas and plans of what you would like to do.


To read more of this article from Military One Source, you'll need to copy and paste this link into your web broweser. I tried to get the active link feature to work, but I'm having a bit of trouble:

Enjoy!

http://www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/FindInformation/Category/Topic/Issue/Material.aspx?MaterialTypeID=9&MaterialID=7366

Happiness

Rule For Happiness

Something to do,
Someone to love,
Something to hope for.

Immanuel Kant~

Pictures

I wanted you all to see these great pictures!
I finally figured out how to get all 32 of them on the blog all at once! These pictures have already been published - so no worries there! They were taken in the early part of this month. Enjoy!


Blessings,

Tamera

Keep on Walk'in

Comedian George Burns said the clue to happiness is helping others: "If you were to go around asking people what would make them happier, you'd get answers like a new car, a bigger house, a raise in pay, winning a lottery a face-lift, more kids, less kids, a new restaurant to go to - probably not one in a hundred would say a chance to help people. And yet that may bring the most happiness of all.

"I don't know Dr. Jonas Salk, but after what he's done for us with his polio vaccine, if he isn't happy, he should have that brilliant head of his examined. Of course, not all of us can do what he did. I know I can't do what he did; he beat me to it.

"But the point is, it doesn't have to be anything that extraordinary. It can be working for a worthy cause, performing a needed service, or just doing something that helps another person."


"When life gets you down, you know what to do! Just keep [walk'in], just keep walk'in], just keep [walk'in] ... [walk'in] ... [walk'in]!"


Blessings,

Tamera