The Off Ramp

Hi there. How are you holding up? Have you checked in with a friend lately? Whether you’re calling it lockdown, quarantine, social distancing…we’re in a challenging time in history, and it’s changing us all. Last April I was notified that my custom theme subscription for this blog was due to renew. I clicked over to…

London’s National Gallery with Kids

Look. The art appreciation class I took in college doesn’t make me an expert museum-goer. I enjoy looking at art. I enjoy discovering art I like. I’ll choose to spend my time at museums or galleries when I travel alone. But I wouldn’t call myself “passionate” about any of it. At least not enough to…

Picking Apples from the Queen’s Orchard

For all your questions about picking apples from a royal orchard.

6 Resume-Worthy Skills You Need for a PCS

Being moved overseas isn’t “taking time off.” There are countless resume-worthy skills required by an overseas military PCS! Here are six that you’ll carry with you the rest of your life:

What We Lose When We Go Back

Look what I lost in the draft folder a year ago! I have to confess I’m thrilled to tap back into an overseas community, and that I’m still trying to sort out which trail is mine to take. Can you relate? [From March, 2018] We’ve learned that we’re heading back to Omaha this summer, likely…

Here We Go, Again

The kids have each grown 2.5 and 3.25 inches since last June, when we were last here living out of our suitcases on our return from Italy. Now we’re with my family in Indiana enjoying the comforts of a home while we don’t really have our own. Cozy beds, couches, a fully stocked kitchen, family……

And we shift

I haven’t written here in over six months. My custom theme renewal notice sits here, asking me if I want to spend a little to keep this blog like it is. What it’s really asking me is, “Hello, have you forgotten me?” A handful of drafts wait with thoughts about repatriating, about careers, about memories…

Mountain Summers in Avoriaz, France

The pangs of wanderlust linger, even now that our friends in Europe are done sharing photos of their gorgeous summer holidays. All summer Facebook reminded me of our adventures in the past few years. Now I’m tackling a photo book to recap our 2017, which is a bittersweet task. We traveled a lifetime’s-worth that year.…

Top 5 Surprises of Living in the U.S. After Italy

We’ve been stateside about three and a half weeks, which means we’re each about 10 pounds heavier from all the delicious junk food we’ve indulged in as we wait for our household goods to arrive. We can’t know how much for sure, though. Our scale is on a moving truck somewhere. There are the things…

The Long Italian Good-bye

If I see you in the U.S. and greet you with a “Ciao!,” please don’t be annoyed. It’s reflex now. At the bus stop, at preschool drop off, at the bakery, at the grocery store, at the cafe, walking through town… every hello and good-bye has been “Ciao!” for the past three years. (Unless we’re…