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……

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…

We Moved Overseas 5 Years Ago Today

Facebook reminded me: on this day in 2011 we boarded a plane to move to England. The photo of our pile of luggage – six massive bags high – next to baby Walden in his car seat is very blurry. So here’s the front door of our first house in England, on Blomfield Street. It…

Back Home in Indiana

Last month we traveled to Indiana for my sister’s wedding. I always love October in Indiana, particularly when the weather is perfect, as it was. The sky is a brilliant blue, the leaves are just beginning to turn, the town is a bit festive for football season (usually, so sorry about your Boilers this year,…

The August Break

Moving to Italy in July requires some mental preparation. August is vacation month here. Everyone takes a couple weeks at some point to head to the beach before school starts in September. Which means it’s really hard to get things done, such as setting up the Internet in the house you move into on August…

Our First 25 Days in a Hotel Room

Hotel living could be charming if you’re a see-and-be-seen type. For us, living in a hotel with our two small children is more of a hurry-up-and-shovel-down-your-food-before-the-kids-cause-a-scene experience. The restaurant and front desk staff no longer ask our room number. The boys are sure to say “ciao-ciao-ciaoy-ciao” to Andrea the Maintenance Guy daily now that he has…

Buongiorno!

Ciao! We’ve arrived in Italy and the next chapter of our adventure begins! We haven’t seen much yet, other than the outskirts of Milan, distant Alpine foothills and a few vineyards as we drove the autostrade to the nearest American base yesterday. Our jet lagged preschoolers were in tow as we took a driving test, registered…

All I Have to Say About Military Spouses

I wasn’t the kind of girl to be impressed by a guy in uniform. When I married one, I reassured myself and my civilian friends that I had no intent of wrapping myself in the label of “military spouse.” I had two degrees and more than my share of defiance, and I refused to allow the military…