Memorial Day reflections

Military life has allowed the Swan family to live across this great country and in Europe, and to visit some unique places. Invariably those family trips focused on famous military sites, from the beaches of Normandy…

     One of the reasons men and women might join the military is to see the world. It's an old idea, but it still rings true. The military still offers intrepid souls the opportunity to seek out adventure in faraway lands. Even with the BRAC closures going on, and choice duty stations all over the world being collapsed into one another, there still remain ample opportunities for servicemembers and their families to experience foreign culture and exotic locales.

     But it was only…

The picture on the television screen showed mas s destruction when I came in from work. Like most folks I don’t have enough time to listen to the news during work hours,  however, with the last couple of days of bad weather in Oklahoma, it wasn’t a complete surprise, when my husband told me they had been…

A few months ago I joined a new church. It's a far cry from the somewhat cold Catholic church I grew up in--the church doesn't have its own building, and services are held in another church. There are a couple of young pastors, and a few bands alternate playing the music every Sunday. Mostly, from what I learned, it was a grassroots movement that grew slowly over the years.

What I like about this place is the community. It is mostly made up of people my age, in their twenties and…

I am constantly amazed by the generosity I see in my military community. I have a hard time believing that the spirit of cooperation and kindness that I see between military spouses can be replicated so strongly in a civilian community (with the exception of church communities, which often share a similar spirit).

Over the past few weeks, a friend of mine discovered that a small medical procedure she was scheduled to have had developed into a full-blown surgery, requiring anesthesia.…

It has been scientifically proven that it's harder to make friend as an 30-something adult than it is when you're younger, say 18-28. Why is that? 

Well, I think by that time you've pretty much established where you're going to live, work, and you've found your circle. Well, in a normal world that is... In the military world, I think things are a bit different, sometimes it's harder to make friends and then again sometimes it's the easiest thing in the world. 

Right now, I'm on…

2013 AT&T National Military Ticket Information The Tiger Woods Foundation, in cooperation with the OSD/JS Welfare and Recreation Association, will once again be distributing free tickets to military personnel this year for the AT&T National.

Tickets will be available at designated ITT/ITR offices within a 150-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Ticket Information: Tickets will be available to all DOD personnel, including Coast Guard (active duty, reserve, retired, National Guard,…

Migration season has begun!

It happens every year at this time – the annual migration of hatch-lings back to the nest after their time away for college or…