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I travel on airplanes a lot, and I love meeting people when I travel! There are just so many interesting people out there! And so many amazing stories. In fact, I am writing this blog post as I sit on an airplane, and I can hear fellow travelers around me talking about themselves and their families and pulling out their phones to show pictures of their loved ones. It’s cool when you make connections as you visit. For example, I guess one traveler is talking about how they teach skiing or they ski (or something like that; I don’t want to eavesdrop too much!), and the man next to her lights up, tapping his wife across the aisle and says something about their family member who also teaches skiing. Cool!

I was on a flight yesterday, and as I asked questions of the young woman next to me, it became more and more evident that we had quite a few connections. I asked if she was going home or going away, and she was on her way home. She looked tired as she sighed and explained to me how she had actually been gone for three weeks, attending various conferences. She was especially tired because she is pregnant! I immediately whipped out my IPhone to proudly show pictures of our grandson! Then I commenced to dispense what little wisdom I have about pregnancy and children, having six kids.

She was reading a magazine with articles about healthy eating, so we talked about that, and I shared with her about our farm and how we are trying to eat and eventually provide healthy food, as we grass feed our animals, and are trying our hand at making cheese, hoping to one day have an artisan cheesery.

People love to talk about their families, and I am no exception. We plan to occasionally “spotlight” a member of our family. And you all get to join in on the fun! Please send us pictures and amazing, funny, heartwarming or inspiring stories about your children, nephews, nieces, neighbors or family friends. I hope we can all make some helpful or meaningful connections as we share with each other.

A military cadet is in a frying pan of sorts. They start out their freshman year being “initiated” into the military, usually with some sort of basic training. From what I understand, it is incredibly tough, stretching you mentally, emotionally and physically. The next three years are a little easier, but not much. From talking to our daughter, a junior, it is quite stressful balancing academics, athletics, and military training. It is not at all like a “normal” college experience.

While the cadet feels (and rightly so) that this experience is very difficult and stressful, once he or she graduates and gets out into the “real” military and the “real” world, they realize that it is in many ways much more difficult.

I also think about my own experience as a military wife. Upon marrying my husband, I was “initiated” into the military with a slap on the behind with a saber, and a ride in a KC-135 sitting on webbed troop seats and being bounced around as the boom practiced air refueling (for 50 minutes!) on our way to Germany for our honeymoon.

While college and working had seemed quite challenging after living a sheltered life in grade school, I had no idea what I was getting into when I married a handsome young Air Force pilot!
My hope is that this series will help parents and other family members realize the kind of life their loved one is leading or is getting ready to step into. I also hope that active duty and retirees will get a laugh out of reading about military experiences from a “civilian” point-of-view.

(Disclaimer: What you read in this blog are the memories of an old lady, a blonde old lady (at least I used to be blonde!), so my apologies if I don’t get every detail correct. Please write to me and correct me! It’s never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks, but it might be impossible for an old blonde!)

What images come to mind when you think of the word “home”? Whether your memories of your own home life are pleasant or painful, we all start at home. You had your children and raised them in your home. And now they are out, in college or a military academy, making their way in the world.

We started at home, too. We are actually a little different, as we birthed some of our children in our home (which moved depending on where my husband was stationed), and then we homeschooled them. We started a home business, R & R Woodcrafts and Graphics, and involved our children so they would know about working and thinking for themselves. We’ve always wanted to be self-sufficient, so we also started our own farm at home. Again, more teaching moments for our kids. And now some of them have left the security of home to make their own way.

So we will show you glimpses of our home through this blog, and how it touches you as we make products that celebrate the results of all your work and training in your home as your children graduate from a military academy, or you remember your own achievements (that all started when someone in your home encouraged you).