“Three decorative pillows or just two?” my daughter Anna asked in front of a colorful display of bedding at a local Homegoods store. It was 7:00pm, and we had been shopping since the stores opened that morning. The first place we stopped was the Apple Store, where I spent over a thousand bucks in less…
military spouses
Yard Sale Booty Blues
“I’ll give you thirty bucks for all of it,” the man said in a heavy Rhode Island accent, gesturing to a table heaped with vintage toys from my childhood that I’d decided to sell at a recent neighborhood yard sale. “Are you kidding me?!” I blurted incredulously. “No way!” I continued, “I could get that…
Piped ashore, but still rocking
At 7:55 am Monday morning, the base loudspeakers blared the five-minute warning, alerting us to the upcoming daily broadcast of our National Anthem. I cracked an eyelid, squinting at the bright sun blasting persistently through our closed blinds. With a mop of tangled hair stuck to one side of my forehead, I heaved my torso…
Military Retirement Event Planning: Beware of Bridezilla
My husband, Francis, is truly extraordinary. And no one knows it better than he does. Some men humbly avoid excess attention and accolades of praise. But not Francis. He prefers the limelight, and finds no shame in celebrating himself. So, several months ago, when he announced that he would transition out of the military after…
