Building Traditions in Military Life

Our first 4th of July together in 2006

If there's one thing that comes with military life, it's instability, which isn't exactly conducive to building lasting traditions. Even though we've been married for almost 7 years now, I don't think we've ever done the same thing two years in a row for any holiday. Sometimes Todd is home, sometimes he's deployed. And because we live so far from our closest friends and family, we always seem to be traveling over some holiday. This is probably one of the hardest aspects of military life, because I like to have established traditions, preferably in our own home now that we have children.

 July 4, 2011

Grilling his 4th of July hamburger in 2011

Our very favorite holiday is the 4th of July. There's a lot to love about it, but what we love the most is how carefree it can be. There is nothing worse than an over-programmed 4th. By the end of the day, you're hot and cranky and hate everyone around you.

I learned a long time ago that flexibility is key to military life (please note: me = notoriously inflexible and hates change). We can't get too attached to very specific activities with this lifestyle, but we have certainly been able to create our own holiday traditions by sticking to two rules: 1) lower our expectations, and 2) create traditions that can be done anywhere. We may not be able to go to a specific parade or watch a certain city's fireworks display, but the activities we love the most for the 4th of July are simple and easy to find anywhere we go.

Scarlett's first 4th of July in 2012

Two weeks old

Todd and I grew up doing different things for the 4th of July, so we are nostalgic for different aspects of the holiday. We've pared down our requirements for the day to what makes both of us happy -- Todd has to have a hamburger, I have to go to the pool, and we must see fireworks. And SOMEHOW, the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has made it's way into the annual plan. I have no idea how it happened, but over the years it has become must see TV and I set my DVR every year so we don't miss it.

July 4, 2013

This will be our first 4th of July spent here at Altus AFB (even though we lived here a year ago, we were travelling). It's somewhat daunting to make plans when you have no idea what to expect (again, me = notoriously inflexible and also a serious planner). But I know we will participate in our traditions that we can do anywhere. We'll put out our flag, don our patriotic clothing, and enjoy the celebrations at church and on base. We will eat a hamburger at the pool and watch fireworks later that night. And just like that, we've done everything we want to do!

Happy 4th of July!

Altus AFB is the best base in the world! Literally.

You can't make this stuff up. Altus Air Force Base recently won the 2014 Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award! (If you want to get all military and acronym-y, it is generally referred to as the CINC IEA.)

Translation = the best base in the Air Force this year.

With such a high honor comes some serious cash for base improvements, which are desperately needed. The Altus Chamber of Commerce hosted a big party on base to celebrate the occasion, and in the spirit of finding fun, Scarlett and I had to attend.

We got there really early, so it looks totally empty from the picture, but I assure it was NOT. There was free lunch, bounce houses, a dunk tank, and music. They announced the new projects on base, which are actually very exciting. We're talking mini-golf and a splash pad, people. And remember how I hate the kids area in the gym? They're making improvements there too.

Unfortunately, two things happened that prevented me from properly documenting this with my camera phone. Scarlett was high on sugar from that morning's National Donut Day celebration and refused to eat her lunch. So she 1) ran around like a wild banshee and I could barely keep up; and 2) as it approached 1 p.m. (her nap time) she started throwing rocks around other kids. Time to leave.

Hooray for base improvements! If you need me next summer I'll be at the splash pad.

Christmas Tree Lighting on Base

So I know I was a buzzkill on the whole "do one Christmas activity a day" phenomenon, and I apologize. I hate being a downer. The thing is, I do really love the idea of making an effort to enjoy the season as much as possible. I want to do ALL THE THINGS and make the most out of it, but it's just not realistic with our schedule.

But in the spirit of finding fun and celebrating the Christmas season, we headed out to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on base.

There were cookies and hot chocolate to enjoy while Scarlett ran around and we waited for the program to start. They had a choir from the chapel (I think) come out and sing some Christmas carols to start off the festivities. They passed out sheets of music for everybody to participate, so that was fun. 

Then the wing commander and his family invited the family of a deployed member to light the tree. So fun!

=

And then, Santa arrived by fire truck....

 ...and took his place next to the plane for pictures.

Scarlett couldn't have cared less about Santa. She was busy fastening the buckles on her stroller.

And running on rocks.

Super comfortable for mom to chase her on too.

But she did discover the joy of the Christmas "yights." I'm pretty sure we photobombed a lot of pictures that night because she didn't want to leave the tree, and of course it was the hottest spot for pictures. Who wouldn't want a picture of this cute kid anyway?!?

One Year

One year ago today we arrived in Altus as its newest residents. In some ways I still feel like the new kid, but there are other days where I can't remember what life was like before we lived here.

The one thing I have learned about moving in the military is that not all moves are created equal. All bases are different, all towns are different, and even though I generally know a handful of people wherever we go, all communities are different.

I thought I had it all down to a science -- how to unpack and organize all our belongings,  how to navigate a new base, how to make friends. But this move proved to me that I don't know anything and I have to reinvent the wheel again.

There are things about Altus that have grown on us. I'm still trying to find my niche here. When we lived in Grand Forks I had a full time job across the river in Minnesota,  so I put most of my energy into that. I worked on and off in Illinois, but my main outlet was my church responsibilities. And I've gotten more involved on base here than I did anywhere else. We actually eat dinner at the club on occasion! Who knew we'd ever do that?!? My interests are changing and growing and I'm figuring out how to deal with that.

Here's to another two-ish years here in Altus! May they be deployment-free! (I think I just jinxed myself).