All posts by Kirsetin

A Few Things We Can Learn From Military Couples

June 19, 2009marriage, Wedded BlissKirsetin

My mother’s right hand rested on the large panes of the airport windows. I watched silently as she choked back her tears and dabbed her eyes. I saw her tuck her fear and worry away, in a place deep inside where we couldn’t see. She straightened up, turned to face us with a small smile, and drove us home.

As a military pilot, my dad spent his share of time on deployments–living away from home, most often on an aircraft carrier practicing maneuvers. These were usually 6-months stints, but occasionally lasted as long as a year. As a child, this meant that I missed my dad, sure, but I was blessed with the naïveté of childhood: I always knew he’d come home. He’d miss some basketball games, we wouldn’t go to the golf course for awhile, and his easy-to-open wallet would be MIA for a time, but eventually he’d return and life would get back to normal.

And for us, it did. He returned safely every single time, and our family weathered the small storms of re-adjusting to life as a family of 4 under the same roof. As I think about those adjustments, I realize how well the rest of us would be served to apply some of the same ideas. Click here to read my post at Wedded Bliss about 4 ways we can learn from military couples.

photo credit: larryzou

My Wal-Mart Protest, or Why I Shop at Target

June 18, 2009etiquette, shoppingKirsetin

Back in the dark ages, we lived in a small Midwest town (Go Packers!) where visiting a Target store was a distant fantasy. The nearest one was at least ½ hour away, and with two babies, I wasn’t making that trek on a regular basis. Instead, we shopped for life’s necessities at our local Wal-Mart, an easy 5-minute drive away. It was clean, and the people were friendly—heck, it was Wisconsin, they were all friendly, and the prices were low. Low was good; money was tight. Still, I envied my friends in bigger cities, with their fancy Target’s just down the street. Their grass was greener, and their stores were prettier, for sure.

It wasn’t long before we moved to a small city in another state, which, relatively speaking, was a very large city. And the proof was in the strip mall: our very own, very lovely, Tar-jay. Hooray! Closer to my house and way more fun than the local Wal-Mart, I found myself wasting money there on a regular basis. It was fantastic.

Sadly, though, there were a few occasions when Target didn’t have the item I desired. I know! It’s so hard to believe, isn’t it? On those days, I would drive the additional 3 long miles to Wal-Mart to find the aforementioned item.

And then.

One day, I needed to return an item to Wal-Mart. I waited in the hideously long line, with some friendly people, some seriously rude people, and a few who may or may not have bathed recently. After forever, I reached the counter, handed over my item and my receipt, and was promptly treated like a thief robbing the store of their oh-so-meager profits. The clerks were so completely inept and discourteous that I decided, right then and there:

I don’t care if Target doesn’t have my item, I’m not coming back to Wal-Mart.

Thus began my 3-year protest, where I would find whatever I needed elsewhere, or simply forgo a purchase rather than add my hard-earned money to the coffers at the Rudest Store on Earth.

So, yeah, I guess sometimes I hold a grudge. I’m working on that.

The Start of Summer, Boys, Me, and Football

June 17, 2009family, friendship, sportsKirsetin

Know what I love best about this time of year? No alarm clock! That’s right. I will eke every extra second I can out of a cool summer morning, breeze blowing, sun shining through the window, kids still quiet. It’s the most peace I get. Ever. And I love it.

Last week was our first week without school, but instead of relaxing at home we decided to make the usually 11 ½ hour-but-this-time-13-hour-trek to Virginia to see my parents. It was just the boys and me–my husband is smart that way. The boys had a great time playing basketball with my dad,

hiking through the woods with my mom,

and sightseeing with both of them.

They also enjoyed golfing and making disgusting creations in my mother’s kitchen, but I stayed far away from that. Instead, I had a great time not being in charge of dinner and running away to visit old friends.

Those two things come pretty close to leisurely mornings on the Great Things in Life chart, don’t you think?

This week, we returned for soccer tryouts.

Except it turns out that we didn’t need to, because my son has decided to forgo travel soccer this year in favor of football this fall. Does this make me nervous? Do you know me at all? Yes, yes, it makes me very nervous. But I understand well the desire of an almost teenager to play the sport many of his friends play. I understand the need to discover, for yourself, what you’re capable of. I understand that this is only partly about sports, and more about life lessons, which is the only reason I’m on board. So this fall, we’ll have not one, but two boys in football, and one little guy still scoring on the soccer field.

It will be a nice change, I think. After I got over my initial surprise, I began to look forward to a year without the year-round soccer commitment. More time for play. More time for other sports. More time for skiing! More time for lots of other interests.

Now that’s something I can cheer for.