F-16 Incentive Flight – Come fly with me! #2 post
By elaine | October 25, 2009
It’s closer every day. Last Friday I cleared one of the final hurdles when I passed my incentive flight physical at Buckley AFB. I’ll admit I was a little worried because being nervous about it would most likely shoot my blood pressure up…which it did at first. I kept thinking “crap…I don’t want to come this far to only be denied the flight!” As we talked, it finally settled down and was fine. First, they had me sit in a chair and they took measurements to be sure I would fit in the seat in the small cabin of the aircraft. That was interesting. Evidently my butt hadn’t yet gotten too big for that. 
They made sure that I was able to equalize (pop) my ears for the pressure changes of the flight. Since I’d just completed my scuba certification dives that actually came easy. Good thing! After they gave me my “Golden Ticket” documents that passed me they talked to me about eating. The person who was giving me final information before I left the base said that I should eat a light breakfast of yogurt, bananas and a piece of toast. When I asked why he said “Because it tastes the same coming up as going down!” Still not sure if that was meant to be funny or not! It’s been a delight to have the people who are working the background for my flight have as much joy in this as I do. I’m humbly honored to be chosen for this F-16 incentive flight with the 180th FW in Ohio. In the next few posts I hope to “introduce” you to these amazing pilots and one of the fighting forces that’s behind our security here in America. I love being a military speaker and author when it allows me to help the service members, their families and their friends make it through deployments. So, I’m cleared and on my way to Ohio in the morning for the flight which is on Tuesday October 27, 2009. I’ll Twitter things as they happen and take you through the 1/2 day of training I’ll be taking prior to the flight. Hopefully this will be fun new information for all of us. P.S. I’ll have pictures and video that I’ll be posting. If you’re with the National Guard in Ohio…listen for a flyby!
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Scuba and the military family.
By elaine | October 19, 2009
At the ripe age of __ I decided to learn how to scuba dive. I’m not sure why, but a diver friend of mine said that it’s a way to see a part of God’s beautiful world that few get to experience. Maybe that’s why. This past weekend I had the pleasure of doing 4 open water dives for my certification in Utah at a place called Homestead Crater. I’ll admit that I was pretty nervous before that first dive because I didn’t know what to expect. I had so many questions: What would it be like? What if I ran into trouble and didn’t know what to do? Would I be by myself? Did I have the right equipment and was it up to date? My heart was beating hard as I jumped into the water and began to descend. Ok, why did this experience make me think of all the military spouses and families I know so well? Because in a small way, I had concerns that I related somewhat to concerns that families have during deployments. Here’s what I thought: Read the rest of this entry »
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F-16 Incentive Flight – come fly with me! #1 post
By elaine | October 6, 2009
Wow, what a day. I was just notified that I’ve been accepted for an incentive ride in an F-16 with the 180th Fighter Wing in Ohio! The ride is scheduled for Tuesday October 27th with the 28th as a backup date if the weather chooses not to cooperate. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled and honored I am to be taking this ride of a lifetime. I have no idea what to expect other than I figure I shouldn’t eat a whole lot that morning. Even though I’m excited beyond belief, I’m kind of scared too – have to be honest. I love roller coasters and have been on some of the best, but that can’t compare to this ride I imagine. And imagine is all I can do right now! I don’t know if I can say how I was recommended, but it was following the National Guard Family Programs convention and youth symposium in Michigan where I was a presenter. We had so much fun during the breakout sessions and I got to meet and greet a whole lot of wonderful military families and servicepersons. Back to the flight. I want to share this entire experience with you through the blogs, Facebook, Twitter and the InTouch Newsletter. I’m learning how to do this better. There’s a process I have to go through prior to this flight and here’s what I’ll be doing in the days to come. Read the rest of this entry »
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Flat Daddy shows military family resiliency.
By elaine | May 18, 2009
I know it sounds so cliché, but have you hugged your loved ones today? Or for that matter just really thought about how much you love them? As my schedule gets busier and busier I catch myself complaining sometimes about how much I have to do. Sometimes I am not as appreciative as I should be about my life and I find myself needing a reminder that I have a great life. I have a husband who loves me, a wonderful son, 4 beloved granddaughters, a nice house, great friends, a job I love where I get to interact with cool military family members who remind me what it means to be resilient,…the list goes on and on. Still I find myself taking for granted all I have to be thankful for.
Well no more negativity from me! I just received a short email from one of those great military family members I mentioned above. She was the recipient of a donated Flat Daddy® around Christmas time last year through the generous gift of one of our Operation Connect a Family contributors. I have protected her privacy by removing proper names. I think you will see from her email why I believe in Flat Daddy® and wish every service member’s family could have one. (Get your tissues ready)… Here is the email:
Hi Elaine,
It’s been some time since I received my Flat Daddy and I want to apologize for it taking so long for me to write. I received it in December, just in time to have it around before Daddy came home for R&R. I truly believe that this helped our son, (1 1/2 years old), recognize Daddy at the airport. For that, I cannot thank you enough. He would walk around the house hugging the Flat Daddy around the neck and would give him kisses. When real Daddy arrived at the airport for R&R, he knew exactly who he was and grabbed right onto him. It was beautiful. We had a wonderful 2 weeks with Daddy while he was home. Unfortunately, just 4 days after he returned to Afghanistan, my husband was killed by an IED.
I just cannot thank you enough for what you have given my son and our family. The Flat Daddy still is in my son’s room and he still kisses it and hugs it. I don’t let him carry it around anymore though because it got bent and I’m afraid of injuring him anymore! It really warms my heart to know that this helps him recognize Daddy. While my husband was home, we were miraculously able to conceive another child. I am definitely going to order another Flat Daddy for our new little guy for his bedroom too as I know how much this has helped. I’m moving in a few weeks, so I don’t want to order it quite yet as I know things are about to get even more hectic for our family.
I just wanted to take the time to write and tell you how amazing your idea is. I am truly so grateful and will forever be. Thank you so much.
So go hug your loved ones. Time is precious, be thankful. Blessings, Elaine
If you would like to donate a Flat Daddy® to a family that needs one, please visit www.operationconnectafamily.com/ or contact us at 303-430-0592.
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Surprise military family reunion on CNN
By elaine | April 20, 2009
Welcome Home, Dad It’s Monday and I trust it’s starting out as a good one for you. Deployment and reunion are still going on in the country daily and we experienced it first hand here in Colorado last Friday. The National Guard deployed 450 soldiers to Iraq – the largest single deployment here since WWII. They will be gone for a year, so be sure to keep them in your prayers. With deployment, follows reunion, which is challenging in it’s own right. Brad Montgomery, a good friend of mine, saw a wonderful CNN video that showcased a surprise homecoming for a soldier and his 8 year old son. It was great, and I want to share it with you in this post. (click on the link above that says “Welcome Home, Dad”) After you watch it, and if you are personally affected by reunion and reintegration, don’t forget that the book “The Road Home – Smoothing the transition back from deployment” is a big help in this area and you can see it at www.ImAlreadyHome.com. Enjoy the video and please have a wonderful and safe week. To the families – thank you as always for your service!
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Flat Daddy is still going strong in military families!
By elaine | April 15, 2009
Happy Tax Day! Ok, so that’s an oxymoron. How about Happy Wednesday…that’s better. I’m writing this because I have a request that we need to make viral somehow. You know that for the past few years I’ve been a part of working to provide a free Flat Daddy figure into any military home that requests one, and the donations were great. With the economy, things have slowed down all over and the Flat Daddy project is one of them that has been hit. I still have requests for about 6 figures that I’m looking to place, but the big one is the request from a unit in Kentucky that would like 100 of them! How cool would that be? I want to help, which is why I’m blogging this, twittering it and going to sponsor sources to see if they can help. Do you know of a company or organization that might consider this as either a philanthropic project or a marketing idea? I’m pretty sure we can get them publicity. I’d be glad to talk about it. What a wonderful way to say Thank You to 100 military families. I’m all over this project, so please put your networking feelers out to people/companies you do business with and have them call or email me. My office number is 303-430-0592 and email is Elaine@ImAlreadyHome.com. Please write a post in your OWN blog about this request and ask others to pass it along and write about it. Thanks for all your help and I’ll blog about the progress of the project. Have a great rest of the day, and remember to check out the new book The Road Home at my website.
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Great military family connection idea – Hugs and Kisses
By elaine | April 9, 2009
I have the best blog post today. I received a postcard in the mail from Kristin, one of our amazing military moms. When I read it out loud, both my office assistant and I let out a collective “awwww…” because it was so good. You know, I’ve been collecting ideas for over 6 years now and neither of us had ever heard this one before. I’m grateful to Kristin for letting me share it with you, so here it is in her words: “When my husband was deployed our children really had a hard time going to bed at night without his hugs and kisses. I found a large restaurant-style cheese shaker and (my husband) filled it with handwritten X’s and O’s. Every night I would “sprinkle” them with Daddy’s hugs and kisses. They did not literally come out, but the magic of those special X’s and O’s helped them sleep!” Isn’t this just the best? If you have young kids, give it a try. In fact, sprinkle some over yourself. I wish I’d had this in time to include in either the “I’m Already Home…Again” or “The Road Home” books. I guess that’s what blogs and newsletters are for! Take care and have a great Easter weekend.
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The Road Home makes its debut
By elaine | March 30, 2009
A friend of mine, Pepper Cory (she’s the quilter who designed the quilt that’s on the cover of the book The Road Home) emailed me and remarked that my blog was sorely out of date. Yes, I did know that! What I didn’t know was WHY! I can’t figure out why I don’t like to blog all that much. Maybe because I don’t think I have much to say at a particular time, or that when I think of something profound to write about I’m in the car or in the shower! Whatever the reason, Pepper’s right. I have to get back to this, so here I am. I’ll try to get back in the loop. First off, the 3rd book in the “I’m Already Home” series just arrived at my door last Thursday and that’s what I want to tell you about. If my tech skills worked, there’s a picture of the cover – and the cool quilt – in this post. If not, the websites are below. It’s all about reunion and reintegraion back from deployment and the adjustments everyone makes to accept their “new normal.” I really hope you like it and will continue to share ideas with me so I can put them in the newsletters for everyone else to learn from. I also had my web guy update the website so you can go there to read some samples. I’m using the same web address as for the other books, and also adding another one that will be active soon. You can go to : www.ImAlreadyHome.com. Later, I’ll be using TheRoadHomeMilitary.com so watch for that too. Ok, that’s about it for this post and getting back into this is like getting back into exercising…it’s going to take time for the habit to take hold again. Have a great week!
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“Read” the National Anthem.
By elaine | July 2, 2008
I want to wish you all a wonderful 4th of July holiday! Friday is so much more than hot dogs and fireworks in all your hearts because the 4th of July is what your families are fighting for. Independence Day is the only holiday that celebrates the United States and the freedoms that were fought so hard for back in the 1700’s. To celebrate it on my own, I took time to look closely at each and every line of our National Anthem and FEEL what those words mean to me. As I visualized the flag still flying after the night of battles, with the bursting bombs creating the fireworks, I had goosebumps. I’m thinking that that’s the way it should be. I encourage you to sit with your kids and “read” them the National Anthem like you would a story, because it’s truly the story of how our nation will continue to be the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Have a fantastic 4th of July, and thank you all for your sacrifices to keep us free! Many Blessings, Elaine
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Happy Father’s Day, GI Dads
By elaine | June 15, 2008
This is a wonderful day. After Father’s Day, there is only one day I like better and that’s Mother’s Day! Probably because I get to do whatever I want on that day and my son has to mind me. Today, that same thing happens for Dads…and they so deserve it. It makes me sad that so many Dad’s have to miss out on spending this day in the same room as their families, but I know how important and vital it is that they are seeing a mission through that is keeping that same family safe. In today’s USA Weekend magazine that came in the newspaper, there was a great article that shared the stories of some GI Dads and how they stay connected to their kids…and you know that’s what I’m all about! You HAVE to read them, and I’ll tell you to do so with a Kleenex. It will be worth the 15 minutes of your time. Personally, I especially like the one about the red balloon and the one about committment through hardship. To know what I’m talking about, please go to www.militarytimes.com to read these and more stories. And when you’re done, find a GI Dad and say “Happy Father’s Day!”
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