Open Mouth…Insert Foot. Gen McChrystal Speaks Out!
By elaine | June 23, 2010
Rolling Stone Magazine said that the article started out as a profile of what’s happening in the Afghanistan conflict through the eyes of its leader, General McChrystal. Unfortunately, it didn’t end that way. Gen McChrystal used what I call “$1000 words” – words that once spoken, I’d pay $1000 to stuff back in my mouth! In this case, free speech was not so free. The “Mindbender” on the MIX100 radio show this morning, asked people “according to a recent survey, what was the most valuable piece of advice you’ve ever received?” Now the actual answer was, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”, but I bet that Gen McChrystal would cast his vote for “THINK before you speak!” This is a smart time to remind all military family members here at home who have loved ones deployed, that you need to think before you speak too. Remember the guidelines of OPSEC and realize that you must never chat or post information about the deployment that you don’t want everyone to know! You never know who’s listening, so please be careful. Your loved one’s safety may depend on it. Ok enough said. It’s time to move on.
In accepting Gen McChrystals resignation, Obama said that he will tolerate “debate…not division” in his administration. He’s put Gen David Patraeus in McChrystal’s position in Afghanistan hoping for a seamless transition in leadership. I think we should support that strategy by standing behind the job that the General now has to do…and of course, realize that none of this upset had anything to do with the troops at work there. They had no part in the media interview or its interpretation. As Independence Day approaches, wave your flag and curl up with your family under the fireworks while sending support and prayers to all those spending the day away from families continuing the fight against those who would quiet our voice of independence. That voice is still strong, and under the rules of common sense, we are still allowed to say what we feel needs to be heard. That’s the kind of freedom our troops fight for!
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Suck it up and ask for what you want!
By elaine | March 28, 2010
Yesterday I attended the 2nd day of a publisher’s conference and sat down for lunch at a table with 8 interesting people, most of whom I had never met. During lunch we got to know each other and I discovered two award winners, a model, a news personality and even a woman who had just purchased a 46 foot yacht moored in Florida! Always pays to strike up a conversation!
As we were caught up in talking at the table, I noticed that the desserts had already been set at each place – alternating a piece of chocolate fudge cake with a piece of carrot cake – and for the first time I saw that the carrot cake was smack dab in front of me! Now I have nothing against carrot cake, but come on…there’s no contest between chocolate and carrots! I wanted the chocolate cake and was bemoaning the fact that I had certainly sat at the wrong place. So I appeared to have two choices: I could enjoy the carrot cake at my place or steal a piece of chocolate cake from one of my neighbors! Then I thought of something else and I tapped my spoon on the side of my water glass. When I had everyone’s attention I said, “Just checking, but would any of you prefer to trade your chocolate cake for my carrot cake?”…fully intending to get laughed at or met with stunned silence. Instead, the woman on my left returned with “Actually, that would be great. I was thinking of how I could get a piece of the carrot cake!” So we switched and both got the results we wanted. The man sitting on my right leaned over and whispered, “Wow – good for you. People always seem to hesitate to ask for what they want.”
What a good lesson that was for me. So often we find ourselves in situations that could be made even a little bit better if we just speak up and ask how it can be made better – how we can get what we want or need. As a member of a military family, are you willing to step up and ask your kids to calm down and behave, if even for a minute, or ask the neighbor if they’ll shovel the snow for you, or your mom to take your daughter to gymnastics? Why are we afraid or uncomfortable to ask others for help? Next time – suck it up and ask for what you want! Who knows…you just might get it.
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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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