In our family, it is traditional to sit down and eat a well-balanced meal together, at least for dinner. This is an important tradition since families are the core of our society. Since we are all so busy doing so many different things, a family meal-time is an excellent time to gather the family around. Besides sharing a well-balanced meal together, dinnertime is a time to visit, share how everyone's day has been, coordinate events for the next day and to make sure everyone is on the same page. Nowadays, because of so much activities going on, it seems that most Americans do not take the time to prepare a well-balanced meal anymore. Before we share our meal, it is our tradition to thank God first for the food that he has blessed us with and ask him to use it to make us healthy and strong.
Another part of my family tradition is having our favorite meals. For any birthday in our family, the celebrant requests their favorite meal to be cooked. This is only shared with the immediate family. My two girls and my husband always ask for meatloaf. As much as other people have horrible experiences with meatloaf, my recipe is delicious and something to be proud of. My son always requests spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and soda. Besides this family celebration, we also like to invite people the weekend after the actual birthday for celebration and games. This way, friends can attend after their work without rushing home. Food is normally a mix of traditional American cuisine and traditional Filipino delicacies. My family is known of throwing a good party.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Community of Military Spouses
Being a military spouse is a community. Military spouses are strong and independent. Husbands or wives also serve as their active duty spouses. As their loved ones deploy or go TAD(Temporary Duty Assignment), military spouses assume the full responsibility of being a dad and mom at the same time. As someone states in a book, "military spouses keep the fires burning at home." This group is a community because of like circumstance. Life gets very lonely at times without loved ones close by. Family members are far away. Every two to three years, there is a new duty station. There is a constant change of environment and never ending adjustments to new communities and finding new acquaintances. What holds military spouses together is the common purpose and mission of their loved ones. No matter what branch of the service they are, the mission is the same - to defend our freedom from domestic and foreign enemies.
Military spouses share a common value: to support their spouses wholeheartedly. They have strong interests to see their spouses succeed in their mission.There is a strong need of moral support to military spouses. They support each other morally, spiritually and physically. There are times that their loved ones are deployed for long periods of time, from six months to a full year. It is even more difficult if there are children involved. The love and support of others are very important and necessary. There is a common cliche that when an active spouse is out to sea or deployment, something always goes wrong; either the kids are sick, washer and dryer quit working or the dog dies! During these circumstances, the strength of military spouses come full-force. They have to make decisions by themselves, but with strong support from other spouses, they get by.
There are also tensions and differences among military spouses. It is a common understanding that ranks play a role in groupings. Officers' wives is one group, chiefs' wives another and lower enlisted is another group. Each group has their own goals and ways in dealing with loneliness and problems. Tensions within the community arise when certain families have problems. Others do not know how to help or they feel that they are not able to help. Younger couples feel left out when no one offers help or support especially if they are not used to living away from their parents. Tensions also arise when stresses and struggles of looking for a job come into play. There is also some jealousy in promotions and it affects the military spouse.
I fit in in this community as a mentor because of past experiences. I have been a part of this community for twenty years. I love and enjoy being a part of this group because I could give advice to the younger ones. Yes, there were hard times, but the good overshadows the bad. Moving is very stressful, but I count each move as an adventure. To be part of the military family, either active or spouse is a great honor. Serving our country is one of the most satisfying jobs I have ever had.
Military spouses share a common value: to support their spouses wholeheartedly. They have strong interests to see their spouses succeed in their mission.There is a strong need of moral support to military spouses. They support each other morally, spiritually and physically. There are times that their loved ones are deployed for long periods of time, from six months to a full year. It is even more difficult if there are children involved. The love and support of others are very important and necessary. There is a common cliche that when an active spouse is out to sea or deployment, something always goes wrong; either the kids are sick, washer and dryer quit working or the dog dies! During these circumstances, the strength of military spouses come full-force. They have to make decisions by themselves, but with strong support from other spouses, they get by.
There are also tensions and differences among military spouses. It is a common understanding that ranks play a role in groupings. Officers' wives is one group, chiefs' wives another and lower enlisted is another group. Each group has their own goals and ways in dealing with loneliness and problems. Tensions within the community arise when certain families have problems. Others do not know how to help or they feel that they are not able to help. Younger couples feel left out when no one offers help or support especially if they are not used to living away from their parents. Tensions also arise when stresses and struggles of looking for a job come into play. There is also some jealousy in promotions and it affects the military spouse.
I fit in in this community as a mentor because of past experiences. I have been a part of this community for twenty years. I love and enjoy being a part of this group because I could give advice to the younger ones. Yes, there were hard times, but the good overshadows the bad. Moving is very stressful, but I count each move as an adventure. To be part of the military family, either active or spouse is a great honor. Serving our country is one of the most satisfying jobs I have ever had.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
"That's My Life"
I have always said that if I lose my wallet, I would lose my life. I would not lose my living, breathing life, but my identity would be greatly compromised.
My wallet is brown with a black stripe and it's YSL brand. It is more than twenty years old. I'd tried to replace it a few times but I haven't found anything that will serve me the same way. It's been a while since I have completely emptied my wallet, but I was not surprised at what I found. The first items that anybody would see will be my Washington's driver's license and my military ID. As I pulled out everything from the compartments, I found a MasterCard, Kohl's card, two check cards, voter registration cards, my children's account access cards, pictures of my kids, a picture of me with my husband, first aid card, Nursing assistant certification card, three calling cards, travel card, seven $2 dollar bills, sixteen dollars and a few coins, and certified mail receipt to the U.S. visa center.
What assumptions might someone make on what I carry? Anyone that knows their basic math would be able to tell that I'm forty-two years old. The pictures of my license and military ID were taken in 2007, so they're pretty accurate. Anybody might guess that I'm either Asian or Hispanic. My military ID has the most information on it. It has my husband's and my social security number, dates when he joined the Navy an it's expiration date, his rank, etc. My driver's license has my current address. If I lose my wallet, my hope is the finder will be honest enough to send it to my address. It would be right to assume that we've lived and traveled a lot, hence the travel card. My family and I have lived in six states and once overseas. I have two revolving cards I can't live without. I use my MasterCard with all my purchases to earn points for travel and I frequent Kohl's. My two check cards will reveal that I have two accounts. It is also safe to assume that since I have my kid's access cards, I do their financial transactions. Voter registrations cards - three of them - from Washington, Pennsylvania and Virginia, yes, I vote in every opportunity, caucus or primary, local to national. The pictures need to be updated.
My three kids are now teenagers. These pictures were taken when they were in first grade, K-4, and K-3. It would also be accurate to assume that I work in the medical field being evident by the first aid and certificate cards. I don't normally carry cash, so what are the $2 dollar bills doing in my wallet? There's a superstition in my home country that if there's money in your wallet at all times, you'll always have money! I guess that stuck in my memory or maybe because I collect them? The calling cards are my HR numbers, EVCC ID number and my credit union's phone numbers. The certified mail receipt to the visa center in New Hampshire was for my brother's petition to migrate to the United States. That never worked out despite all the costs involved.
People would miss my true identity if everything is based on what they'll find in my wallet. They would be unable to know my true character and passions. I am a born-again Christian, so my choice of music is pretty limited. I love and enjoy being with people. I especially enjoy those with great sense of humor and good comeback. People are usually surprised that I'm passionate about politics. I hardly know what show is on TV. I am a news junkie and my car radio is programmed to different talk shows. I have a lot of respect on others' beliefs and convictions. It is fun to listen to people to try to get their point across.
After scrutinizing what's in my wallet, my assumption that my wallet is my life is inaccurate. If my personal identity, in financial sense is compromised, it would be very difficult to fix. But besides that, everything in it is replaceable. I came to realize that my life is not what I have personally but what I am as a person.
My wallet is brown with a black stripe and it's YSL brand. It is more than twenty years old. I'd tried to replace it a few times but I haven't found anything that will serve me the same way. It's been a while since I have completely emptied my wallet, but I was not surprised at what I found. The first items that anybody would see will be my Washington's driver's license and my military ID. As I pulled out everything from the compartments, I found a MasterCard, Kohl's card, two check cards, voter registration cards, my children's account access cards, pictures of my kids, a picture of me with my husband, first aid card, Nursing assistant certification card, three calling cards, travel card, seven $2 dollar bills, sixteen dollars and a few coins, and certified mail receipt to the U.S. visa center.
What assumptions might someone make on what I carry? Anyone that knows their basic math would be able to tell that I'm forty-two years old. The pictures of my license and military ID were taken in 2007, so they're pretty accurate. Anybody might guess that I'm either Asian or Hispanic. My military ID has the most information on it. It has my husband's and my social security number, dates when he joined the Navy an it's expiration date, his rank, etc. My driver's license has my current address. If I lose my wallet, my hope is the finder will be honest enough to send it to my address. It would be right to assume that we've lived and traveled a lot, hence the travel card. My family and I have lived in six states and once overseas. I have two revolving cards I can't live without. I use my MasterCard with all my purchases to earn points for travel and I frequent Kohl's. My two check cards will reveal that I have two accounts. It is also safe to assume that since I have my kid's access cards, I do their financial transactions. Voter registrations cards - three of them - from Washington, Pennsylvania and Virginia, yes, I vote in every opportunity, caucus or primary, local to national. The pictures need to be updated.
My three kids are now teenagers. These pictures were taken when they were in first grade, K-4, and K-3. It would also be accurate to assume that I work in the medical field being evident by the first aid and certificate cards. I don't normally carry cash, so what are the $2 dollar bills doing in my wallet? There's a superstition in my home country that if there's money in your wallet at all times, you'll always have money! I guess that stuck in my memory or maybe because I collect them? The calling cards are my HR numbers, EVCC ID number and my credit union's phone numbers. The certified mail receipt to the visa center in New Hampshire was for my brother's petition to migrate to the United States. That never worked out despite all the costs involved.
People would miss my true identity if everything is based on what they'll find in my wallet. They would be unable to know my true character and passions. I am a born-again Christian, so my choice of music is pretty limited. I love and enjoy being with people. I especially enjoy those with great sense of humor and good comeback. People are usually surprised that I'm passionate about politics. I hardly know what show is on TV. I am a news junkie and my car radio is programmed to different talk shows. I have a lot of respect on others' beliefs and convictions. It is fun to listen to people to try to get their point across.
After scrutinizing what's in my wallet, my assumption that my wallet is my life is inaccurate. If my personal identity, in financial sense is compromised, it would be very difficult to fix. But besides that, everything in it is replaceable. I came to realize that my life is not what I have personally but what I am as a person.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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