Searching, Searching...

The randomness and continual work days of my husband's schedule is ongoing, but it's still a joy to spend time together in the evenings at least. I spent most of this afternoon searching around online for opportunities to get more involved on post. There are some options for volunteering and others for getting involved in Bible study groups. I also decided to apply for a job that I'm over-qualified for and that isn't in my usual area, but at least would be a way to be helping out and bring in some extra funds. One of my primary goals for this next year is to really try to get our debts paid off.

I was hopeful I'd be able to find some interesting workshops or groups on post or in the local community, but thus far I haven't been able to turn up much of anything. However, in my searches I also discovered a bunch of wonderful and insightful blogs written by a variety of Army wives that entertained me for hours and left me feeling uplifted. It was especially great to find so many other liberal, educated, and independent military wives writing on the Internet about their transitions into this life.

I've just started reading the book Deep Economy and it looks like a good read. The husband and I also were able to attend the same church on Sunday and it dawned on me that maybe God has us here as a means to help other people.....there are a lot of people here who it seems don't have other individuals to depend upon. Since we've gotten here, we've hosted a lot of individuals in our home and hopefully will continue to reach out to others who could use a friend.

The one thing I will say about this life is that with so much transition, those that do interact with each other seem to take care of their own. One of the first couples we met here got out of the Army the beginning of July and we inherited quite a lot from them: baking goods, various food stuffs, house plants, and cleaning supplies. I've mentioned the rocking chairs we have on the patio left over from another soldier who left, and our futon and TV stand were also given to us by a fellow soldier that is an acquaintance of my husband. There is a baker's rack that is also waiting for pick up for our dining area that is coming from yet another soldier who works with my husband. Add to all that the continual garage sales from families moving from post to other posts and there's quite a lot available if you're open and willing.

Now it's just trying to improve community beyond the granting of free stuff and increasing my own involvement here as well. I finally put in a call to the Housing company today inquiring about whether or not they promote proper disposal of CFL lightbulbs. They do have a take back and free replacement policy, but the woman reported that they've never had issues with people wondering about the mercury in CFLS and how to properly dispose of them. Hmmm....maybe that's because most people don't know that CFLS actually contain the chemical and need proper disposal! So there might be some health promotion for me to do here after all.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is off to a great start of this week!