Happy 2020!!!!
No resolutions this year--just taking time to reflect on the past year.
I'm a big fan of the book One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novel full of what I call "full-circle moments"---time tends to be circular instead of linear, with people repeating the same actions (and mistakes) over and over again. ***
The last few days have been full of reflecting. Not only is it the end of another decade, but I just turned 50, which has me in a contemplative mood. The older I get, the more I see life as a cyclical voyage instead of a linear march to the end.
Our living situation has come full-circle. We started out our married life as renters, then owned four houses in three states, and here I am, 50 and into 26+ years of marriage, renting again.
And guess what? I love not owning a home. I love calling my landlord and letting her sort it out whatever issues may come. I love being able to pull up stakes and move when I get sick of this house or neighborhood or town. I was nervous at first, but after selling our last house, I don't know if I ever want to deal with home ownership again. Neither home ownership in a country not my own nor owning a home in the U.S. while living abroad is an attractive life choice. In my 20s I would not have thought that living a rootless life, sort of adrift between countries, never sure of what's next, would be attractive in middle age---but I am so much happier now than I was living in my own house, with all its complications and limitations. It's not a life for everyone, but for us, it's what works. Being untethered to a house is, for at least right now, a good feeling.
I started out marriage navigating the confusing and foreign world of the military. Stand for the national anthem before a movie. Stop your car if "colors" is playing on base. Always have your i.d. card ready. Learn and use acronyms. All the damn acronyms.
And now I am no longer a military spouse but a civilian working for the military, and a lot is the same. I went from being a dependent (where my identity was my husband's rank, unit, and social security number) to being the sponsor (where I have to fill out lots of paperwork, stand in lines, and grit my teeth--a lot--when I don't get help because I'm only a civilian in a military world, after all).
My career has come full circle. I started as a Spanish teacher and I am once again teaching Spanish. My second teaching job was teaching English 8, and I am also teaching that for the first time since my 20s. I am still holding on to my dream of being a librarian again--definitely my passion, not grading papers, teaching essay writing, or doing lesson plans. SO MANY lesson plans. This decade has seen me teach every single level of English, 6-12 grade, in addition to yearbook, Spanish, reading, and I've also worked as a librarian for pre-K through high school. I am tired. I am ready for some stability. When does the "work smarter, not harder" part of life happen? Anyone? I'm hoping the cycle of reinventing myself every year for a job keeps going until I am back in a library, where I am the happiest.
We started out in our marriage as travelers of sorts--we met in Mexico, honeymooned in Honduras, moved from Mississippi to Georgia to Colorado to Washington in a five year period. We drove between states and this has been how I've managed to see much of the country.
Then we settled down, bought houses, cars, had kids, and never had the time, energy, or money to travel like we did before so many responsibilities tied us down.
Since moving overseas in 2012, we have had opportunities to travel like never before. Travel is expensive---if you are traveling from the U.S. to Europe. Once you are in Europe, it is super cheap. Sure, you have to fly airlines you've maybe never heard of (TUI, Iberian, Ryan, Condor, Vueling, and my favorite, WizzAir), and some cheaper tickets require you to pack very, very light.
For the price of a pair of shoes, I can fly to another country. For what it costs for the four of us to eat out and go to a movie in the U.S., I can pay for at least one night in a hotel. Sometimes more than that.
I can fill up closets with clothes in a house I may own again once I retire back to the United States. For now, I'd rather spend my money seeing as much of the world as possible.
Instead of making resolutions, I'm going to eat my 12 grapes at midnight (one for every stroke of the clock), Spanish New Year's style, for a lucky 2020. I've been lucky more than unlucky for 50 years, and I'm hoping my luck keeps repeating in the wheel of life.
***[If you really want to see me geek out, ask me about my master's thesis on magic realism and cyclical narratives in One Hundred Years of Solitude and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Please ask---I've had many job interviews, and nobody has ever bothered to ask anything about my master's degree or my thesis 😞 ].
Read about our adventure in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba from 2012-2017.
I'm a big fan of the book One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novel full of what I call "full-circle moments"---time tends to be circular instead of linear, with people repeating the same actions (and mistakes) over and over again. ***
The last few days have been full of reflecting. Not only is it the end of another decade, but I just turned 50, which has me in a contemplative mood. The older I get, the more I see life as a cyclical voyage instead of a linear march to the end.
Our living situation has come full-circle. We started out our married life as renters, then owned four houses in three states, and here I am, 50 and into 26+ years of marriage, renting again.
And guess what? I love not owning a home. I love calling my landlord and letting her sort it out whatever issues may come. I love being able to pull up stakes and move when I get sick of this house or neighborhood or town. I was nervous at first, but after selling our last house, I don't know if I ever want to deal with home ownership again. Neither home ownership in a country not my own nor owning a home in the U.S. while living abroad is an attractive life choice. In my 20s I would not have thought that living a rootless life, sort of adrift between countries, never sure of what's next, would be attractive in middle age---but I am so much happier now than I was living in my own house, with all its complications and limitations. It's not a life for everyone, but for us, it's what works. Being untethered to a house is, for at least right now, a good feeling.
I started out marriage navigating the confusing and foreign world of the military. Stand for the national anthem before a movie. Stop your car if "colors" is playing on base. Always have your i.d. card ready. Learn and use acronyms. All the damn acronyms.
And now I am no longer a military spouse but a civilian working for the military, and a lot is the same. I went from being a dependent (where my identity was my husband's rank, unit, and social security number) to being the sponsor (where I have to fill out lots of paperwork, stand in lines, and grit my teeth--a lot--when I don't get help because I'm only a civilian in a military world, after all).
We started out in our marriage as travelers of sorts--we met in Mexico, honeymooned in Honduras, moved from Mississippi to Georgia to Colorado to Washington in a five year period. We drove between states and this has been how I've managed to see much of the country.
Then we settled down, bought houses, cars, had kids, and never had the time, energy, or money to travel like we did before so many responsibilities tied us down.
Since moving overseas in 2012, we have had opportunities to travel like never before. Travel is expensive---if you are traveling from the U.S. to Europe. Once you are in Europe, it is super cheap. Sure, you have to fly airlines you've maybe never heard of (TUI, Iberian, Ryan, Condor, Vueling, and my favorite, WizzAir), and some cheaper tickets require you to pack very, very light.
 |
| Wizzair, summer 2016. For less than $100, 2 people traveled r/t from Germany to Macedonia. |
I can fill up closets with clothes in a house I may own again once I retire back to the United States. For now, I'd rather spend my money seeing as much of the world as possible.
Instead of making resolutions, I'm going to eat my 12 grapes at midnight (one for every stroke of the clock), Spanish New Year's style, for a lucky 2020. I've been lucky more than unlucky for 50 years, and I'm hoping my luck keeps repeating in the wheel of life.
 |
| 12 lucky grapes (no seeds! I learned the hard way!) and a marzipan pig from Germany, all for a lucky 2020 |
***[If you really want to see me geek out, ask me about my master's thesis on magic realism and cyclical narratives in One Hundred Years of Solitude and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Please ask---I've had many job interviews, and nobody has ever bothered to ask anything about my master's degree or my thesis 😞 ].
Read about our adventure in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba from 2012-2017.
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