A Visit Home

 

We’re just coming home from a month-long visit home to see our friends and family in Indiana. The time we spent there was filled with some new and exciting things for our son and for myself.

One of the best things about visiting was taking my son to one of the playgrounds I used to frequent as a kid. He had a lot of fun climbing, running, and touching things. It was fun to see him in an environment I spent many days of my childhood in.

Another fun event was going to the 4-H fair. I hadn’t been there in many years, and luckily, the fair was giving free admission to military and kids under the age of 8. I showed rabbits for 10 years growing up, so it was another special thing for me to take my son to the rabbit barn and see all the bunnies there.

During our visit home, we went to the 4-H fair.
Checking out the pigs in the swine barn at the 4-H Fair.

We went on the carousel, but he wasn’t a fan. Most of the rides were not something he could do just because of the height restrictions, so hopefully next year we will be able to do a little more.

During our visit home, I took my son to the playground I went to as a kid.
A trip to the playground!

We also attended a family reunion. It was nice to be there with my son for the first time. We missed the one the year before since we were still living in Washington.

Some of my cousins were missing as they were visiting St. Louis with their children, but it was still a nice time. I got to see the cousins I am closest with and their kids, which hadn’t happened since we were moving last fall.

Aside from those events, we mostly hung out with our family and friends. We attended a couple of cookouts, saw a 4th of July parade, and went swimming a few times. It was unusual in that we didn’t do quite as many activities as we normally would, but near the end of our visit my husband, myself and our son all got a cold, and it definitely hit hard.

I find that traveling can be challenging with a situation such as this, especially when you have to deal with TriCare. While my husband quickly got over his cold, my son and I did not.

Unfortunately, he’s still dealing with a cough that is left over, and we both had ear infections. It was definitely not a fun way to spend our last week at home.

It was a nice visit, and I hope that our family will be down to visit us soon. Until then, we may not be heading back until Thanksgiving time. I am so thankful for living closer to our family, and for having the time we did. It was a good month.

 

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Mary Spangler

Mary Spangler

Mary was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. She currently lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband, SFC Spangler, their two sons, and one cat. Previous duty stations include Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, Rivanna Station, Virginia, and Fort Shafter, Hawaii. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Indiana University in 2009. During her college years she also spent some time volunteering for the Student Veteran’s Association, and participated briefly in the Army ROTC program. She loves writing, music, gardening, watching documentaries and movies, cooking, hosting get-togethers, spending time with family and friends, and traveling.

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