After reading a post about how people used to struggle when they were first starting out in life, I recalled our own simple beginnings. Hubbyman was still militaryman, enlisted military man… which means, nevermind. I won’t go there. Let’s just suffice it to say, that we do not properly compensate our service members and their families. (Especially when you think about how one term in congress sets you up for life… it’s ridiculous. But I won’t continue that direction.) And if you think that we do properly compensate them, then you’ve never been exposed to life as an enlisted servicemember. Sure there are perks, like the Commissary (grocery store) where things are discounted and tax free (they are also closer to expiration date, and who doesn’t want to go through armed security every time they’re out of milk?!), the housing (hey, who doesn’t love espestos and having to call in a special team anytime you want to hang up a picture?! Or walls so thin you can have conversations with your neighbor without having to leave your bedroom?! And those were the nice ones.) Anyways….I was thinking about our first year of marriage.
We’d only been married a few months when we were sent to the next duty station. Which will probably always be one of our most favorite places on earth. An island in the Puget North Sound; surrounded by ocean and mountains; filled with state parks and beaches. It’s also the place I became a mother, but this isn’t about that… so we moved. We trekked our vehicles, some necessary belongings, and ourselves up the coast. When we finally landed and moved in… well, let’s just say we were thankful for all the bath and kitchen supplies we’d gotten as wedding gifts, but that’s basically all we had. And most of it was still in transit, along with our 20ish year old TV. So what did we do? We played lots of games. I beat hubbyman in Trouble, so many times, that he still refuses to play it with me. And one of our, well, at least one of mine, favorite memories happened in our office. The only piece of furniture we had, other than our bed, was a desk with our computer on it. So we’d set up our camping chairs (literally, no furniture.) in the office, and watch movies on the computer. Even once our TV arrived, either it was so old it didn’t have a connection, or we just didn’t have a DVD player. Either is possible, and I don’t remember which. Either way, we continued to watch movies, in our camping chairs, on our computer… and while we probably thought it was “lame” back then, now I’m very appreciative of those times.
So while we have stuff coming out of our ears now, including furniture, a newer TV (that can use -and does- a dvd player), and three children… I love our earlier times. I loved that we started out with nothing and worked our way from there. I appreciate that we did what we could with what we had. And what I really appreciate was the fact that without all the “things” distracting us, we really were able to focus on what was really important, like each other, and hiking new trails, and visiting amazing places, and meeting amazing people.
And so in memory of those days and because all of the “things” that are overtaking our house… I’m in full-on organizational mode! Things are getting done, and put away, and probably over organized if it kills me… and it might.
Anyone have any great organizational tools, or favorite tips? My kids love puzzles. They also love to dump every single puzzle piece on the floor in a big pile. I’m such an organizer that I’d go through and put them all back together before putting them away. Well, one day I got tired of it. So I took each puzzle board (if there was one) and numbered it. The back of each puzzle piece has a correlating number, and the big ziploc bag they go in, also has a correlating number on it. So pick up is a breeze. The kids can look to see what numbers are the same and group them all together and do it themselves! And I’m happy because they’re all where they belong, and I didn’t have to do it myself! Have you done anything that made your day to day so much easier?
laborofwonder 
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