Sherri Piper - Week 4

I have been blessed in the past year to have met some amazing women, who like me, are caregivers to their veterans. There's one lady that I have crossed paths with lives in driving distance. We are able to spend time in person instead of social media. This past weekend I went to her house for a couple of days to enjoy some peace and quiet, and have a much needed get away. Both of our husbands had other plans, so it was perfect timing. My children are all old enough to be self sufficient so leaving them with my husband isn't much of a worry for me anymore. 

Friday came, and in preparation for my girls weekend, I got up early and started packing. I didn't know what to wear, like most women, so I just threw a little bit of everything in my bag and went with it. I was so excited for my get away, I threw my bags in the car, set my  GPS, turned on my 80's music and hit the road! I love to drive, that makes road trips all the more better. 

When I arrived we went to dinner and to see a movie, then we ended the night with a soak in the Jacuzzi and some Sangria. This was just want the doctor ordered! I just needed this girl time. I was able to sleep until noon the next day and we headed out to the beach. It was a great time, splashing in the water, making beach art, watching a seagull dance around us hoping we would drop some food so he could steal it but we didn't have any, we went searching for intact seashells, and just acted silly like no one was watching and all because we just could. Later that evening we went to go see a play at a local theater, then went to dinner again and another soak in the Jacuzzi with our favorite cocktails. 

Unfortunately my girls weekend had to end, and I would have to prepare myself to sit in some traffic on my way home. At the last minute I decided to give myself a little more time away and take the back roads home. That may not have been a good idea, I had more time to think about what possible disaster I had to come home to! Would the house be a mess? Did my husband forget to take his meds while I was gone? Did the boys make the food I left for them?  I calmed my anxiety with thinking, "Everything is ok if everyone is still alive and breathing, no one is missing, and the house is AT LEAST still standing. I can clean up a mess, that's not that big of a deal.". The rest of the drive home was peaceful and driving through the country was amazing. 

To my surprise when I got home my house was still standing and in good shape! The laundry was done, and the towels weren't mixed with clothes. The boys all did their chores and had some incense burning so the house would smell pleasant. It felt much more relaxing walking into the house than I anticipated. I was grateful for that! So, I came in the house, threw my bag down, sat on my favorite spot on the couch and smiled.

Sherri Piper - Week 3

I have been a military "brat", I have been a military spouse, and today as I become a military mom I could not be more proud! My oldest son went to talk with an Army Recruiter today. He wants a pair of his own combat boots to take adventures with, grow with, and make memories to tell exciting stories with.

I saw this today and I felt like I should share it. I believe all combat boots have a story to tell. I have had many combat boots in my life, they have told so many stories, not only to me, but to others too. The stories are not always good and not always bad, but they are memories that will stay with them and their owners forever. 

My son's fresh out of the box new boots are an exciting blank canvas right now. I can't wait to hear about the adventures they take my son on.

What kind of adventures have your boots been on?

Sherri Piper - Week 2

This past weekend we worked as a family to finally finish the patio. A slab of concrete that had grass growing through cracks, and didn't look like an inviting space to lounge on during a warm sunny day or cool evening. As a family we pressure washed, filled in those cracks with concrete filler, and repainted it a beautiful shade of beach sand, which matches my outside patio furniture. We wanted to have sun sails on our patio to shade our patio from the intense florida sun. We went to Walmart and just happen to find these huge wine barrels that would work perfectly to set the polls for our shade. We cut the barrels in half, filled them with concrete, put the polls in. We had watched multiple you-tube videos on how to install these little sunshades, so we felt like we had the situation under control. Except, we didn't. It looked much easier on the videos than it was putting it into action. After some arguments, tears, and a few different drill holes we managed to finally get these sun sails to look somewhat decent. They don't look perfect, but they will keep the sun off of us for now. The big test of their stability is when we get one of those fabulous Florida storms. With everything repaired and set up, we were able to put our patio furniture on our patio and use it like it was supposed to be used, and not just stacked in a corner of my living room. 

This outside space was so important to our family. When we had lost our prior house we had a very nice outside space. We had an amazing lanai that overlooked a pool with a waterfall, and our homemade beach with a hammock that we enjoyed so very much for family gatherings and tons of fun. It was a sad moment in our lives selling that home, and now we are living in a totally different environment here. We now rent our home from our son, and he is supportive of the little changes we are making to make this home feel more like our home again. 

Sherri Piper

I have tons of friends all around the world,  thanks to the journeys I have been on. I have experienced so much in my lifetime,  my parent's both retired from the Air Force, and my husband served 19 years in the United States Army.  I have enjoyed the military life style.All the moving, new houses I get to live in, the people I get to meet, and all the cultures I have learned about. Today was the end of such an amazing military style life. Today I had to turn in my active duty dependent card. I felt so odd, I mean, I know I still have the same benefits.  I can use the PX, commissary, and I can still go off and on base. As I am writing about it, I am realizing it's all real now. One chapter of my adventurous life is closing, and I'm going on to new things and adventures I never really thought I would experiencing. This new way of life is very similar to the one I experienced in the military with my family, but it still feels somewhat different, but different in a good way. As I go on to experience my new journey, a friend of mine who is also an Army veteran, is starting one of her own. Her adventure includes me as well! She will be moving into an empty camper I have in my back yard until she figures out what chapter is next in her book. For me, there's no way to start a new journey than to be simultaneously helping someone else start theirs.