Wandering Wahls

Our Air Force days led us to a variety of school experiences for our kids. In Japan, they went to a Japanese Montessori pre-school. The teachers spoke very little English, but they loved our children anyway. The kids traded PB&J sandwiches for rice balls and fish…and loved it! In Germany we elected to put them in the local village elementary school. Talk about learning a language by immersion! In 6 months they were fluent in German, and translating for us (which came in quite handy).

So after retirement, when we set out on our year long RV trip across America, we ventured in to the world of home schooling (or “road schooling”). We were blessed to have several friends who home school, and gave us so much great advice. The best advice given was not to worry—that even if we didn’t teach them anything formally, they would be better off having had this experience. We diligently kept up with daily math and writing, but we really let the trip direct the rest. They studied US history based on what region or state we were in. They learned science hands on at National Parks, science centers, and on our morning bird walks.

So now as we “settle down”, the kids are fully immersed in their public school– and loving it! We decided on a charter school, K-8 so that all three kids would be in the same school. They have proudly shared our adventure with their classmates. The teachers embraced the kids mid-year, and they quickly caught up with subjects that they were behind in. (Mainly grammar—oops!) They are already involved in book clubs, sports teams, and scouts. They’ve all been invited to birthday parties—a keen indicator of settling in socially.

I think military kids have an exceptional skill at adapting to their new school and environment. Somewhere in their little brains they must remember eating sushi for lunch and singing Momotaro. Perhaps that’s why all this change is no big deal for them.

We have had a couple of people ask how we chose Colorado Springs and where the city ranked in the listing of cities developed from our RV trip. First, just to recap what we did (for any new readers), we were blessed upon Mary Claire’s retirement from the Air Force with immediate retirement pay, as well having the military store our household goods for a year. Those two items gave us the flexibility to show our kids the country the mom served and visit areas of the country to decide where to settle down.

Around Christmas, I was contacted by the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and offered a full-time adjunct teaching position in their Professional Writing Program (teaching Business Writing). At that point, we were excitedly planning to head toward Green Valley, CA; and the Bend and Ashland, OR areas to check out those spots (along with possible excursions to Alaska and a hop to Okinawa). So, this offer created quite the dilemma.

After a lot of thought, we decided that the timing and opportunity was right to accept the offer. First, we thought about the job. UCCS was a strong school with expanding enrollment, and my future boss was terribly nice and personable on our phone interviews (and still is both these things in person).

Next, the location: Colorado Springs had not made our “A” list, but was at the top of the “B” list. The city itself was too sprawling for our tastes – lots of malls and housing developments (kind of like a miniature Phoenix or Southern California). But, there were three strong military bases there, including the Air Force Academy. Plus, it was in Colorado, one of our favorite states. Outdoor activities abound in the area and the entire state. Finally, good friends assured us we could find pockets where we felt like we were in a smaller town.

It turns out that they were correct. We found a house in Monument, CO on 5 acres with 360-degree views (and a spot for our RV until it is sold). Monument has only 5,000 people and good schools – plus it is 15 minutes from work and even less time to the Air Force Academy where Joe has joined a Boy Scout troop and we now attend church.

All the signs directed us to Colorado Springs, and we feel we made the right decision about where to live. We found a house and area suited to us, and I found a job working with great people.

Now on to my next dilemma: Sear’s Craftsmen tools or Home Depot’s house brand, Husky? This is tough.

Well, I’m one day from being one year from 50, and here I am transitioning into my first house. It’s an odd thought. Before marrying, I didn’t think that I’d be at this age and just starting out into the world of homeownership. Heck, I would have imagined that I’d have had a full set of tools and saws at this age (along with the knowledge of how to use them). But, that’s what the military life can do to a family – it can take you around the world before allowing you to settle down.

Frankly, I never anticipated marrying into the Air Force. Even if I had though, I wouldn’t have imagined the benefits of such a life. The opportunities the military afforded us through my wife’s career – seeing the world and gaining an assortment of great friends – far outweigh the late start with a first home and the resulting embarrassing naivety that comes with having to ask a Home Depot representative about alloy vs. titanium tip drill bits. Hey, I may not know my bits but I’ve ordered beers on four continents.

All things considered, it is with great pleasure and satisfaction with where the military and the Good Lord took us in our lives that I play around our 5 acres while sighting out where to build the kids’ tire swing, climbing wall and Joe’s BB Gun shooting range; watching Red Tailed hawks fly overhead; and, wondering if hiring a handyman might have been less expensive than having to fix the results of my repair efforts.

Tom doesn’t remember this, but I certainly do: We were warned by other RVers that when we moved back into a “stick house” (home without wheels) we would have some misgivings.

I really did not believe that, especially after we had hit our one-year mark living in the RV. After all, five people sharing 400 sq feet is cozy to say the least. At times I couldn’t wait to get back in to a regular house—to have more than one bathroom, kitchen space to cook, and my own closet!

Well, here we are now living in a 4,300 sq ft house with 5 bathrooms (yes, 5!). It was way more than we wanted, but that’s for another blog. When we moved in from the RV, we still did not have all our household goods, so we dragged in our RV mattresses and set up camp in our bedrooms.

It didn’t take long before the kids were dragging their mattresses into the master bedroom. (A little loneliness blamed on strange noises.) Soon it came time to do a little house cleaning. Oh, how I miss having only one bathroom!

Now that the household goods have arrived we are in more chaos just trying to find places for all these things. Yes, life was more simple living in an RV. But we are determined to take our RV way of living with us to our stick house.

I realize I don’t need so many clothes just because the closet is bigger. And we’re already in the habit of taking shorter showers.

My dilemma now is  how to clean this monster house as quickly as I cleaned the RV. Any suggestions?

We apologize for being a little late in posting, but, last week was Spring Break for the kids, and our household goods arrived. We had one shipment that had been in storage for about 20 months (the shipment of our items from Germany). We also had a shipment of items that had been in storage for almost 6 years. These items were put in storage as we left DC in 2004 for Germany.

As a result of these shipments, opening the boxes was a bit like Christmas and being at a flea market. First, we were happy to rediscover forgotten treasures and mementos. Conversely though, we looked at some items and had the same thought as at a flea market – why would anyone save these things?! Did we really think we’d need a broken weed eater 6 years down the road? The same thought goes for the ¾-used box of saran wrap we found. I’m reminded of that old song refrain, “things that make you go hmmm.”

However, the week ended very well. The snow in the Rockies has been great, so our friends, Ben and Susan Paganelli, treated us to a day of skiing. The crowds were low, the sun out, and the snow was nice and soft, much to my happiness – at 6’4,” age 48, and only having learned to ski 4 years ago (16 months of which were spent driving an RV), the combination of height, years living, and inexperience usually make the falls hurt.

Oh well, back to transitioning.