Welcome, 2023✨

I’m a little late with my first New Year post and that’s ok. I find trying to wrap up the year, the holidays, traveling and all the feels to be a bit much.

Despite many tries, it’s been hard to get going right after the new year. I’ve tried so many times also to content plan ahead of time and it just isn’t happening!

So, I just go with the flow and push out what feels natural. I’ve written a year-in-review and have a notional content plan, BUT I don’t always publish what I create.

Anyway, 2022 was a good year for me. I had some bumps along the way, but I ultimately hit some goals I’d set and couldn’t be happier.

I’ll be closing out my GI Bill benefits with a master’s certificate in Public Relations from my Alma mater, George Washington University almost 20 years to the day from my previous graduation in ‘03.

I learned that I have a brick that is part of the permanent GWU campus that I didn’t know about. It was a thrill discovering it with my granddaughter last year. Would have loved to have shared that with my family, especially my mom who attended that graduation along with my Son.

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of my beloved Mom gaining her wings just 17 days after I checked out of my last unit on terminal leave.

I was exhausted and put off visiting her and the rest of my family in Philadelphia so I could catch my breath and properly execute the rest of my life!

Add to it having my toddler granddaughter on my hip and a Son trying to finish his college studies. Talk about having major life events converging at the same time. It was a LOT😩

Her passing away literally took a piece of me with her, but I had to forge on. Too many things to do and too little time. My Aunt’s, Brother’s, and Dad’s passing in the following 36 months knocked the wind out of me again, but still, I had to keep pushing.

One of the things that I’d planned to do was travel with my Son and Granddaughter when I went on leave and before his ID card expired. He was about to age out and Europe had always been a dream trip.

Plus, I wanted to do it before he went back to school after Christmas break. I was too exhausted. In retrospect, I’m convinced I would’ve been overseas when the news came about Mom and that would have been a disaster!

So, in hindsight maybe it wasn’t the best timing. We still have to do our international family trip, hoping it’s this year.

As for yesterday, this awful date didn’t make me sad. I’m reflective and I miss her. But not paralyzed with grief. Each year is unique. Some are easier than others. And I can say this year, I’m good.

It could be due to just being excited by the future and being determined to live life to the fullest. I’ll be done with school in 9 weeks and I’m looking forward to that so I can once again travel!

I plan to use military space A and my retiree income to support my efforts. For the last few years, I’ve been looking into the requirements to live abroad, and several countries will grant residency if one can show that they have passive income or investments to sustain them. So, I’m good!

I also have family in Europe who have an open-door policy and have provided lots of info. I visited a few years ago and honestly didn’t want to return to the U.S.!

If it were possible for me to stay, and handle my business back here I would have. I love the peace that comes over me whenever I’m abroad.

It’s clear to me now that, once again, it wasn’t the right time.

But it is NOW!

AND

I.

Am.

EXCITED🤩

A huge thank you to the powers that be who reinstated Space A travel. It’s going to save me a TON in expenses. I’m going to be able to visit friends and family worldwide for a fraction of the cost.

I also get to satisfy my nomadic spirit, which is quite literally tied to my ancestry, the Tikar of Cameroon. Once a nomadic people, oral tradition traces the origin of the Tikar people to the Nile River Valley in present-day Sudan. Learning the origin of my maternal line has no doubt been validating.

For those unfamiliar with Space A: in a nutshell, it’s a system of standby travel for active duty and retired military plus their dependents to get seats on military flights AFTER the mission space is fulfilled. These can be on commercial or military aircraft.

Movement entails the military (and/or family) or and/or gear depending on the mission and whether seats will be released or not. All information can be found here: AMC Space Available Travel Page

It’s a privilege to get to fly on these aircraft and again, I’m grateful🙏🏾

Due to the pandemic, the program was halted; and I quite honestly wasn’t sure that it would return. So, when it did last April, I’ve been itching to hop on a flight and just GO somewhere.

With Space A, no trip is alike. For instance, I left on a commercial 767 contract flight out of Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) to the UK. I returned on a military C-17 to a military base elsewhere and had to catch an Amtrak train to get back to my car at BWI.

One has to be flexible and pack a ton of patience. Also, a sense of adventure is a must! That’s what it’s all about. Travel and adventure.

And this last trip brought ALL of that and then some Lol! I have a whole different blog post about the planes, trains, and automobiles on this trip!

My return to the US involved traveling through FIVE different counties and ended up with an unprecedented Boat Vessel 🚢 entry stamp on my passport😳

Whoa! That was NOT on my bingo card at all‼️

Before I do leave for OCONUS though, I must do my annual sabbatical in my beloved Minneapolis.

It’s become like a second home. Navigating school has prevented me from visiting as often as I like but, in a few weeks, I’ll be back. I look forward to catching up with friends there too. And of course, connecting with the many mementos of my beloved Prince💜

Can’t wait to see the latest mural dedicated in his honor or the street named after him nearby. I watched everything online last year, but nothing beats the real thing.

So, with two weeks of 2023 under our belt on this Self-Care Saturday, I encourage the same sense of adventure and urgency.

Step out of your comfort zone.

EXECUTE your plans.

Just GO‼️

#selfcaresaturday #happynewyear #newyeargoals #2023 #travel #military #militaryretiree #spaceatravel