~e.e. cummings
1. The best thing my parents taught me to do when I was a child was _________________.
...be independent. I wasn't always the most forward of children and definitely had a shy streak (I think I had to have been 7 years old or more before I could order for myself at a restaurant). However, they certainly let me take charge of what I wanted to do and it's come in handy as a milspouse to be able to figure how to do things on my own or strike out and do something without needing a push.
2. However, one thing I wish they did differently was _________________.
...treat my brother and I more equitably. I totally get that every child is unique and that one technique may not work for all of your children; we see that all the time in education and I fully believe that. However, I think that they've done him a bit of a disservice. He's fully capable of being a successful, contributing member of society and yet because they were not as tough on him to stick with things, go outside his comfort zone, become more independent, etc...he's living at home, without a job, overweight, after flushing away an 80K college scholarship -- at 27 yrs. old. This to me is unacceptable.
3. One thing I’ve always wanted to try but haven’t is _________________.
...woodworking. I love doing things with my hands. I don't mind buying furniture that requires some assembly and I LOVE to craft. I bake more than I cook because most of it requires more use of your hands as part of the process. I would love to get into woodworking and making my own furniture from the bottom up, but I'm hesitant because of the cost involved, the time involved, etc.
4. One thing I never thought I’d try but I have is _________________.
...being a milspouse. My whole family is military. My parents met in the Army National Guard. My aunt and uncle were dual military. Most other uncles were in the military. Both of my grandfathers served in WWII and beyond. I was lucky in that my parents didn't constantly move because of being Guard only; but my cousins were constantly in new places. It was cool for me getting to visit them in all of these awesome/new places but you could tell they suffered for it. They're unusually close and dependent on each other for support and I believe that their education, especially in the early formative years, took a hit because standards are not uniform across all states/overseas. I swore up, down, left, right, and halfway to Sunday that I'd never end up with a military man -- and I did.
5. If I could give my 16-year-old self one piece of advice I’d tell myself _________________.
...don't lose your head. Everything is sooooo dramatic when you're a teenager. Yes, it takes knowing the bad stuff to appreciate the good but you're going to hit times much worse than you can even imagine at this point in your life so you might as well enjoy the good stuff now while you can. Water off a duck's back, hun!
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