What’s been on my mind lately…

January’s Museum of the American Military Family (MAMF) theme is “Moving Forward Together.” January is traditionally a month of New Year’s resolutions and new beginnings.

How many New Year’s resolutions have you made over the years that you’ve not kept? I suspect that most of us have broken more than we’ve followed through on. They’re also usually pretty impulsive or rooted in unfulfilled desires: lose weight, make more money, write a novel, etc.

One of the reasons we are not successful at achieving the goals we set in New Year’s resolutions is because we try to go it alone. Research shows that people who share their goals with others have more success at hitting them. Research also shows that strong, healthy relationships help us to stay healthier and more confident.

This past year was a difficult one in our country. We faced many challenges and many of us have been fearful about our future, and where our country might be heading. Divisive language and policies designed to create “us versus them” scenarios has pitted many Americans against each other. We’ve had to look hard for “the helpers” this past year (as Mr. Rogers used to tell us to do).

What do we want our 2026 to look like? Many things are out of our control, but many others are not. We can pull together, be kind, keep our friends close, add friends to our lives, be the helpers, spread goodwill, support one another, and be the change we want to see in the world.

We can all get where we want to go together, moving forward together. No Lone Rangers this year. It’s more important than ever for us to keep an eye on our neighbors, share and spread love and joy, and keep our collective hopes up.

Wishing you the happiest of New Years in 2026.

While Christmas is usually top of mind for most Americans, it’s important to remember that many Americans are celebrating Hanukkah, Kwaanza, or something else. Our country is made up of diverse cultures and traditions, and these are all represented in our military ranks. We honor and respect the traditions of all of our military service members.

Additionally, it’s so important to remember that so many of our military service members are not at home during this time of year when home is so heavily emphasized. Service members may be far from their families and actually on duty. Service members fortunate enough to have their families with them may be far from their traditional homes back in the states, not able to visit with parents or grandparents. Let’s also remember our BRATs (military dependent children) who are far from their cousins and extended families.

When I was a child living in Germany, the traditions of our host country became traditions I’ve carried with me my entire life. Those traditions, and learning about another culture, provided me with experiences that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I encourage you to hold our military service members in your hearts and minds, and keep them in your prayers. They put a lot on the line for us every day, and they pay an extra price during the holiday season so that we can enjoy our freedoms and liberties.

Wherever you are this holiday season, wherever you call home, I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or a Happy Kwaanza, and a Happy New Year.

Peace be with you, and God bless us, every one.

November is National Native American Heritage month. This month’s Museum of the American Military Family (MAMF) banner honors our indigenous military service members.

Most Americans are not aware that indigenous people, both Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, make up the highest percentage of our military per capita. According to the National Indian Council on Aging, Inc.:

“American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average and have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years. Considering the population of the U.S. is approximately 1.4 percent Native and the military is 1.7 percent Native (not including those that did not disclose their identity), Native people have the highest per-capita involvement of any population to serve in the U.S. military.

They also have a higher concentration of women servicemembers than all other groups. Nearly 20 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives servicemembers were women, while 15.6 percent of all other servicemembers were women.” ¹ 

Many of us think of ourselves as patriotic, but by those numbers alone indigenous people are by far the most patriotic among us.

Most people have heard of the Code Talkers, and they are definitely seen as special in military service. However, there is so much to indigenous service in the military than just that. They literally serve in every capacity available to people serving in the military. They do every job there is.

They also come from every part of our great nation, from Alaska to Hawaii, the Pacific northwest to the southwest, New England to Florida, and everywhere in between. They are every bit as American as the rest of us, and proud to serve.

So, this month let’s celebrate our fellow Americans, indigenous Americans, for serving our country so faithfully and well in such great numbers. Thank you for your service!

¹“American Indian Veterans Have Highest Record of Military Service,” National Indian Council on Aging, Inc., https://www.nicoa.org/american-indian-veterans-have-highest-record-of-military-service/ 

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This month’s Museum of the American Military Family (MAMF) banner is designed to draw attention to those in our midst, at work or elsewhere, who have disabilities. While the banner features someone in a wheelchair, it is important to remember that many people have invisible disabilities. We may not be able to see them, but they are still challenged by them. I find that often-misattributed quote very helpful when thinking about this issue: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

While it’s important to remember the struggles that people with disabilities face, I think it is even more important to remember that they also make major contributions to our society. Despite their disabilities, they have jobs, raise children, and contribute in so many ways. Disabilities do not define them. Their contributions do.

I have a few minor disabilities that make mobility more difficult for me than the average person, but nothing big enough yet for me to feel a need to claim disability. However, about eight years ago I broke my right leg so badly that I was nonambulatory and wheelchair bound for two months. I had an external fixator in my right leg. I couldn’t put any weight on my right leg for two months. I had two surgeries to correct the break (one to install the fixator and one to remove it). That was followed by six months of physical therapy. I walked with a limp for eight months.

Because I was in a wheelchair for two months, and on crutches for four more months, I became suddenly hyperaware of how, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), most places are not equipped very well to accommodate people with ambulatory disabilities. That was an educational period of synchronicity for me, where I was hyperfocused on the issue simply because I was so dependent on those accommodations. People would park their cars blocking the easy access ramps at street corners, blocking my ability to cross the street in my wheelchair. All of the pushbutton door-opening mechanisms for wheelchair-bound people at Glacier National Park that summer were turned OFF. If my husband had not been with me I would have been trapped either inside or outside the lodge. I was also surprised at how unhelpful people were when they saw me struggling.

We can do better, people! All it takes is a little awareness, kindness, and compassion. Look around wherever you are. See if there is someone who needs your assistance. Help them.

And if they don’t need your assistance because they have an invisible disability, simply BE KIND. So much good and productivity can be facilitated just by being kind to the people around you.

So, during this October, please try to be more aware of those around you with disabilities, both visible and invisible, and in the words of John Wesley:

“Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.”

My husband and I made a huge move this year. We moved from Montana to Maryland after having lived in Montana for 36 years. Many people thought we were crazy to move away from “paradise” back to the east coast megalopolis, away from my daughter and grandchildren. I had a stable job with tenure, was plugged into my local art community and doing relatively well with that. But things are never as simple as they may appear on the surface.

The reasons for this big move included many things, from the personal to the professional. The biggest reason was that I have a PhD and can’t get paid for it in Montana. I had maxxed out the teacher pay scale in Montana and would never get another raise for the rest of my career. The economy in Montana is now made to suit the rich and famous, not the average taxpayer–we would never have been able to afford to buy a house, and rental housing costs were rapidly rising so as to be unaffordable also.

Why am I telling you all of this in a 4th of July blog post about the MAMF Facebook banner?

Because very shortly after we arrived in Maryland, the 4th of July rolled around. With the economy being what it is, and the political climate being what it is, we were feeling very tenuous about everything, including the enormous cross-country move we had just made to an uncertain future.

However, one of the great benefits of living on the east coast is that there are so many things to do here, and there are so many options for what to do on the 4th of July. We live just outside of Baltimore, so we opted to go to Fort McHenry, birthplace of our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. They had a full day of activities planned from morning until evening, and we decided that was the place to be.

Yes, the Star Spangled Banner was written during the war of 1812, not the revolutionary war or during the time of our birth as a nation. But it was written at a time when our continued future as a nation was under threat and somewhat uncertain.

I found that to be an apt metaphor for what our country is experiencing now, as tens of thousands of government employees are losing their jobs, histories in our nation’s museums are being revised, and tarriffs are driving up the cost of everything so that regular people wonder how we will make ends meet.

When my husband and I were at Fort McHenry, watching the flag-raising ceremony, and then the fife and drum corps walking into the parade yard, I shed more than just a few tears for where we are right now, and also for the hope and surety that our country will surely survive these difficult times we find ourselves in right now.

“[Our] flag was still there.”

That gave me great comfort.

Whatever you found yourself doing for this 4th of July, I hope it was meaningful and more than just hot dogs and fireworks. Those things are part of the celebration too; but let us all remember that WE, the PEOPLE, are what make this country what it is, and we can all get through this together and see it through to better times.

God bless America.