Rise to the Occasion
"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it." from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
We rented Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium last night and watched it for family movie night. For an optimist, that movie is right on track! Mr. Magorium is a magical person who makes the unthinkable happen. One of the main theme's of the movie is that we all have unlimited potential that we just have to unleash. The opposite to this is to be a "just" person. "Just" people see things for only what they are and not what the can be.
I have been on both sides of thought. For so long and still today I hear people explain that they are Just a Military spouse. I've heard people say that they are Just Volunteers. I know I have said the latter before.
There is so much more to the power of a military spouse than many of us think. Julia Compton Moore, the wife of COL Hal Moore of "We Were Soldiers Once and Young" (the story of part of their lives) changed the world for spouses just like me. Her involvement in family programs at the Army level helped to start an organization named Army Community Service. She also lobbied to have the casualty notification program changed to what we see today because she was appalled at the initial method of having taxi drivers deliver telegrams. I'd have to challenge anyone to call her Just a Military Spouse!
There is so much more to the power of the volunteer. Volunteers run my son's little league and my daughter's brownie troop. There is a volunteer in everyone of us and we are anything but Just.
During the first deployment, it was my plan to incorporate everyone we possibly could in the Family Readiness Group for Vic's Company. My thought was that the more connected we could have wives, husbands, children and parents, the better information could flow from the Command in Iraq to the families in Germany and the US. The response was phenomenal. From the families back home ( in the US), emails came in offering to do "anything". I replied to those emails, one of which being from a couple in Wisconsin. Their son was 18 and going into Iraq with Vic. After several emails back and forth, we found a niche that they wanted to fill in the FRG. Their support led to the program, Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies, which is still going strong today. I would never call the Hintzke family Just Volunteers!
The idea is this; find what it is that energizes you and let the possibilities be endless. Watch out for that "just" mentality. "Writing a book is just a dream of mine" or "I'm just subbing at the school" . When I put it into that perspective I can see where I've put up my own road blocks. Just a change in perspective can show me the potential. Life is anything but Just. It's time to rise to the occasion.....
We rented Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium last night and watched it for family movie night. For an optimist, that movie is right on track! Mr. Magorium is a magical person who makes the unthinkable happen. One of the main theme's of the movie is that we all have unlimited potential that we just have to unleash. The opposite to this is to be a "just" person. "Just" people see things for only what they are and not what the can be.
I have been on both sides of thought. For so long and still today I hear people explain that they are Just a Military spouse. I've heard people say that they are Just Volunteers. I know I have said the latter before.
There is so much more to the power of a military spouse than many of us think. Julia Compton Moore, the wife of COL Hal Moore of "We Were Soldiers Once and Young" (the story of part of their lives) changed the world for spouses just like me. Her involvement in family programs at the Army level helped to start an organization named Army Community Service. She also lobbied to have the casualty notification program changed to what we see today because she was appalled at the initial method of having taxi drivers deliver telegrams. I'd have to challenge anyone to call her Just a Military Spouse!
There is so much more to the power of the volunteer. Volunteers run my son's little league and my daughter's brownie troop. There is a volunteer in everyone of us and we are anything but Just.
During the first deployment, it was my plan to incorporate everyone we possibly could in the Family Readiness Group for Vic's Company. My thought was that the more connected we could have wives, husbands, children and parents, the better information could flow from the Command in Iraq to the families in Germany and the US. The response was phenomenal. From the families back home ( in the US), emails came in offering to do "anything". I replied to those emails, one of which being from a couple in Wisconsin. Their son was 18 and going into Iraq with Vic. After several emails back and forth, we found a niche that they wanted to fill in the FRG. Their support led to the program, Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies, which is still going strong today. I would never call the Hintzke family Just Volunteers!
The idea is this; find what it is that energizes you and let the possibilities be endless. Watch out for that "just" mentality. "Writing a book is just a dream of mine" or "I'm just subbing at the school" . When I put it into that perspective I can see where I've put up my own road blocks. Just a change in perspective can show me the potential. Life is anything but Just. It's time to rise to the occasion.....
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