 Recently, a story broke in California that concerns all families with children on the autism spectrum. A family in Sunnyvale, California is being sued by their neighbors stemming from incidents involving their 9-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder. According to the families, the incidents started when the child, not named in any news media, started going into other’s homes and taking food. It culminated with an alleged assault on a three year old neighbor.
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 When you are married to a military man, there are two things that are an absolute certainty. The first is Temporary DutY (or TDYs) and the second is deployments. Military families deal with constant family separation, whether it’s geo-baching (when the service member is stationed in one location and the spouse stays in another), constant deployments, and TDYs. My husband in particular has not been deployed as much as many of his contemporaries, but when he doesn’t deploy, he makes up for it with constant TDYs. When I first left the military in 2004, he was rarely gone, but as soon as he pinned on Major, it became apparent that my home was wherever the base was, and his home was the Holiday Inn Express at any number of other bases.
 I have been struggling the last few weeks with my weight. I gained weight the beginning of June after my dad passed away suddenly from a heart attack. In the weeks following his death, I forgot my main summer goal. I wanted to lose weight in preparation for what may be my last marathon (unless I get a coveted Boston Qualifying time). Needless to say, I didn’t lose weight - I gained weight. This was no surprise to me. I went back to my old fitness books and back to the basics. Two weeks ago, I cracked the code, and I am now losing weight again. Here are five things I did that are extremely low cost, or even free:
 I have had to explain death to my children. The first deaths were our dogs. Death was a vague concept for my children for a long time. They thought only their old great-grandparents died; people in their 80s and 90s, who had lived long, full lives. This summer, my father died at 76. His death was hard on me because, even though I know death is inevitable, I felt his was still so many years away. My kids understood that Grandpa died, and that was a part of life - that death is a natural part of living. Never in a million years would I ever imagine explaining murder to my kids, especially explaining to my children the murder of someone who was close to them.
 About two months ago, my father died. I know that at the ripe old age of 76, he had a long and full life. He raised two children, lived his dreams of owning a business, lived near the happiest place on Earth, and was so very proud of his children and grandchildren. He lived a fulfilling life, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had not suffered from conditions related to morbid obesity.
 Every time I hear these six words, in the form of a question directed at me, I cringe. It is one of my biggest pet peeves, and it highlights all of my personal insecurities. The answer to the question is I don’t have a real job for a variety of complicated reasons.
 by: Jodi Vetter
When I was growing up, every time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would say that I wanted to be a writer. In college, I was an English Literature and Composition major. I was going to be a high school English Lit teacher, and in my spare time I was going to write the next best-selling novel. I went to my first in-service at Duluth Central High, and decided that there was no way I was going to be in a classroom. I changed majors, got a scholarship through ROTC, and joined the Air Force. For 18 years I put off writing my first novel. When one of my husband’s coworkers sadly passed away suddenly in January of 2014, I decided that life is too short to put off your dreams. Throughout 2014 and 2015, I started working on my first novel. I learned so much about myself and writing in general.  Article by: Jodi Vetter
Original Photo Credit: Flickr I started my on-line presence in 2002, after my husband and I decided to start a family. It appeared pregnancy was not going to be a simple endeavor for me. We started trying to conceive in 2001, and did not have any success until 2004. I joined a webpage called Fertility Friends, and did all the stuff a woman desperate to have a child does. I tracked my morning temperature and posted pictures of pregnancy and ovulation tests to bulletin boards to see if that much coveted line would appear. I would be up all hours of the night chatting, trying to ascertain if a shadow of a line meant a positive pregnancy test, and when I did get a positive pregnancy test, I cried when the positive test was a false positive and again when I lost a pregnancy very early along. After having my children, I joined bulletin boards. I participated in bulletin boards with female veterans, mothers, and eventually mothers of children with developmental disabilities. 
Article by: Jodi Vetter
Original Photo Credit: Flickr I have had many jobs and worn many hats, and one of the most interesting jobs I’ve had was a wine taster. I did at-home wine tastings when I was stationed in Minot. Unfortunately, I cannot do wine tasting on a professional level in Florida, due to licensing issues (aka I would need a liquor license to pour in our county, and those are expensive and hard to come by). Since I can’t do something I’m passionate about, I figure I can give a little bit of education on how to host an in-home wine tasting and perhaps give those military spouses out there a few good ideas on something to do socially. The key to doing this legally is (A) make sure you are not serving this to minors, and only host an event for those you know are 21 and over, and (B) do not sell the liquor in your home. 
Article by: Jodi Vetter
Original Photo Credit: Flickr I wake up first thing in the morning, and the first thing I do is check the weather. My husband is irritated by this, because I don’t look outside like everyone else. I check the weather on my iPhone app, and then turn on the Weather Channel to make sure that my app isn’t malfunctioning. I don’t check outside until right before I actually am able to go for a run, and even then, I check the weather. The weather is quite an obsession for me, running is an obsession, and anything with forward momentum is an obsession. |
AuthorJodi Vetter is a 38-year old aspiring author. She has been published in "Chicken Soup For Soul: Raising a Child on The Autism Spectrum,” has her own blog, and has poetry published in the College of St. Scholastica writer's publication. Jodi also has had several freelance articles published throughout the military spouse community, and is currently working on a science fiction novel called, "Invasion.” She has two children (Ryan and Sophie), is a military spouse and proud Air Force Veteran. She has tried many modes of employment from selling Mary Kay to writing to being in the military, and has even dabbled in Wine Tasting. Keep up to date with all of Jodi's adventures on Facebook. Archives
December 2015
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