It used to be easy to determine when something happened during my life. I’d think about where I was living at the time and could narrow down the year from that. But not any longer. We have had three different addresses since “retiring” in the Dayton area, but with the last fourteen years in the same house (I think it’s a record for both of us!), time kind of blurs.
My life by location:
California (Santa Monica, Wilmington, & Santa Barbara) – 18½ years
Alabama (Ft. McClellan/Anniston) – 2 months
South Carolina (Ft. Jackson/Columbia) – 1 month
Washington (Ft. Lewis/Tacoma) – 1½ years
Alaska (Ft. Greely/Delta Junction) – 1 year
Arizona (Ft. Huachuca/Sierra Vista) – 1½ years
Alaska (Ft. Wainwright/Fairbanks) – 2½ years
West Virginia (Beech Bottom) – 1 month
New Jersey (Ft. Monmonth/Eatontown) – 4½ years
California (Santa Barbara) – 1 year
Alabama (Ft. Rucker/Daleville) – 3½ years
Ohio (Dayton) – 19½ years (and counting)
So, what about you? If you’ve lived in the same place your whole life, how do you remember what happened when? Or maybe it doesn’t really matter!
8 comments:
My early years look a lot like yours (military family), so many of my memories are jumbled from those times. *sigh*
OMGosh! You've moved around more than I have -- although I'm not from a military family. My husband and I met in Africa, and we've lived on three continents together. In France alone, we moved seven times in four years. Unbelievably, we stayed put here, in GA (of ALL places?!?) for nine years. Definitely owe that feat to our kids being in school.
Nice to meet you and I look forward to following!
Hi Nicole!
Yes, kids can ground you down (that and finally retiring from the Army - which my husband did - can help). So when we picked a place to settle down, we pretty much did that. Of course, now that I've lived through lots of winters, I'm wondering what the heck we were thinking when we chose Ohio (me being from California and him Florida!).
Oh well, thanks for commenting and super thanks for following!
I use school as my basis for determining time. We moved a decent amount (nothing like you) and at pivotal times, so I went to 5 different k-12 schools. Then there's the Jr. college joke experience, the Jr. college real experience, university, graduate, and then my experiences as a teacher in different schools.
When I'm no longer teaching I wonder if I'll transfer my reliance on school as a baseline to my kid's schools. :)
Hi Erin!
I can't judge time by my children's ages. Isn't that strange? In fact, I will think about where we lived and struggle to remember how old they were (if they were even born!). Well, I never said I wasn't weird!
Thanks for commenting!
Until 2 1/2 years ago I lived my entire life within a 1 mile area so sometimes it's really hard to find a grounding point for memories. Usually I end up trying to relate things to when someone died or got married or had a baby.
I went into the military at 17, got married at my first duty station (twice, the second one stuck) then moved several times before coming full circle back to Indiana where I started. We had a kid in each state, our best souvenirs! I track time by when the kids were born or what duty station I was at also. I've been here almost as long as where I grew up.
Great post!
Mary - I can't imagine living in one city for that long. You must have lots of friends and relatives nearby. Wish I did!
Todd - I always said my son was my Alaskan souvenir!
Thanks for commenting!
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