it's March !

I've been reading over my last few posts and I seem to be showing my dark side. It happens to the best of us, how I wish it could always be sunshine and light.  This roller coaster ride we all are on for sure has all the aspects of a real one doesn't it?

I guess I'm tired and worn out and just ready for some really boring garrison months.   I am part of family readiness and while it's a very rewarding position it's keeps one pretty busy.   At this point it also is a little stressful, phones ringing, emails pinging, texts blowing up my phone. It's all good though,  if in 7 months I was able to help just 1 person find some peace, get some information, made their day easier then it's all been worth it.

SO it's March - new beginnings, flowers starting to bud, baseball news ... sunnier days, warmer weather...  today was a beautiful day here and as I ran my errands I realized people were out there smiling.  What a great thing to see after all of the grumpy faces that the long cold winter caused.

this seems a good a time as any to talk about Family Readiness -

Full disclosure, I'm a huge fan of the Family Readiness program, I think as it develops it's going to be an amazing tool for both parents/extended family members and spouses.   It's still a new program and as with anything new it does have it's growing pains.   Some FRO's, Family Readiness Officers, are great, some not so much.   From speaking with other Marine family members I've begun to notice a bit of a pattern, the better run programs seem to utilize family volunteers on a much more regular basis.  Folks, yes the FRO gets paid to do a job but in reality the job is huge.  Especially during a deployment, but even while in garrison the FRO is going hard mostly all the time.    If you have a FRO that does not respond promptly, hasn't been doing news letters, ( while in garrison this would be every few months, while deployed usually monthly),  then consider asking them if you can volunteer to help.  You don't have to live near the base - especially on the parent/extended family side of it - practically no one lives near a base.   What you do is become a point of contact for family members - the less involved issues can usually be handled by a volunteer ( is there a 96 coming up,  can I ship my Marine packages,  what's a good hotel in the area).   To be clear, you are not involved with your Marines Seniors, they don't even have to know you are part of the program at all if that's how you choose to go about it.  It's all about helping to liaise between the USMC/Unit and families.    The extent of what you do is determined by you.   The way to make things better is to do something - not sit home and complain about it!   The other misconception is that it will spotlight your Marine  this is not so, you're Marine will get more attention by an Opsec violating post on face book by you then by your volunteering.      If all else fails and you are having problems with communication from your FRO,  there is a main # on each bases website for the  family's page.   Call and ask for any advice to get the info you need/want.   The success of the Family Readiness depends on two things - one the Family Readiness team but the other is the family members communicating what they would like to see from the team.

In any event, if you do decide to go the volunteer route I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!