Growing up I was a latch key kid.

There weren’t a lot of us at the time. We were the children of the working class or single parents. We wore keys around our necks to ensure we didn’t lose them and when we arrived home at the end of the day there was nobody to meet us because they were working.

Being the child of a single mom in a time when there were few single parents made our family the minority. It was the early 80s when I started wearing the key. I was in Grade 4 and I wore that key with pride, in the beginning. I had a key to our house. Our home. Our castle. I was trusted and it felt good.

The week I began “the job of a lifetime” our family’s oldest cat’s health took a turn for the worst.

Last December I applied for a job as a reporter at the local daily paper here in the Ottawa Valley. I was hired and started the job at the end of February. I am still working hard on Ubiquitous and I still believe love and passion make the world go around – but unfortunately they don’t pay the bills. Plus, working at a daily newspaper is a great experience for any writer.

So, I began my job and our 17 year-old feline’s health failed. I adopted Fred on Halloween eve 1995. We had adopted his sister Winnie a week before from the Chilliwack SPCA. I went to pay for her, and picked Fred up, much to my husband’s dismay. We adopted them for our oldest daughter’s second birthday. They were very young – five weeks old- and sickly when they joined our family. They took up residence on our bed and slept on our pillows. They were grey tabbies and beautiful.

I wouldn’t call myself a world traveller, but I have planned the occasional trip to Europe, Disneyworld, St. Martin and our family’s most recent venture at Christmas to Panama.

While planning the Panama trip I spent hours on-line to avoid an overnight stay in Miami due to the hassle of seven people getting off a flight, piling into a cab and checking into a hotel; then packing up the next morning to catch a flight, plus the extra costs associated with an overnight stay – hotel, cab and food. But as I learned sometimes destiny is unavoidable.

I was presented my Enduring Spouse Pin last October.

I was covering an event at the Pembroke Legion where a number of local politicians were in attendance. I had just finished snapping a group photo of the all the dignitaries and I was asking Member of Parliament Cheryl Gallant a few questions when she asked me whether she had ever presented me with anything.

Not only do I struggle with our great Canadian winters I also have difficulties with New Year’s resolutions.

Over the years I have learned to refrain from making resolutions as I end up setting myself up for failure because I don’t stick with them. And this year is no exception. I only made one and I managed to blow it on day four.

For my mental health and my puppy’s well being, which contributes to my well being, I promised her and myself I would walk her daily.

I love Christmas.

I love the lights, the decorations, the music, the smell of pine, purchasing and putting up the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music and best of all watching Christmas movies with my family. This tradition started many years ago before VCRs and DVDs, when we still had to rely on the cable companies to schedule Christmas movies. Hence, it was one of the only times I could watch the Sound of Music, still one of my all time favourite movies.

My children are no strangers when it comes to bullying.

The most recent episode was when my oldest daughter was in Grade 11. The bully had moved away and then returned to the school after March break. I assume she bullied because she felt threatened by my daughter. So the bullying started. My daughter’s after school mood would usually depend on what the bully did that day.

The bully was mean, cruel and relentless, but what was worse was how my daughter’s friends responded in the beginning as the bystanders.

I was 19 years old when I first travelled on the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, more commonly known as the 401. It is fast, overwhelming and has a lot of lanes that run through what my husband calls the “centre of the universe” -  Toronto.

The 401 runs from the Quebec border down to the border crossing into Windsor. It is over 800 kilometres long and depending at what speed you travel, takes several hours to drive.

Outside of Toronto the 401 can be a pleasant drive, especially travelling from Toronto to Ottawa; albeit there is a lot of traffic and lots of large transport trucks, which take away from the rolling hills, farmland and the calm shores of Lake Ontario. Nevertheless, it is a scenic journey through Eastern Ontario.

However, on the afternoon of December 30, 2008, when I looked to the east, toward Kingston, the flashing lights of the police cars caught my eye. There were rows of them, one in each lane and behind them oncoming traffic was stopped.

My first introduction to the MFRC was well into my military spouse career. I had already experienced one tour, UNIKOM (United Nations International Kuwait Observer Mission), where 1CER deployed to Kuwait. As spouses we were somewhat left to fend for ourselves. There were no MRFCs. We were given a desk, chair and phone in an office at the old 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in Chilliwack B.C. We volunteered to man the phone in case a spouse was experiencing a problem, needed help or wanted support.

The troops left behind supported us the best they could and since many military families don’t live near family they often turn to the experience, wisdom and fortitude of more experienced military wives.

Military Family Retraces their Military Roots

6 People, 5 European Countries, 1 Van: How will it end? 

Heading to Europe for three weeks for our family of six will fulfill a dream for our four children, and accomplish a goal for both my husband and I.

With a rented Mercedes van that seats nine, our family has a round trip vacation booked this October/November to Paris. With stops throughout Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France it will be a vacation like none other.

As a Lahr, Germany “brat” from the 70’s, I am looking forward to a return to the Black Forest, and Central Europe. My husband, having been posted to Baden Baden twice in the 80’s, equally looks forward to letting our teens and young adults experience the wicker, clocks, roman baths and castles of Germany; the canals, windmills, museums and food of The Netherlands and Belgium; and the history, villages, wines and pottery of France.

Click here for Teresa's full blog.

While it may appear we vanished without a trace this summer, the title pretty much describes my summer, spending time with my kids, while we all looked after the abundant number of cats in our home and kicking the ball on the soccer field. All of us play soccer. While I could go on and on about the summer, in simplest terms - it was a busy, hectic, crazy and we weren’t even posted. Sort of.

Our oldest daughter Madeline moved on. She graduated from high school and joined the military. In August we dropped her off in St. Jean, Quebec, at the Megaplex.