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Friday, April 25, 2014

V - VICISSITUDES

Vicissitudes - successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs: They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.

Today, my A to Z Blog Challenge word is "VICISSITUDE." This is a wonderful word that describes the one constant in life - Change! 


One of my first object lessons of vicissitude came when I was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.  I enlisted while still a Senior in high school and reported for induction in August after I had graduated. I went through basic training and tech school. I then reported, with my new wife, to my first duty station, Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


So I went from being a single, wet-behind-the-ears high school graduate to becoming a married wet-behind-the-ears Airman in the beginning of his military service and his married life. 

While stationed in New Mexico my beloved wife and I became parents to a beautiful baby boy. So you can add wet-behind-the-ears father to the list enumerated above.


After a couple of years at Kirtland Air Force Base I was transferred to RAF Sculthorpe in the United Kingdom, that is merry olde England. Unfortunately my beloved wife and son were unable to accompany me. I was a newlywed with a fairly new son who was being separated from his new family living alone in military barracks.


After a year in England, I re-enlisted and with my re-up bonus I was able to bring my wife and son to England. We lived on base in military housing. While there we were blessed with the birth of an adorable baby girl. So now we were a family of four.

Of such are the vicissitudes of life. There have been many more changes over the past forty plus years, some were good and some were not so good. Like I said, the one constant of life is - Change! 

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