OWH Is a Star!

Regular readers know that my husband served in the US Air Force for twenty years. One of the happiest days of my life was the day he retired. No more deployments! No more PCS's!

PCS stands for Permanent Change of Station...meaning "a move to yet another place." We moved nine times in 16 years...all but one of those moves was a "permanent" change of station. The odd-ball, by the way, was called a TDY en route, or "temporary" duty on the way to a "permanent" destination. We spent six months in Abilene, Texas, for George's transition training from the B-52 to the B-1, and then moved to Wichita, Kansas, where we lived "permanently" for two-and-a-half years.

It's crazy.

But it was worth it. I am so proud of George's service in peace and in war, and I am so proud to have been a part of that life. But it is a hard life, away from family, always on the move, holding down the fort while the military member is off getting shot at...or sailing and drinking margaritas in Key West because his jet broke down during an exercise with the Naval Air Station.

While George was waiting for his B-52 to be fixed, I was shoveling two feet of snow in Michigan. George came home after two weeks with a sunburn. I might have hated him just a little bit for that.

But all kidding aside, the deployments were the worst. Absolutely the worst. I don't have funny stories about them. Even now, years later, just thinking about them ties my stomach in knots.

Operation Write Home provides an invaluable service for our deployed service men and women...and for their families back home. Each card we make and send to OWH serves as a little life-line of love between us and our military and then between them and their loved ones.

What an amazing organization to support! Over three million cards have been sent overseas, and despite draw-downs, there is still a need for cards.

Today's card left my house in a box yesterday bound for OWH, along with 70 other cards, all stamped with the OWH logo, stuffed into envelopes, and sorted by theme. Who knows where it will end up, but I sure hope it serves its purpose of letting the troops know they are loved and supported...and letting a family member or friend feel connected to his or her soldier, sailor, airman, or marine on deployment.

On this card, I was going for the "looking through the telescope at something far, far away" idea. The single star by the sentiment helps unify the design, as do the rounded corners, and the inks are Brilliance pearlescent...which are so shimmery and pretty and perfect!

Many thanks to all of you who support OWH. If you want to start sending cards, please make sure you read all the guidelines and shipping details on the website: Operation Write Home.

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Brilliance galaxy gold, poppy
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: Creative Memories circle cutter, Corner Chomper, dimensionals