Depending on when you grew up, you may remember summer reruns. The time of the year where the channels would replay reruns of your favorite shows because they were still filming the next season, or the actors were on their own break. Summer vacations could seem so long without your favorite show.
How did you get through the Summer without your favorite show? I know I usually stayed busy outside playing until the street lights came on. It was a season of internal and external change. As Summer went on, tans would form, different friendships would form, we became bored, we actually contemplated in our own youthful ways of life, and as much as we hate to admit it—we missed school. We couldn’t wait to get back and see the friends we had there, you would walk into the first day of class a different person, and so would they.
By the end of summer, with each groan of not wanting to go back to school, you secretly couldn’t wait to reconnect or for your favorite tv show to come back on. Summer vacations had a way of slowing down life as a kid and creating a natural pause. This Summer was one of those; a deliberate restructure of how we live, where our focus is, and who we are becoming. Our family has had a Summer that we are still trying to wrap our brains around, but we know God has something big in store. I am excited to finally come back to Faithful Quill, to see all my friends and show them how much life has changed.
A Mission To Believe In
When I was a young Soldier, deployed and even just stationed in various locations, I would make a safe place at the USO. Traveling through airports, a friendly USO always made the travel easier. I could stop in for a cookie and a soda, relax if I was on a layover, or just converse with fellow military members and veterans. It was a place that shut out all the noise.
With Katie’s experience in event planning, community building and our equal passion for supporting our service members, she was awarded an opportunity to serve in the USO at the Nashville Airport. The USO is an organization that serves our nation’s service members all around the world. A lot of people think of Bob Hope delivering shows to the troops during World War II; an important part of its history. A history Katie actually has through her great-grandfather who served in WWII and met her great-grandmother where they both utilized the USO to find each other and marry. So we both have a history with the USO that helped make who we are. Mine was using the computers in the USO to call home on deployment, hers helped literally create her existence. Either way, we wouldn’t be the people we are today without the USO.
Today, she welcomes a group of new recruits that come through her office almost every day and sends them off to their respective branch training. So far she has only dealt with Army and Navy, but I know she will experience so many more. These young recruits are going through their own season of change that only about 1% of Americans experience. A feeling I know all too well and I am so happy that my wife is able to help them overcome some of their nerves as they take on this major journey.
Operation New Setting
Because it is at the Nashville Airport, this required us to put our house up for sale, pack our house up, and make a fairly large move. We are still in the process of moving at the time of writing this. Though our house is up for sale, we maintain a residency in my hometown in Michigan. This isn’t the kind of move I am used to in the Army, where the Army takes care of most everything and all I have to do is get on a plane. No, there were deep logistical barriers that we needed to get through this time around.
When I was in the Army, it was a quick motion for me to move. A moving company would be paid for by the Army, come grab my life which fit inside a small room in the barracks, deliver it to another location, while I boarded a plane and flew to said location. Today, I have my wife, myself and two kids to move. That means, school records need to be transferred, housing needs to be researched, vetted and acquired, and of course we need to make a determination on where to attend Mass. We are still working on that, as our plans didn’t go exactly how we would have liked.
This move happened so quickly. A month is not a lot of time to completely uproot our lives and get situated comfortably. The kids would have to get down here quickly because school starts earlier than it does in Michigan. So we raced to find a house that would accommodate what we needed in a school district. We needed our new school to have good ratings with reputable staff and student population, one with an orchestra, and stability to replant ourselves.
What many may not know is my daughter is quite the accomplished cellist. We are proud of her accomplishments as she has grown through the years playing in an elementary orchestra and now through middle school. We absolutely needed an orchestra for her to continue her growth. Looking into the school district, we found one close enough to the USO for Katie and one with an orchestra—so we thought. Turns out there is an orchestra in the school district, it starts at a different middle school and then continues on through the High School. You would think Music City would have more opportunities to grow in music, that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to classically trained musicians. For now, our daughter must practice on her own and keep up with her skills until she can play in High School.
Along with our daughter’s musical talent, we have our son who is an avid athlete. If there is a way to turn something into sport, he will do it. If it involves a ball, he can play it. While in Michigan, we were not planning on making such a drastic move so quickly. We signed up our son for his first season of Soccer. We paid for it and little did we know we would have to race him down to Nashville and get him signed up and paid for in a different league. He was practicing his first week in Nashville, while I stayed in Michigan to handle different logistics. On top of Soccer, he is a great mixed martial artist in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. So we needed to find him a gym that we can continue his BJJ journey. It took three different gyms and me traveling back and forth from Michigan to Tennessee to finally find the gym we are excited to get him in. We are looking forward to the growth of a new gym and our kids’ continued growth in their respective sports. Just didn’t think it would take so much work to reestablish our roots for those activities.
Locked out
Our number one priority to find some kind of stability in our new environment was to find a church. Our family thoroughly enjoys the Traditional Latin Mass and we especially appreciate reverent masses when not in Latin. Though the Liturgy of the Mass is the same everywhere—after all, we are Catholic. That doesn’t mean all Catholic Churches are the same. Universal still has local vibes to it, if you know what I mean. We thought we found a Church to attend the TLM at. However, when we arrived for the Holy Day of Obligation, we were left standing at the front doors looking at scaffolding and a closed building. Traditional Latin Masses are somewhat hard to come by. All over the country they are being suppressed by different Bishops. It’s the same here, in Tennessee. There are limited locations offering the TLM. So, for now, we are still on the hunt for a Church that meets our criteria of being reverent at the very least, and offers the TLM at most.
I have covered change here on Faithful Quill before. Specifically the seasons of change and this particular season for my family has been a time to uproot and a time to plant. This is a time to break everything down that we once knew and rebuild. During the summer of uprooting, the writing stopped and our developed routines were thrown out. There were moments that felt like we were standing at a closed door, staring at the scaffolding and waiting for whatever was happening on the other side.
That is what Summer does. It slows everything down. It forces us to weed out what is left in the garden as we quietly prepare for the next season.
Here’s the deal: it was quiet for an entire Summer and while we stared at the scaffolding, we did it together. The reruns are over; the new season of The Faithful Quill is back. While I am still finding solid ground to stand on, our family is still searching for a church, and the kids settle into their new lives, we recognize we are exactly where God intends for us to be. In Acts 14:17 God provides the rains and fruitful seasons. He is the one that nourishes us and brings joy to our hearts. We know and we trust in God to lead us through this journey.
If you have been in a season of uprooting, a change you didn’t plan, or a summer that left you different—share it in the comments. I genuinely love to hear from you all. If you know someone going through a crazy change—share this with them. Let them know they are not alone and we will pray together.