To the “Vow” Not Taken: Meet Ally, Our Newest Blogger

Everyone makes a vow in their lifetime. Most of them probably have something to do with marriage. As a military child growing up,  I vowed (and I mean vowed like it was a Latin Novela Scene, shouting at the sky to no one really) to NEVER, EVER marry into the military.

I am sure God laughed a little at that moment. Here I am about 20 or so years later, and I just celebrated my 15th anniversary to my Airman. Life is definitely unpredictable!.

My name is Rosamarie Darnell but everyone calls me Ally. However, I call myself (and my personal blog) “Hot Mess Express and Company.” My life has truly been a hot mess, meets a series of unfortunate events. I try to relate with a touch of humor, as my personality grew to be. I live the definition of “not a dull moment” around here, truly!

My Background

I grew up in Peru and my middle name (Alejandra) given to me by my parents, was meant to be an ode to Alexander the Great, but in Spanish.  My father was the biggest history geek that I have ever known. For perspective, at the time most kids start school, parents are usually thrilled to start their bundles of joy with children’s books.

Not my parents….

My mom got philosophical with Aesop fables right away with a test at the end of each fable about what the “lesson” was. My father went a few notches higher. He took me to his office in the house, opened the library door and handed me this huge stack of small books.

“Bought these when you were born,” he proudly announced as I looked upon the world history books. He grabbed one from around the middle and said, “Here, we start with our ancestors… the Roman Empire.”

I stood there thinking, “Oh, wonderful, more homework.”

As much as I joke about it, I am truly grateful for their quirkiness. It opened the door for my love and passion for reading. I spent months enthralled (at just age 7 and 8) learning all about world history (specifically written for children).

My Father was also quite proud of his Italian heritage and on Sundays, the family would gather together and speaking Italian only, was the rule after lunch. Sadly after he passed away when I was 10, speaking Italian had a twinge of pain in my heart and it took me years to speak it again. My father truly, (actually both my parents) is an entire blog entry on its own, for my childhood was definitely a unique journey.

My Time as a Mother and a Key Spouse

I spent many of the past 15 years volunteering and taking care of my family. I have two beautiful children that I will talk about more in my next post.

Most of my volunteering has been as a key spouse for the Air Force with the main job of helping to take care of the families (Similar to SFRG leader in the Army).

Last fall, I didn’t volunteer, so my husband signed me up proudly shouting, “I believe in you!”

So, here I am again, lead and only key spouse, not any less daunting because I already did this, but if you add a whole new generation of spouses who could well be my kids, it is true, one has to adapt and roll with it.

I am an introvert as I’ve mentioned, talking about me…not my strength. Ironically, I love mandatory fun events. I grew up going to those, so, to me, it feels like home. However, my favorite part is grabbing my food and sitting down to eat, watching people have fun and looking at the kiddos. Childhood can be magically loud and messy, but what a time to just let your imagination go…plus the cute outfits. Easter is usually my favorite event. All the cute outfits on the babies!

However as THE key spouse, my introvert time had to go and I had to truly cross my comfort zone by miles and reach people, so they would know me. I’m not here to know your business. I am here to say, “How can I help?—Judgment free.”

My husband had recently deployed a few years ago, and almost like it was a movie scene, the house let me know, “It’s on!”

You know, as in Murphy’s Law when he is TDY or deploys. The lightbulb, which he had just replaced before taking his bags to the car as precaution, literally exploded. I nodded and said, of course, “why not?”

I would find myself saying those very words, A LOT in the upcoming days.

Stay tuned for my next post where I will talk about the crazy chapter of my life entitled, “Why Not?”

*For another perspective about going from a military kid (like Ally) to marrying a service member (again, like Ally) check out Expert Blogger “Just Moved Ministry” as they tackle a similar subject Confronting the Changes in Your Life.