Tag: Pandemic

Lifestyle, Writing, Podcasting, Military Life, Inspirtation, North Carolina

Things Will Get Worse (before things will get better)

alisonpaulklak

I remember vividly when 9-11 happened. I— along with my brother and father— watched the second plane fly straight into the stately World Trade Center. We stood in front of my parent’s television in our former home in Washington, North Carolina, mouths agape. Later that evening as news reports and images of a war scene on the streets of New York City unfolded, I remember feeling as scared and helpless as I’d ever felt. I remember thinking that life could not possibly become worse here in the USA. Our pride and freedoms had been assaulted at home… on our soil. So many precious lives lost. Then I became an Army girlfriend then wife, and survived the stressors of my husband’s deployments to Afghanistan. Once, I heard a bomb explode during a phone call he made to me from a firebase in the middle of Afghanistan. The call suddenly disconnected. I became hysterical. I thought, “things could not get worse.” Years later, mass shootings began to happen here in the US regularly. We almost became numb to the monthly, weekly tragedies. I once again thought it could not possibly get worse. Especially, the evening the news broke of young children murdered in a school in Connecticut (Sandy Hook Elementary)— as I held my three-month-old son in my arms. And now, here we are in the year 2020.

Lifestyle, Writing, Podcasting, Military Life, Inspirtation, North Carolina

Porch Talk: Three Friends Talk “Coping” During #PANDEMIC (while raising children/pregnancy)

alisonpaulklak

I recently had the chance to porch sit with my bestie neighbor, Miranda Crosby and our mutual friend Danica Thomas, to talk about the ups and downs we’ve experienced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic— and how we have coped with the changes in our lives. We brought our unique perspectives, backgrounds, personalities, quirks to the microphone 🎙 to chat candidly about this strange time in life that has turned the world 🌎 upside down. Miranda— an Army spouse whose husband deployed overseas in January— is pregnant with their first child all while wading through these new socially distant waters sans her husband. Danica— a widowed Army spouse, is a military suicide awareness and prevention advocate raising two young daughters as a single parent while working and virtually homeschooling her daughters all on her own. Alison (me)— an Army spouse, children’s book author, writer, podcaster trying to juggle content creation, marketing, writing, book sales while rejoicing as the final week of the school year approaches for her second grader. Thank the LORD.

Lifestyle, Writing, Podcasting, Military Life, Inspirtation, North Carolina

A Prayer for our Children in Uncertain Times

alisonpaulklak

The past months have been really trying thanks to Covid-19 as well as so many societal issues. Some days it feels as if the world is coming to an end. Like we are all going to be swallowed up whole. But, despite it all, I am inspired by the resilience of humanity. Our ability to adapt and change. To fight for ourselves and what is right. To find the best in the worst of situations. Our real care and concern of others. I know if you turn on the news or read comments on social media, it might paint a different picture. But I believe that most of us want the best for one another. I know, because I see it daily in my community and my inner circle. Tonight, I’m sending out a prayer for all children in the world. A prayer that will cover them in what is good and true. A prayer to guide them to inner peace, love and joy.