Month: August 2024

To Its Rightful Place

by pennypostcard • August 23, 2024 • 1 Comment

I believe that when someone passes away, especially at a young age, those who knew them have a responsibility to share their memories with the deceased’s family as much as possible. Once a person is gone, memories of them become incredibly precious. Whether something tangible like photos, letters, or mementos, or intangible like stories and reflections, every memory becomes part of a finite legacy—everything that remains is all there will ever be.

Every mourner experiences the loss of a relationship with the deceased that was theirs alone: irreplaceable, and deeply personal. Each person who loses someone loses a unique version of that person only they knew, and in some way, part of themselves along with it. Sharing memories, even if painful, forms part of the lasting echo of the individual. It helps to preserve their essence in the hearts of those left behind.

Foreign Service

Lucky FSO Numbers: 50 and 20

by pennypostcard • August 11, 2024 • 1 Comment

Earlier this month, I celebrated 19 years of federal service, which includes over a decade at the Department and the remainder split between my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer and my federal civilian roles at the Voice of America and Peace Corps Headquarters.

My federal service anniversary milestone brought to mind two significant numbers for Foreign Service Officers (FSOs): 50 and 20. Often referred to as the “50/20” rule (spoken as “fifty and twenty”), these numbers signify an FSO’s retirement eligibility.

Foreign Service, U.S.

(The Rising Cost of) Family Fun in America

by pennypostcard • August 10, 2024 • 1 Comment

Last summer and again this summer, my husband V and I revisited Water Country USA in Williamsburg, VA, for the first time in several years. Water Country USA, a waterslide park owned by SeaWorld, is located about 150 miles south of Washington, DC. The drive takes us almost two and a half hours each way, depending on traffic, making it an easy day trip by our standards.

We first visited the park in 2010, the year I finally bought my VW. At the time, my stepdaughters—now in their 20s and living on their own—were still in elementary school.

While Water Country USA holds fond memories for me, I wasn’t prepared for how much the cost of family fun in America has skyrocketed nearly 15 years later. I’m still baffled by how people manage to afford it.

Foreign Service, U.S.

End of an Era

by pennypostcard • August 6, 2024 • 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to our trusty 2015 Toyota 4Runner. We’d purchased the red truck as a second vehicle four years earlier – almost to the day – during summer 2020. It had been the height of the COVID pandemic and mere days before we were due to head out to my third tour in Ciudad Juárez. We’d barely had enough time to complete Virginia’s mandatory safety inspection sticker before we’d loaded up both of our vehicles and started our PCS road trip to the border.

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