Saved by Army Community Services
Ever been displaced somewhere for the day? We were. I decided to spend the day at Fort Carson yesterday as I needed new tags and my dad had appointments on post to outprocess from his deployment. Bright and early, I loaded the kids, a picnic lunch, strollers, oh, and Dad, into the car and drove a hour and a half south to the Mountain Post. My plan was to find a park and run off some energy outside while my Dad completed his appointments. I stepped out of the vehicle registration building at 8:45 a.m. and almost lost my new post tags in a gust of wind. As I hunched over scrambling to the car, my park plans quickly blew away.
I left Dad at the Transition Center for his first appointment and spotted a car wash across the street. Never underestimate how entertaining a five minute car wash can be for toddlers. Problem was the car wash only took five minutes and the boys were pretty sick of their car seats. I remembered passing a building on the way in called “The Family Connection” and hoped for the best as we pulled into the empty parking lot at 9:00 a.m.
Bubba and Zeke taking advantage of the Toy Room
We must have looked pretty wind blown and cranky because a sweet Family Readiness representative bustled us right into an indoor playroom and showed me where I could use computers. Sweet! The building provided services for family members that were… well, displaced. It included an indoor play area, outdoor play area, T.V.s, computers, etc. About 15 minutes into a Bubba-directed puppet show, a Korean support group came in for their monthly lunch. The three elderly Korean women offered food to my kids (Bubba was down with the strawberries but only took one bite of the Mandu) while I chatted with an older Korean gentlemen about my recent training in Seoul last month.
We left the Family Connection a few hours later full and tired from playing. I am grateful for everything they had to offer as they kept my toddlers completely entertained on a day that could have been miserable. Military Installations across the world have community centers with more programs than I could even try to list. Many are not being used, like the Korean Support group with only a few members on Fort Carson. I was saved that day and you could be too if you research a little before heading on post.
Not sure of the services available in your area? Google Army Community Services or the military installation near you. Here’s information I found for Colorado (Please note that I did not include Peterson Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base, or Schriever Air Force Base in this list.):
Fort Carson Army Community Services, Colorado Springs CO
Buckley Air Force Base Community Services, Denver CO
Oh and don’t forget about Outdoor Recreation. We rent from them every year!
Fort Carson Outdoor Recreation
Buckley Air Force Base Outdoor Recreation
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