Be open, flexible and Gutsy, as you never know where the blogging world can take you.
Thanks to Dee Fitzgerald, “Doctor Eclectic” one of my blogger friends and followers, I am speaking at the MOAA (Military Officers Association of America) South Coast Chapter.
You may be wondering:
- Why?
- How did this happen?
- What has Sonia Marsh got to do with the MOAA?
- What does her forthcoming travel memoir: Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family’s Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island, have to do with the Military Officers Association of America.
- What can she possibly be speaking about since she doesn’t have a military background?
Well, Dee was interested in our family’s escape from materialism and has followed me for several years on my blog. The topic of my speech is:
“I never thought my son would become a soldier.”
Our year in Belize, from 2004-2005, changed my family. Upon our return to Orange County, California, my youngest son decided he wanted to attend a military high school. I shall bring aspects of our life before, during and after our year in Belize.
Here is an excerpt from my book, when my husband and I were on our scouting trip, prior to moving our family to Belize:
“Barefoot kids walked alongside the road sucking on juicy mangos with orange flesh, dripping like ice cream cones in the heat. Some kids stopped to stare at our white faces; others started running, as if trying to beat our car to the finish line. Solitary shacks appeared, with nothing but a hammock inside them. A few chickens roamed the premises and, sometimes, a lone skinny cow or a horse remained close to a shack. I wondered whether the cow or horse represented a local status symbol—the Belizean version of a BMW on the driveway. What a different environment from ours back home. What would my boys think?“
Has blogging opened up doors for you? If so please share. Which door would you like to have open for you?
Above Photo Credit MOAA website
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Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to submit?
To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

