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Welcome to Keep Moving Forward!

In 1999 I went on a hike in northern Israel. A long stretch of the hike was a dry riverbed full of softballish-size rocks. It was almost impossible for me to find my balance and stand in one place. The only way to get through it was to keep going; to keep moving forward.

After my husband testified in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump, our lives and our plans were completely upended. We took some time to heal and process then we had to determine how we could keep moving forward.

In deciding how to fight for the things that matter to me, I knew I would never have the strength to do it unless everything I did felt authentic to me. The benefit to finding my public voice in middle age was already having a good sense of who I am and what is most important to me.

My rule of thumb is I want my husband, daughter, brothers, friends, neighbors, and anyone else who knows me in real life to listen to my podcast or read something I write and think, “Yes, that’s Rachel!” And that’s what I’m going to do here which means there will be sarcasm, snark, and humor—I mean none of us are going to survive right now if we can’t laugh at the absurdity of it all!—and also honesty about my shortcomings, my fears, and my struggles.

A lot of people think they are missing a secret ingredient necessary to use their voice to advocate for the causes near and dear to them. That couldn’t be further from reality! Rather, it is the authenticity of your story and courage to speak out that changes minds. 

I want this to be fun! There was a time I enjoyed Twitter; I met people there who have become real life friends who I now see and speak with regularly. It was heartening when people offered encouragement and support to those who were hurting and the exchange of thoughts and humor was fun. I didn’t realize how special it was until it no longer felt safe. I’m not trying to create a giant social media platform here, but I want this space to have those good things that place was for me once upon a time.

I want to build a community! One of the other things I love about social media is the ability to follow people of diverse backgrounds. Many of my long-held beliefs were just plain wrong and I have benefited from people helping me see things in a different way. Having a community who accepts you where you are while also being willing to pushback and help you challenge your views and look at things from a diffident perspective is invaluable. I want to hear what you’re doing in your community, what you want to do, and what holds you back.

I want to show you how cluttered my kitchen island is so you can feel better about your life! Some days cleaning this space while listening to Taylor Swift counts as my self care and some days I leave it all there and make calls to friends during which I talk about issues because advocating for what is important to me is also self care. Theoretically I could clean the clutter while I talk but I usually don’t and that’s okay. Show me your clutter/mountains of laundry/dishes in the sink and tell me what you did instead of taking care of those things. (FYI: If you tell me you left everything and watched Netflix or read a book, we might be soulmates.)

Sorry, who are you?

I am Rachel Vindman. I know that’s a complete sentence but I’m generally introduced as Rachel Vindman, wife of Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Alexander Vindman. I am the person who was having lunch at FIVE GUYS with Alex Vindman, then Director of European Affairs and the National Security Council working specifically on Ukraine, when Trump and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine met for the first time during the UN General Assembly in 2019. I gently asked, “I appreciate you being here to support me as I prepare for my first meeting as a Girl Scout troop leader, but is everything going okay at work? Seems like you should be there [points to TV]. Is there anything we need to talk about?” He just gave me a look. He does that a lot.

I’m a typical [former] military spouse in that I’ve had a strange mix of jobs from teacher to flight attendant to retail employee and a whole host of volunteer positions and now I am an activist. I consider it my responsibility to use our family’s story to shed light on the dangers of encroaching authoritarianism in the United States.

I help others find their voice and I am honest about the fact that I am also new to this work because it’s possible to start from zero and make a meaningful difference quickly.

Why subscribe?

I subscribe to several (many?) Substacks because I value the writers’ work and I want to help support their efforts. I also appreciate that the content comes directly to my inbox.

In choosing to become a paid member you are providing an opportunity for me to protect my independence as a writer and community builder. There are so many different platforms now but this is the place where you can most easily find me. I welcome you to come together with me and other thinkers to engage in thoughtful discussion. These are the perks available to paid subscribers:

• You will have access to every post and my archive. 

• You can comment on my posts and see my Substacks Threads.

• You will have an open invitation to a causal weekly Zoom meeting—sometimes with special guests!—where we can discuss all the things. 

If you are not able to be a paid subscriber now, I am grateful you are here and you will receive about two posts a week. If you really want to join this community but cannot afford it at this time, please reach out to me; believe me, I’ve been there.

I value your support, input, and participation!

I am so glad you’re here with me so we can keep moving forward together.