Reflections

I stand in the backyard,staring, watching in silence as the soldiers across the way gently hoist Old Glory to half mast.The bugle plays, the sound of the flag cracking the silence in the cool autumn air.My four year old walks outside and holds my hand,her tiny fingers curl around mine.I listen.It's Saturday morning..and there is no noise to be heard. A hushed silence has fallen over the base.I hear no cars, no people walking their dogs,no children playing.No cadence is called this morning.It may be a Saturday, but no cadence would be called even if it was Monday.My daughter asks me in a whisper,"Mommy,why are you outside?" I looked at her,the most beautiful precious thing I have and I smile a gentle smile so she doesn't worry. "I'm reflecting." She stares at me for a moment with a quizzical expression, eyebrows cocked,lip slightly curled."Like in a mirror,where you see your face?" "Kinda" I reply.
What she doesn't realize is in a way, I am looking into a mirror.One that takes me back in time, to another early autumn morning.I see myself sitting in class. Mr.Blaine's Western Civ class.I was suppose to be taking a quiz I had missed earlier in the week.There were four of us.We had all heard on the radio about the first plane.As we sat down at the desks,pencil in hand, we heard the distinct sound of a remote control clicking the television on.I looked back, waiting for the go ahead to watch the TV in the front of the room.He nodded his head and took a seat next to us.We all watched the reporter, transfixed on what seemed to be a dream.Smoke and ash filled the screen,people calling out,crying for loved ones.We saw it.We watched in horror as in the background of the live report a plane drew closer and closer to the building.For a second we thought this must be a replay of the earlier plane.People began running,and screaming,silence and fear washed over the room.I knew then,that nothing would ever be the same again.
I turned around to see my daughter asleep peacefully on the couch,safe,unaware of the world around her,tears filled the corners of my eyes, knowing how much that day 9 years ago changed my life.You see,I haven't forgotten.My family hasn't forgotten.The world, well in a lot of ways,they have all forgotten. I load my homepage. The news.I was expecting more.Really, I was.Nothing on the front page had anything to do with the day those towers fell, nothing to do with the soldiers who fight for our freedom still to this day because of it.Tiny video blurbs grace the bottom of the page, all about "remembrance." What are you remembering? What are they remembering? One day out of the year, people walk around saying "Remember when...."and they forget to "remember NOW." Every day I wake up to the sound of a bugle playing and the colors being raised.Platoons of soldiers,run in unison,step by step, singing cadence calls.I kiss my husband goodbye as he goes to join them.While he is gone I place the patches on his uniform, and pin his aviation wings above the name tape on his jacket that says "U.S Army." No, I can't just remember when,when I live in a world that remembers now.I know how frightening it is to go through pregnancy with your first child, alone,because of training.How raising her by yourself for the first six months feels,because training for war, took him from his family.How two weeks of R and R couldn't possibly make up for the almost 17 months spent in Iraq during the surge,or the 11 months of daily fear that just passed.As a military family,you remember.It effects you every day,in every fiber of your existence.That being said,I wouldn't have it any other way.This is my life.The effects of September 11th 2001 can't really be felt on a daily basis for people who aren't apart of it still.When you wake up, you get ready for work, drive your nice car,go to lunch,go to school...whatever it is that you do, you do it, without thinking.There's a safety net.My husband, my family, is one of many who help put it there.While you sit at your desk drinking your tall Starbucks macchiato, complaining about being late because of traffic, a soldier patrols the streets of Baghdad.As you drive safely down your city street,a soldier mourns for the brother he just lost when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb.You complain about being tired,about how your sick child kept you up all night, while a soldier watches the birth of his first born on web cam,staying up all night with the wife he loves, even though he's already been up for days.As you sit comfortably on your couch watching the latest celebrity gossip crisis that graces our society,a woman cries.Alone in an empty bed, in an empty house,praying that he comes home to her.People burn books,hold protests,and hate this country.People just don't give a shit anymore.They don't remember,as much as you may say you do.The ones who really remember,are the ones who mourn the flag draped casket.Whose tears fall endlessly, silently weeping.The sound of the 21 gun salute,a forever echo in their ears.I'm sure those left behind have all asked the question "Why?" I'm inclined to ask the same.Looking at this world. Looking at the people in it. Look at how they spit on this country and rub dirt deeper and deeper into those red white and blue threads.People have lost sight of what is really important.I am thankful for being in the suck, for knowing I could never lose sight of what it means to be an American.I live walk and breathe amongst the bravest of heros'. I remember.My family is one of many who remember.On a daily basis, we know our world could be turned upside down, yet here we are.Doing what most aren't willing to.It's a simple question you must ask yourself.Put into perspective your life, every day.If we could all ask ourselves this one thing,our world could change.So as you sit down to enjoy your morning cup of coffee, or drive our safe city streets,or hold your newborn child in your arms for the first time, ask yourself this "Have I forgotten?"

With just a dash....

The boys have a nickname for me. When I refer to the boys, I mean the soldiers in my husbands unit. The ones that have become more like family than friends. The ones who even if my husband is away, will come to replace the battery in my truck without a second thought, just because I asked them to. The ones that are always welcome at my home, and know that I will feed them and give them a place to sleep if they needed it. The ones who I trust to save my husbands life,as I know he would do the same for them. The ones who all have "uncle" in front of their names. Those boys. My other fly boys. They have a name for me. It was a nickname given to me from the last deployment as a joke, but it became a term of endearment. You see DH always calls me pet names. We have always called each other pet names. In fact, he knows how much it drives me crazy when he calls me by my actual name. He does it on purpose just to get a rise out of me. So along with all of his sweet nothings, like baby,my love,sweetheart,love of my life, you know THOSE ones that every time the words float off of his lips it's like a thousand butterflies took flight in my heart (yes, even after all these years, he still does it to me) the boys decided to come up with their own name for me. They decided on Cornbread. When they came home and started calling me that, well, I was not impressed. I thought they could have done better. I mean, if you're going to call me a food that is endearing, and American, call me apple pie or something! Alas, no, Cornbread stuck. I did ask them one time why they called me that. They told me it was because they like me, I was sweet, just like cornbread,and they loved cornbread. I guess in the male world that was suppose to be a good thing, a compliment of sorts. The old adage is you get to a mans heart through his stomach. I think I am living proof of that.
I started thinking about that today.Cornbread is a very American, and southern might I add (since I am from Oklahoma) food. It has long been the mainstay of many meals. Often stretching a meal for mere pennies in order to fill everyone up that sat around the table.It's always welcome at any table. At a potluck, a picnic,a home cooked dinner. Next to chili,and dumplings,and steak, even milk. Yes, cornbread has always been a welcome addition. It's warm, and sweet, and I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like cornbread. The settlers used to cook cornbread in cast iron skillets over open flame on the Oregon trail. Some days it was all they had to eat. In a weird way, I kinda like being called that, even if it is unconventional.It epitomizes everything I try to be. Everything I strive to be,things that may only matter to me. It's sweet,warm,makes you feel good,is versatile and functional in all aspects,likable,economical,yet resilient. It can be made into pie crusts,corn bread,johnny cakes,added to cookies,even muffins. It is a box or bag of many different colors. Just like me.I wear many hats as an Army wife. Some are better than others, but regardless the mission is completed.Even alone, cornbread can make a bad day better,and make you feel full. My life is full. Full of so many wonderful things, and wonderful people. I could not ask for better boys than my fly boys. I could not ask for a more loving,devoted,caring,perfect husband.I could not ask for a more amazing life than what he has given me. No we aren't rich according to my bank account, and we can't have a life full of the grand material possessions, but I have them. DH and DD. The two people in the world that make my life complete. Without either one of them I would be lost.. Some days I wake up, and have to remind myself why my husband has to be away from his family again. We are part of a bigger picture. One that we are proud to be part of.My husband is an amazing man,and the telephone can never take place of his smile,but hearing his voice can make a dark day bright again.I love him more every day for loving me,despite my imperfections.
No, I may not be something exotic, and full of different spices, and I may not be something as lavish as a an apple pie, but those things leave you empty at the end of the day. I am just Cornbread.With a little pinch of something, I can be anything I need to be,anything you want me to be, right then and there. Ultimately when the light outside begins to fade and the kitchen starts shutting down, I'm still me. I come from the same blue box that I started in, regardless of what I was able to become that day. Thankfully, my husband has always been a sucker for Jiffy.

Reality Check? NNNAAAHHH

I'm tired. Not sure exactly why, except of course for a very long plane ride and a dynamic change of routine and time zone. I am glad to be back temporarily in the land of gas in the $2 range again. Although as much as I was glad to see those mountains, and breathe the dry air again, I realized today when I went grocery shopping, how completely, totally, without a doubt, out of place I am. Walking into the WalMart I exclaimed to DD that she wasn't allowed to sit in the back of the cart, or the MP's(military police) might come arrest her... people around me were staring awkwardly my direction. It dawned on me then, that there wasn't a MP around for miles and miles and miles, nor did any of the people around me have any idea what I was talking about. How eagerly I strolled the aisles of the Super wally-world, commenting about prices, giddy with excitement over things I hadn't been able to eat in years, and while checking out, had to stop myself, when I reached back to my wallet to hand the bagger a tip. I don't think that is acceptable in normal society. I don't know any more if I am acceptable in normal society. Entering the airport terminal, carrying an ACU assault pack, full of snacks and toys, didn't seem that odd in a place where so many military members travel all the time.Landing was a different story. I bounced along toting my carry-on, not realizing for a few minutes that what the people were staring at around us...was, well....US. Me with DH's assault pack, DD wearing her dog tags and her MY Daddy MY Hero shirt she had to change in to on the plane, we looked like foreigners from a different land.... I was being stared at as if I was running naked through the airport exclaiming that my hair was on fire. We were the epitome of a slightly odd mixture of the classic US Army "Ready" Pin-up and a Norman Rockwell painting. I was the apple pie.
A military base is routinely called "the fish bowl." It has good meaning behind it. We live, work,play, laugh,and cry all in the same place. With all of the same people. We live so close together, I swear I can taste my neighbors cooking through the paper thin walls. There is some good in this. As odd as it seems to people on the outside of the fish bowl, there's comfort in common waters. Just like a school of fish, if a shark comes a knockin... well ,we band together and kick the shit out of it! It's just more evidence of the two completely different worlds.It can be tough at times to retain an individual identity, when everyone around you can seem so uniform (get it?uniform? LOL..I'm lame, I know) Especially when you are automatically judged as a military wife, for BEING a military wife. There are a number of pre-fabricated categories as a mil spouse that you are automatically chucked into within the first few months of arriving to a new duty station. Those are the categories other Army wives put you into. That doesn't even include the civilians.I'll talk about those categories again later on in a different blog. Let's just say, I have foiled a number of Army Wifey formalities in my term as a military spouse, ones that include almost getting into a fist fight with a drunk pilots wife, in front of the commander, who happened to be laughing, then winked at me and said "I think you could take her." I have had my blunders and faux paux's as a military wife, and I am sure they will continue as long as we are in.
Through all of this, even the fact that I feel like an alien from outer space , it's strangely calming to be here. Well, ok, inside the house at least. Outside of the house...well I am a bit lost. I keep looking for a twenty-four hour shopette.... they got those things here, but did you know they call them 7-11's???? I know! WIERD! That's what I said! Tomorrow I will awaken to a beautiful desert sunrise,wish for the Hawaiian sun,and dream about the snow on Mt.Rainer........ How very eclectic. Ah, well, until then, I will remain the odd ball out when I leave the house. Tomorrow I attempt to go to the gym...by myself. LOL..... I am a fish out of the fishbowl...lets see if I can stumble my way around land for a few days!

Byodo-In, Valley of the Temples

My apalogies!

I know I know. I am a slacker. No excuse for not writing in my blog for the last week or so. I will throw out a lame pity attempt by stating that my life for the last week or so has been a bit crazy. Between family members in the hospital, DH, DD,and just a lot of things going on, well I have to apologize for my lack of "conversation". I do realize that besides Facebook, my blog is the only way other people keep in touch with my family, seeing as Hawaii tends to be too far away to paddle-boat out to visit. Telephones are not my strong point either. Well, I should say returning calls are not a skill I have perfected yet. My cell phone is attached to me at all times, it's just that if the phone call is not from an overseas caller, well, you get the idea. I am getting antsy. It's getting closer to the "day" DH finally gets to come home again! I feel like I never slow down, which is a good thing, because time goes by faster, but at the same time I never feel like there are enough hours in the day to accomplish every thing I have to. I try not to put things off, but I do have to allow myself some "me" time. Even if that "me" time is spent freaking myself out by watching Criminal Minds late at night, and then being paranoid that some dude is going to some how make his way onto base, manage to get past my "guard" dogs, without the neighbors noticing, and that I will be forced to use my baseball bat and Turbo Kick box techniques on him. :P In my head, I actually think that plan will work, which is the sad part.LOL
My last few weekends have been jam packed, and am planning on jam packing the rest of my weekends before DH gets home as well. Not to mention, I seriously need to step up my game on Band Hero, other wise I am going to be embarrassed royally when the guys finally come home. I feel some what nervous about the re-deployment (that's green speak for "when they come home"). Not because of DH coming home at all, but because this deployment has been so different, that even the re-deployment process has changed dramatically. In my head I expected it to go one way, and it's not the way I expected it. Oh, I am more than THRILLED with the way all of it is going, just trying to re-focus and re-adjust to the changes. I should be well aware now, that nothing in the Army ever stays the same, except the notion of "hurry up and wait." I've also decided that in June I will be entering the 15K run/walk. That is 9.3 miles. Not too bad. I think I can handle it, or at least I am going to try to. Right now I do about 4.5-5.5 miles per day, so it is almost double what I normally do. I'm going to try and start slowly increasing my distance per day, push myself just a little bit harder, and hopefully by June I will have it down. I don't care if I even place at all. I just want to finish. I will post pictures, it will be an awesome experience, and I am very excited about it. OK, so normal people don't usually get excited about that kind of thing, but I am definitely NOT normal. Speaking of exercise, today I attempted to put on a pair of tight fitting capri jeans, which are now too big for me in the waist, but the oddest thing happened. I couldn't get them over my calves. I guess I have gained so much muscle since the last time I wore them (which was quite some time ago) that, when I attempted to sit down in them or even put my shoes on, I felt as though I was losing brain cells from lack of blood supply! I've gained 4 lbs since March, the last time I weighed myself. I can only hope it was all muscle and went straight to my calves! I have no idea where else it could have went!!! Still awaiting orders to know if we stay or if we go. I hate feeling like I am in limbo. It's hard for me to not want to start chucking things out of my house and touch up painting my walls, just so I am ahead of the game should we PCS. I just want every thing to be started by the time DH gets home if we do come down on orders to move. I promise my fans (all 2 of you,lol) that I will attempt to blog every day again or at least make it a 3 day max without writing. I will leave you with a picture though. This evening I walked through a great cultural area. It is at the Valley of the Temples, and this temple is the Byodo-In. It is a Buddhist temple, that has a ginormous Buddha that sits in the center. It is amazing. I highly recommend it if you enjoy different cultural things. I thought it was a great ending to the day. Hiking to the top of the temple grounds, surrounded by gravestones, and vaults full of deceased families, literally, was a very calming thought-provoking experience. I had fantastic company, and great conversation. Seeing things like that reminds me of how very special my life is. I love my life. I love my family. I could never ask for more. DH and DD truly are my everything.

An akward observation of sorts....

A little weepy and going down memory lane. Was reading a portion of an email DH sent me right before he deployed the first time. It's crazy to think of all that we have been through since this email made it's way to my computer. Not to mention everything we had gone through before he sent it. My DH is the greatest. He knows exactly what to do to bring tears to my eyes. Honestly, coming across this email did make little pools of sadness well up in the corners of my "stainless steel" level-headed outside persona. They ended up making their way down south in small streams that ended up pooling on a pillow. Well, enough of all that. :P On a happier note, I have decided I must be sending out some kind of vibe. Maybe it is a stay the hell away from me vibe, but none the less, I got mistaken for a soldier today. The guy said I "looked, and acted like one" I am not sure what the heck that is suppose to mean, but I think it has to do with my tom-boyish figure... lol.. within the first few moments of meeting me, I came waltzing in the door in my husbands cut off t-shirt, gym shorts, tennis shoes, a sports bra, and 2 hours of gym sweat still clinging to my clothing. I got introduced and a quick "wassup" exited my lips and a brisk hand shake before I was off to help my friends move their household goods that had just arrived.(AKA furniture,clothing,etc. it's what they call it when the Army ships your stuff) A bit after when everyone was relaxing and eating dinner, I got asked where I was stationed and what my MOS was. I thought he was talking about DH. He was talking about me. I was a bit taken back, and asked him if I looked military? He of course, said yes ,and that I acted like it as well. It was a very interesting encounter. Sitting on the back porch, it was pointed out to me that I sit like a guy too... I guess I really need to polish up on some of this womanly girlie crap before I have to go any where important. DH has never said anything to me really, I mean he has cracked a few jokes about how I don't wear shoes and made me promise to shave my legs at least once a week while he was deployed, LOL, but besides that, I think I have "girlied-up" quite a bit over the last few years. When DH met me, I was pretty rough and tumble, and wasn't afraid to do or try anything.I was in the high school ROTC program, sports,and anything else I could think of.I loved shooting in Pentathlon, and doing Color Guard. I didn't even own but one dress, and maybe one skirt. Come to think of it, that skirt is up in my closet still. Now, I own multiple dresses that I wear on a regular basis, and a few nice girlie outfits. I do prefer my jeans and t-shirt, but maybe a few times a month I like to play what I call "dress-up" since for me, it is dressing up to wear a sundress and do all of my make up. I do like looking "pretty" for DH though. I try, I really do to be girlie. It's just I fail miserably. I can't even walk in heels without rolling my ankle. I prefer my Harley Davidson boots, and maybe a long tie-dyed skirt and a form fitting baby T. I should have been born in a different era. I wonder if there are lessons on how to be girlie. I see a new Google search in the near future. I CAN dress up, it's just I can't break my mannerisms. I will wear a sundress and whip a chair backwards and sit on it. I look all petite in my little white sundress, and then will eat an entire steak dinner, when most woman I guess prefer the chicken? Or a salad? The waiters always stare at me. Oh well, I guess DH loves me just the way I am. Either that or he has just gotten used to it! LOL! Ever heard the term, you can dress her up but you can't take her out?? Whom ever coined that term must be a dude I went on a date with back in middle school. I prefer beer over any other type of alcoholic beverage, man-beer at that, not these foo-foo girlie drinks people pass off as beer. I rarely drink, but when I do, I prefer the taste of real-hops thank you.Poker, I LOVE beating the boys at some Hold'Em. Maybe I'm not so bad after-all.... at least DH will always have the joy of me sitting on the couch screaming at the TV , watching football and drinking a beer with him. I can't wait until he gets home and we can scream together. That's when you know your life is better than you could have ever imagined it being. When you scream "HOLDING" in unison, and you both jump up and down on the couch asking the ref if he is watching the same game you are.That's love. A union made in BBQ grillin,sports watchin,beer drinking heaven. I love my dysfunctional family.

Today at the gym, I had a semi emotional break down. It wasn't because of anything that happened, it was more along the lines of compassion. Compassion that I some times fear the world has forgotten about. A clear reminder that others believe the same thing as I do. I have a large tendency to see the good in people. I see the bad also, but in my mind, the good always triumphs in the world of bad. It's back to the fact that I am and always have been a glass half full kind of person, an optimist, a crazy, happy,almost- over -the -edge, optimist. A friend of mine just a few days ago, lost her brother in law in Iraq. Her family lives here, and I took care of her son when he was an infant. It really shook me to the core. It was so close to home. Well, I guess I have been having a lot of that "close-to-home" lately. As I wrote about previously , I am a constant avid worrier, and things like this have a tendency to heighten those senses. I feel an immense amount of grief for the family, seeing as I have *almost*(as in not a family member) been in their shoes. I have been thinking about this often lately. The possibility of death. It's one of those things that you like to push out of your mind, but as any seasoned military spouse knows, it is not entirely possible to do at any given moment. Even as optimistic as I am, it is still a fear that eats at me every day. Today at the gym, the news was telling a very short blurb of a story on a man named Michael Reagan. He left a lucrative career to start something that is called the Fallen Heroes Project. As I was watching this short story, I found my heart fill up with sadness, and gratitude. It is because of people like him, that I feel there is hope for this world. That genuine, good people, still exist.Michael draws wonderful, completely life-like free portraits of Fallen Soldiers from the wars(Iraq and Afghanistan is what the project is for, but also other wars). On his website it says some thing along the lines of "what if all you had left of a loved one were photos and memories?" That statement is one I don't often like to think about, much less talk about, but blogging isn't talking per say, so it is much easier for me to write my emotions down, as opposed to speaking them. As I was sweating my brains out feeling the blood pump through my veins, I thought about this. What if that was all I had?? I don't like to live my life surrounding "what ifs", but I was humoring myself for the moment. How would I handle life, knowing that the greatest thing that ever happened to me, had been reduced to memories and paper? I know it is a bit morbid to think about, but in all honesty things like that DO cross my mind. I know I am a self reliant, independent, strong woman, but how would I fair if my everything came crashing down and the love of my life, was taken from me? It's not a far reached outcome. It in all certainty is plausible that, it could happen. I know it's probably not healthy, and I know it's not even possible to analytically gauge my potential reaction to something like that, but in that moment,watching the families open that life-like portrait, seeing the reaction of the children that were left behind, was completely heart-breaking.You could see in their faces the gratitude they had for this man, who had given them this one last piece of their "world" back to them, and how much aching the entire families were going through seeing something that looked real enough to touch again, feel again, and they were desperately grabbing for that. There are times that I swear I can feel DH, and then I am reminded of the all too real reality, that it is not possible, not at this moment anyway. To go through life knowing that it will never be a possibility again, well I don't know how I would handle that.I like to think DH has taught me to be strong, for him, for our family, that I would be able to eventually put the pieces back together again.That because of what DH has always meant to me, that I would do it for him. I promised him that one time.I promised him I wouldn't completely fall apart.That I would try my best to be the woman he knows now. I like to think I would stay true to my promises. I hold hope every day, that he will come home to me. After all, this is OUR fairy tale, only together, whether physically, or in memory, can we make our story come true. www.fallenheroesproject.org

My dirty little secret....

I have an unholy attachment. It's a bit of an obsession I guess. I have an intimate relationship that currently requires a battery AND an electrical charger.... NO! Get your mind out of the gutter! It's not what your THINKING, jeesh people do you really think I would blog about THOSE casualties of war? :) I was talking about my cell phone and my laptop. They have become an extra appendage. It's almost like I believe that if I never let them leave my side, then no matter what happens, I will always have this off -the-wall connection with DH. Now, don't look at me like I am crazy, I know plenty of spouses with deployed husbands who have these relationships. Ever since DH deployed my phone and laptop have accompanied me to bed, my lap top left on, and logged into SKYPE with the sound loud enough to blow some ones ear drums, just waiting for that all too familiar "ding"...... As sad as this may sound, whenever I am at home and hear "ding" ,I jump, clearing furniture, knocking glasses over, skimming the head of my child, gracefully landing right next to the lap top with such skill an Olympic medalist would be jealous...OK, well maybe not THAT good, but you get the idea. I bring the phone in with me when I shower. When I go to another room. When I work out at the gym, it sits RIGHT there in plain sight on the front panel. If I can't find my phone, I almost have a panic attack, and swear that because of my luck if I don't find it right away DH WILL call. It is an understandable obsession. Maybe not the healthiest one, but I can think of MANY that are far worse than that! I have also contracted another addiction... the gym. I was called a gym whore, now what that is I am not exactly sure, but I think it has to do with the fact that the gym releases endorphins, and so does uuuuhhummm(insert derogatory expletive here) it's the only think I can think of... but I also know there are much worse ways to get my kicks(like drinking,drugs..etc..you get the idea), and besides I always feel GREAT after a romp with the elliptical...burns calories, and flushes you with endorphins, it's a win win situation... Although I do feel a little dirty paying for it, when I know I can get it for free on post!! :P On another note, we passed April 1st. That's a great thing! It just means a start of another month, and one closer to DH coming home. I can't wait for DH to come home. I am so ready to relax again, and have a normal life again. Well, as normal as you can get in the Army, come to think of it the deployments are normal... ??? Hmm, I'll have to ponder that one. Wishing that DH could see DD in person for Easter. It's never been a huge celebration at our house, but we do do the egg hunt, the basket, and usually the Easter dinner. Without DH here though, I don't think we are doing anything special or dinner. I'll probably just make chicken. Yes, I am boring, but only slightly. DD is excited for the Easter bunny, although since the only time I am not with her is when I am at the gym, and she has a very inquisitive mind (and knows Mr.Bunny is my friend) I had to come up with an elaborate story at how me and Mr. Bunny work out together at the gym, since I can talk to him there, and that he wears a bandanna is a bunny you don't want to mess with, and he rides a Harley. I'm gonna have to play along with that for the rest of my life. There's no way she is falling for any other story from now on.She told me her chocolate bunny she got from Pop Pop wasn't the real Easter bunny because he was fat and didn't have any muscles.Soon enough she will realize that the bunny is a red head with a big imagination and too much thinking time on her hands.This one will go down in the books, as the Mr.Bunny deployment disaster.I love my life :)

I've got your six

On a treadmill.... Life makes sense. OK, that really doesn't make much sense at all, but to me it does. It is a testament to everything I have accomplished, when for awhile, I had my moments of doubt that i would ever be able to accomplish anything like that again. In November, I had a major medical issue that tore my world apart. I have for the longest time been a rather healthy person. I try to eat right, I was exercising, and I was adjusting to life after D-Day. I had just celebrated Thanksgiving with a good amount of close friends, and I was doing pretty good. Then one day... POOF.... All of that came crashing down on me. I don't even really remember much of it at all. All I know is that it left me completely lost. I went through my human emotions, of fear, vulnerability, physical and mental agony. My entire left side was left only partially functional for quite some time, and as I referenced in an earlier blog post, my speech, well, I had a stutter, that only the people close enough to me could even understand what I was saying. DH was gone, and there was nothing he could do to help me. I know there were times that he has to have felt useless, and scared, even though, we both know it wasn't his fault that he wasn't here when it happened. I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason, so obviously there was a reason it happened when it did. For the longest time though, for months, I feared I would never get better. Hearing me speak, for DH was heart breaking. Hearing myself speak, trying to function normally, and then realizing I couldn't do it, was at the very least the equivalent of having a giant blinking arrow like the ones you see in movies constantly flash above my head, just screaming "broken". I felt broken. Inside and out. Going through that, for me, was probably one of the hardest things of my life. I have always been self reliant, self determined, and independent 100% when DH was gone. I could take care of it. Whatever came up, I could fix it. There's a saying in the aviation world "I've got your six." It basically means , I have your back . DH has always known, that I've had his six.I felt like I had let him down. Even though I knew there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. It was like everything I had ever known was stripped away from me. There were times that I felt like giving up. I had to remind myself every day, of WHO I am.I am a wife of a man who loves me more than anything.I am a mother who would give her own lie for her child. I was a fighter. Always had been,my mother would attest to that, and I knew it was in me some where to "fix" myself. For years my mom and I had had some what of a strained relationship, because of the circumstances surrounding my childhood. As soon as I woke up in the hospital, who do you think was by my side. In that moment, I never needed my mom more, and there she was, taking care of me best she knew how, having to treat me like I was a newborn all over again, and never for a minute did she make me feel inadequate in any way. My mom is an amazing woman.I am thankful in every way for what she did for me, and the fact that she was there by my side. I am truly blessed to have her for a mom, and I love her for every sacrifice she has ever made for me. and I understand now, being a mother myself, why she made the choices she did when I was growing up.( I hope your reading this mom :P)I had wonderful friends who, dropped everything to come and help me, and for that I will be eternally grateful for.They were there for me, when I couldn't even be there for myself. I will never forget the one thing I held onto the most when I was going through all of the physical and emotional pain that came with all of this. It was something DH said to me, and to this day I will never forget it. It may not mean anything to anyone else, but what he said to me, just reiterated to me the fact that no matter what life throws our way, we will always conquer it together, and that he will always have MY six. One night on the phone, when I was having a really rough time digesting all of the things that were happening, and I was scared, and feeling guilty that there was a possibility that I could be like that forever, and that DH and DD were going to have to live with this for their entire lives as well, DH had said something about how I needed to get better. Not for him, not for anyone else, but for me. The words that I responded with through tears, was that i couldn't stand for him to have to live with a broken wife for the rest of his life. What he said to me after that, will forever be the words that have never made me feel more loved in my life. He told me, that he loved me more than anything, and that I wasn't broken. I was just dented, and together dents were always fixable. I know it may not sound like much to anyone else, but to me, it meant everything. I don't think he will ever know just how much those words meant to me. Through deployments,through heartaches,through bumps along our road in life, through nights of fear and loneliness while he is away at war, those words will forever echo in my ears, and in my heart. I knew then, that I had to get better, and that I could, and would fight tooth and nail, in order to do so. DH is more than just my husband and the father of our child, he is my lover, and what's even more, he is my best friend. I love him more than words could ever express.So baby, through it all, remember, that no matter what we may go through in our life together, I will always have your six, god sure knows, you have always had mine.

Shedding some light .....

I've decided I'm having a "day". Not a bad day, not a great day, just a deployment "day".Sometimes i feel that I am some sort of deranged, Army wife. Every day I have during my life is a good day, because it IS my life, and I have a lot I am thankful for every moment of it. Days like today though I feel that there must be something abhorrently wrong with me. One, because of the fact that I am an Army wife, I feel some what guilty. I should be bleeding patriotism, and for the most part, I honestly due. I feel a bit disconnected though from many others around me.Let me explain. I for one am not a Republican. I swear that 90% of the military community are right winged conservatives, and here I am slinging slightly over to the left. Almost feeling wrong, that I am what my mother likes to call a "hippie". I believe in love and freedom and equal rights. Everything my husband stands for, everything my husband so desperately fights for, and yet even though he fights and we wait, in a country that is a democracy, the Army itself is NOT a democracy. I do not support the war. There I said it. Not because of the fact that my husband is deployed and that I have any reason to not support the war because that means he would not be gone, that is not why even in the slightest. I have been opposed to the war since before it began, and that was without a doubt BEFORE DH enlisted, and BEFORE DH deployed prior. It's a hard notion to understand that I actually feel guilty about that, but when you live in a community, that for the most part, completely despises your point of view, I have learned to just keep my mouth shut whenever politics are brought up. I am always met with disdain. Even if I am just stating facts, which I do, because I always do my homework before speaking about something, I am almost always countered with something like "Well, I support the troops!" ,"How can you NOT support something your husband fights for, I know I do!" Let me put it this way, for ONE my DH does NOT fight "for" the War on Terror. He fights for the people. For equality, liberty,union,love,and peace, because he is a soldier. The mission comes first, and as a military man, his Commander and Chief makes the decisions and he is not allowed an opinion, nor will an opinion get him anywhere any way.As a military wife, I also follow whichever president we have at the time.What the Commander in Chief commands, we abide by, because he is our leader, and we trust his judgement, as obviously many other Americans do, otherwise he wouldn't BE Commander in Chief to start with. For TWO my biggest one that I hear so often is that if you can't support the war, then you don't support the troops, and therefore you don't support your husband. That statement makes me a very angry Army wife. Close-minded people just annoy me. I damn sure DO support my DH, and I damn sure DO support my troops. EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE UNTIL I DIE I WILL DO WHAT I CAN TO SUPPORT THEM. I am an ARMY wife,through and through, and American blood runs in my veins. Where is it written law that, a military wife can't be opposed to a WAR? This is why I just keep my mouth shut around other MilSpouses. LOL. Some people, well, I should say, some civilian people, who don't support the war, also don't support the troops, and those people, well are quite frankly just idiots. Hello??? A soldier is not some sort of heartless, cave-man, going around strutting bravado, banging his chest, and going out to "kill" people, like some sort of talking,mindless, robot doll with no morals or ethics. Peel away the the desert combat uniform, and you're left with just a man. A man with feelings, a heart, a soul. You can't tell me ALL soldiers believe that this war was founded on and started with justifiable reasons. I guess all in all it really doesn't matter anymore. We have been in this thing for so long, that if the war ends, I don't think anyone but the military community or people directly there affected, will really notice very much anyway. The war is not even worthy of front page news anymore. CNN has a special section an iReport section on Iraq, because it has been pushed aimlessly to the wayside. Out of sight, out of mind. Seems to be a growing epidemic amongst the American people. Sorry for getting on my soap-box people. This is all stemming from a comment that was said to me, and just sat there and festered in my temporal lobe , steaming, waiting for the right time to release itself, weighing heavily on my mind, and my morale. I wish I could sleep. I am an avid insomniac, and things like this make it harder to sleep anyway. It's difficult enough to be plagued by an emotional deployment roller coaster. In my brief moments that my optimism fades (usually I've noticed when DH isn't able to call or write), I veer between feeling bored,restive,sad, and obviously supremely annoyed. I have conditioned myself to push my emotions on the back burner. It's the only way I can get through a deployment and still keep some of my sanity.I struggle to articulate my emotions with accuracy and tact.It hard to explain the dimensional warp of deployment to someone who has never experienced it.My emotions during deployment have always been divided into two persona's. On the outside I am always calm and collective. I've been told I am seemingly made of steel. Sorry to burst any bubbles, LOL, but I am just good at acting. On the inside I at any point in time am either lonely,achy,weepy...or as the yang to my yin, brittle, aggressive, and some what testy. It's like having PMS all the time, but at an epic level of sorts.I am always roaming the hallways of my brain with worry. An avid worrier.Constantly on edge, just waiting for something to tip the balance from worry into reality. It's a great performance really, and thoroughly convincing to others, but I am constantly aware of my other "self". The me on the inside, the little girl, genuinely plagued with fear.I can't help it. That is who I am, and I make no excuses for it. I am a strong, and extremely proud Army wife, and I don't mind identifying myself as one. It doesn't make up everything I am, but it plays a large part in who I have become. So, as I have always done in the past, and will always do in the future, I stand ready to take on any of the challenges I may face ,with open arms. Roger that sergeant, I will always,without fail, put the pieces back together, and Suck it up and Drive on.

A foundation of love

Today dd wrote DH a letter. It was quite a moving little letter if I do say so myself. Although there are definitely a few parts that make me giggle, all in all it was very heart felt. I can't believe how bid DD is getting. Sometimes she seems like such a smart little cookie, that I have to remind myself she is still little and still has feelings that a small child is suppose to have about the deployment. It's easy for me some days to forget that she doesn't actually fully understand.Other times I am reminding myself that she does understand a lot more than I give her credit for. I'm reminded that the last deployment in some ways seemed easier. I don't know if it is because dd was way too little to grasp the sense of time at all, and so it didn't effect her near as much on a day to day basis, or because with the opportunity to have communication with DH is MUCH MUCH easier this time around, and so hearing his voice on a day to day or every two day basis just keeps reminding me how very much I miss him. Even harder still when he all of a sudden has to go out somewhere to do his job, and we lose communication for a few weeks, after being used to talking to him on a daily basis. In those ways, I think this deployment has taken more adjustment. DD has nights where all she does is cry for him. She doesn't want me in the slightest, the only one that will do is him. It breaks my heart to hear her struggle like that, but I just hold her and remind her, that DH didn't want to leave, but he had to because that's part of his job, that's what makes him a super hero.I tell her we have to be strong for DH, and that we are an Army family, and that's what we do. We stick together, and we be strong as possible. It's OK to be sad and to cry because she misses him, but that we always have him in our hearts, even if he is far away. She understands that, so she usually comes down after our talks, which have been as frequent as weekly some months. R and R hit her hard, she keeps asking if she can have her birthday again tomorrow so DH can come home. LOL. Every day I wake up, I am reminded at how truly blessed I am to have my life. How much I love my family and even though there are sacrifices that we have had to make, we make them together. We stick together. I have an amazing family. DH is a mountain of a man, and we are so extremely proud of him for everything he has done for our family. Without him, I'd be lost. He is my rock, and the greatest man I have ever known. How truly lucky I am to be loved by such a man. What a great Army life I have been given, well, who wouldn't be happy with a God for a husband, and a Princess for a daughter? This without a doubt, is my fairytale.

This is just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream......

I have nightmares. So, obviously I don't sleep well. The only time I sleep ok, is when DH is home. For the first six months of the deployment, I had such a hard time sleeping that, I slept on the couch. After DH came home for R and R, I promised him for his peace of mind that I would sleep in our bed again. Which, I have been doing. Except the last three nights. Two nights in a row I couldn't fall asleep. I was up until 3-4 AM for absolutely no reason. I go to the gym to try and help tire myself out in the afternoon, and I took my sleeping pills, which all they do is relax me, but don't put me to sleep. I think I need something stronger than OTC melatonin. Last night I was exhausted by 9 pm, due to the horrible sleep I had gotten the other nights, amongst the fact that I still haven't talked to DH. Not getting to talk to him, eats at me. The last deployment, we went weeks without speaking, only maybe a small email if he got a chance to write me. Then this time around, because of internet in their rooms and SKYPE, we have been able to talk everyday, or atleast every other day if he has been busy. Today makes day three of not hearing from him. There's a possability that I will get to talk to him this afternoon, I hope so. The nightmares are back due to some things that will be coming up soon. I wake up in tears and nearly hyperventilating........ the possibility is so real, that it carries on from my dream and affects me physically. When I wake up I'm in an immediate panic. Looking around, making sure everything is OK. I look out the window and look for random cars making sure there aren't any around. My heart races for a few minutes, just at the possibility that the Army is looking for me to tell me something horrible happened. I remind myself that it's just a dream. Nothing is wrong. Everything is OK. Everything will be OK.Right now I am even more worried about the possibility, but I try to shove it deep down, and push it to the back of my mind. Just waiting for him to call, hearing his voice quells those fears. In a few months, I'll be able to sleep again. Until then, I seriously think I need to get a better sleep medication. Not sleeping is not a possibility when you have a four year old. Everyone has their ways of coping. Who knows maybe subconsciously I think if I am awake, then no one can wake me up to hand me a flag in the middle of the night.I hope he gets a chance to call. If he doesn't ,well, at least I know how to suck it up, just wish I could sleep while doing it!

Traveling will be the death of me

I LOVE TO TRAVEL. I love everything about going somewhere new and exciting. I am part gypsy, so it does explain my adaptability to the Army life. The only thing I hate about traveling, is trying to figure out HOW to do it. HOW to get off of this stinkin rock and not sell a kidney in the process. Seeing as in the Army, you don't make a lot of money, prior to contrary beliefs of some people,and I not only have a DH to take care of, but a four year old, and I might as well have two extra children when it comes to my dogs, I have to coordinate everything precisely like I am planning an undercover sting operation. I have to not only try to plan my yearly trip back to the mainland with everyone Else's schedule in mind, but also in accordance with plane ticket prices, dog kennel availability, and of course juggle everything else in my life and make sure it is properly taken care of before leaving. I have contemplated Space-A travel, it just seems like a lot of work, with no guarantees. Not to mention, I want to try and see as much family as possible, which means trying to figure out how to jump around from place to place.It is definitely possible, I just wish I had my own personal assistant sometimes, to help remind me of everything I need to do in the day. "Miss, you need to call this number by ten AM, I have already fed the dogs, and pushed your appointments for this afternoon back, in order for you to have your lunch date. I called the exterminator, and left a message. So-and-So will be here by 2 pm in order to go through everything that needs to be done...here's your cup of coffee........." and so on and so forth.Ahhh to dream! ;P I am at least good at multi tasking myself. It's not impossible for me to do any of this, I've done it a thousand times before, I just dread the headache that I know is coming with it. The greatest feeling though will be when I get on that plane and everything falls into place, and I have accomplished my goal of having everything squared away. You know quite honestly my biggest fear in planning my trip is??? Is whether or not there is a 24-hour fitness in Emmett by my parents house,or if I will have to drive into Boise to go to the gym.Seriously, I am becoming a bit of a gym rat...LOL..I was sitting there working out today thinking to myself that they better have a gym close enough by if I do get a chance to go vacation for a bit, otherwise I might go crazy, not to mention my mom told me she was making pie today, which she offset the lard she used in it, by telling me she used half splenda and half sugar! LOL..Gotta love my mom!I haven't had a chance to tell DH about my plans to go back and visit our families yet. He has been busy and is getting ready to be even busier here soon, so hopefully he will get a chance to call before that happens. This has been a long year. A ton has happened, and I really could use the refresher before getting ready for DH to come home. Between DH deploying, and right after the ceiling in the kitchen caving in, being caught in the middle of a friends nasty divorce, helping plan my best friends wedding, being the maid of honor, and then right after the wedding having a major blood clot, that left me in the hospital, sick and unable to speak without a stutter for two months (which is almost gone now!YAY!)being diagnosed with factor V Leiden blood disorder, having DH home for R and R, and then dealing with him leaving all over again...on TOP of normal everyday life and raising a beautiful 4 year old, I think it would be good for a small break before preparing for redeployment. Wow! I just realized how much really HAS happened so far this year! We still have 5 more months to go! LOL Even with everything that has happened during this deployment so far, all I see is so many positive things!! My life is awesome! I have a wonderful husband a beautiful daughter, and great friends. I miss my husband with everything, but I couldn't imagine any other life,because this is the life I have made with him. This is our life, and except for a few snags here or there, I absolutely love it! What is life without a few snags though?? Gotta keep you on your toes somehow. I wake up every morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world.... it definitely makes it hard to plan my day! :P Man, do I have a great family or what?? Sorry, I must have woken up and drank a cup of optimism, and ate a rainbow for breakfast!! I can't help it though. My husband and daughter are my entire world, and as long as they are in it, well, I could not ask for more. I can't wait for DH to get home, the missing puzzle piece in my life right now will be back, and everything will be complete again. Counting down the days until I get to hold the love of my life in my arms again.YEEHAW MORE THAN HALF WAY DONE! :) Until then, Look out Boise and Phoenix, hopefully here I come!

News Flash

News Flash of the day: Deployments are hard... and not just for the wives. As a soldier you are taught to not have emotions. To hide everything, to suck it up, drive on. That goes against every aspect of human nature. We as humans are suppose to have emotions. We are emotionally driven in everything we do. I understand the Army's concept of pushing emotions to the back burner. They have to teach that. If they didn't... our soldiers would get so completely caught up in their current emotions that they could make costly and deadly mistakes... which starts a complete downward spiral of everything. When a soldier deploys, the family deploys as well, and it takes equal courage and an equal amount of sacrifice. Not everyone can do what a soldier does. Not everyone can do what a military wife does. It takes a lot to be a military family and to make it through multiple deployments. I'm reminded of a class I took that talked about unit cohesion. It doesn't just apply to the military units, but to the families as well. Some times it is easy to get caught up in your own emotions during a deployment, and because they are so far away, you don't realize that the soldier is going through the same thing as you. I am married to the strongest man I know. The most loving ,caring,hard-working man. I am so proud to call him my husband, my soldier. I realize that no matter what, he will never be able to get this time back with us. He has to miss out on everything that I get to be apart of with DD, and I have no idea what that feels like. I have no idea what it feels like to be the one who leaves. I've always been the one being left. I have no idea what it feels like to have to walk away from the most important things in your life. I don't think I would be able to do it. Which makes me have even more respect for my DH, and the fact that he does it, and somehow even though I know he is being ripped apart inside, he is still there, comforting me. Helping me be strong enough to carry on without him. There are days that I feel like breaking down and giving up, but because of him, because of all of this, because he tells me I have to be strong, because I know how much he loves us... I wipe it up, suck it up, and drive on. I know DH has to do the same. I want so badly to be able to take away any pain that DH and DD are being caused by the deployment, but I know that is an impossibility. Until he can come home, and we can all be complete again, I will just love my family unconditionally. Remind my DH how much we love him, how badly we miss him, how much he means to us, and our lives. How, because of him, and the amazing man he is, DD and I wouldn't be able to make it through all of this without him. How without doubt, without fail, he is and always will be, our hero.

It's like beating my head against a wall.......

I'm a bit upset. I've always throughout my life used writing as a release for me, hence part of the reason I started this blog. I'm not one to express my feelings verbally really. I listen to how other people are feeling, and try to help as much a possible, but when it comes to me, I tend to stay quiet. There is and always has been one exception to that rule, and obviously that would be DH. Today started out to be a pretty good day, but went a bit sour. DH called, and I was so excited to talk to him, especially with some of the things that will be coming up soon, that won't allow him to call. OPSEC in mind, that is about all I can elaborate on that at this time. Any who, DD has had a horrible time adjusting to DH being gone. He by all means is her hero, like every father should be. She loves him more than anything, and she is DH's princess.DD keeps us both going on a day to day basis, when everything around us just seems to suck. She is our baby. The hardest thing right now, is because of all of this and the deployment, recently DD has decided to go back in her ways of not talking to DH on the phone. This is something that is horribly hard for DH, and it effects me as well. How do you force a four year old to talk?? I can't. I talk to her, she tells me how she is feeling but sticks to her plan of not talking, and it's killing me. I want so badly to just give DH that peace of mind, that little extra thing to help keep him going,but I can't. This is not our first deployment, but it is the first one that DD can really remember. It's not like she doesn't love him or is shy around him at all. In fact when he was home for R and R, she was constantly his shadow, just like always. She loves him,and misses him, and is hurt because she feels that he abandoned her. Now, she knows he didn't,and i reiterate that all the time, but to a four year old??? How in her head does she know for sure he's coming back, when even I can't promise her that? I tell her he is and that he will be home soon,hoping it's not a lie, but she has no sense of time. Soon to her means tomorrow, not another 5 months from now. I know DH understands this as well, but I can't imagine the hurt it causes him that she won't talk to him, knowing he had no choice but to leave us. It's hard for all of us, especially for a child who doesn't even fully understand "why". She will write him an email, and I waiver back and forth as to whether or not I will send it to him, some of the the things she says when she talks about her feelings, make me want to cry, I can't imagine what it does to DH. I figure that it is better for him to know how she is feeling than to have nothing at all, so I send them. Hopefully soon she will talk to him again. I feel like banging my head against a wall, because there is nothing I can do to change any of it. I can't make either one of them feel better at this point. My family is hurting, and I can't fix it. Only time can. It makes me feel like some what of a failure, seeing as I am suppose to be the glue that holds this whole thing together. What happens when I start running out of glue??? Well, like the woman that I am, I guess it is time to try and pull out the duct tape. Duct tape fixes everything.... Right?

Ah,Bliss....well...Almost

Today was pretty much a great day. I spent some quality time with some great friends. We went to KoOlina and spent the day swimming and talking, DD had a blast at the lagoons. Short of the stack of MORE medical bills I got in the mail today, it was almost a perfect day. Almost, because there is still an essential key to my happiness missing, but such is the life of an Army wife. Moments and days like this make me miss him even more. I think of all the things that he would have loved about today. The sun, the waves, the laughter. I can't help myself but to talk about DH, he comes up in almost every conversation. How great it will be when he gets to come home again. Our friends, one of which is stationed with DH over in Iraq and is home on R and R right now, always know how to make me laugh, even if I am having a crummy day. DH is marking the days down on the calender, and I am marking the days til he gets home on Face book. I've decided I have become some what of a Face book whore. LOL..... I feel the need to check it everyday. It's the only way I feel like I can connect to my outside world, and my family that I am so far away from. It really is a different life. Things that seem so normal to me are completely absurd to "civilians." I recently realized that it's actually me and my life that is "abnormal", not theirs. I feel this disconnection to a lot of them, because no matter how hard they may try to understand my life, they won't ever be able to unless they live it. Sometimes i almost feel jealous that all they worry about on a day to day basis are trivial things to me. It's really just more or less a kick in the pants to realize that I am a minority in more ways than one. it's a normal fear for people to be afraid to lose their spouse, but it is never a forefront on their mind on a daily basis like it is mine. I am slightly jealous of that. It's normal for me to be away from DH for a few weeks at a time, where that would be a major thing for some of the "civilian" women I know. Not saying it is a bad thing at all that they feel that way,it's a completely normal reaction in the real world. I have just become so accustomed to it, that it feels weird if he is home for a long period of time, like I am waiting for some thing big to happen. I guess it's more or less a constant feeling of being on edge, like at any moment my world could come crashing down on me. I don't think of it like that constantly, you can't, you would drive yourself crazy, it's just a reminder of how truly different my life is than that of the majority of my family and friends. It is by no means a bad life at all. I love my life. I love my family. I have expressed many times my fear of him getting out of the Army. I don't know how I would adjust to having a "normal" life again. I have become so used to the Army life, that I don't know if i remember how to be a civilian. Being at home with friends and family, is some times like a culture shock. I know I can adjust really easily to different places and different things, it's just that fear that I may have forgotten. The canons that go off at 5 pm every day , is normal. Every night at eleven Taps is played, and I know it's time for bed, it's almost a lullaby to me. It's comforting to hear night ranges and the popping of weapons in the distance, because I know some unit is perfecting their skills. Going to sleep to the sounds of the helicopters over head doing night flights, reminds me that DH is out there,some where,waiting to come home to us, and bravely putting his life on the line e very day for our country. One of these days, even though I fear it now, we will be civilians again. Until then I stand strong and proud, waiting,learning,loving,teaching. Trying to be the best that I can be, and stand amongst the silent ranks, happy to be an Army wife.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock...YAAAWWNN

Today was one of those days. One of those rare occasion days, where I really had nothing pressing to do. Normally, I would take advantage of this, seize the day ..or something like that. I didn't do that though. In fact as bad as it sounds, I never left my pajamas today. A government official came by to interview me for one of my neighbors security clearances again. I invited her in, then to only realize that I was still in pajamas with disheveled hair, and my daughter wasn't wearing pants, because she didn't feel the need to put them back on after going to the bathroom.I didn't feel the need to make her, since I lacked any enthusiasm to even get myself dressed. Of course, I made her put her jeans back on before the woman saw just how lazy we were being today.Maybe it was the weather today, it has been pretty crummy the last two weeks.Who knows? All I know is I never made it to the gym, and refused to cook a homemade meal for dinner. This, in my house, is a rare occasion. Seeing as DH is deployed still, I think I am entitled to the rare "down" day. I know tomorrow brings a whole new set of things to do, places to be, and people to see.
I did however, get to talk to DH on the phone for an hour! I swear that is a record, and Skype is the best thing since sliced bread. We talked some about what we might do from here. From the deployment that is. Will we PCS like we are suppose to and try a new base on for size? Will we stay here in Hawaii for another couple of years(we have been here for 4 already!).... all of that no one is being privy to know about as of right now. We haven't really made a solid decision yet, but I'm not gonna be a spoiler, it will ruin all of my fun with keeping everyone in suspense. :) not to mention I hate making final decisions. i have no problem giving my input, it's just that I lack the ability to be decisive. Some days, I can't wait to get off of this rock and start a new adventure some where else, other days, I enjoy the consistency of being in a place I have grown some what accustomed to. Who knows what life will throw our way, all I know is that I'll be ready!
In a different light, unfortunately I do have to blog about something that just seems to be a nightmare to every milspouse I know. One of my friends informed me today that a few days ago, her husband, a Marine, was killed in action, leaving her and her baby alone in the world. At first I was in shock. This was his first deployment, they had only been married 2 years, their baby was still that...a baby. That pit in my stomach I try so hard to conceal and fill up on a daily basis, reared it's ugly head, and felt almost like I was going to vomit. I sat there just staring blankly for a minute, trying to grasp the concept. It's not the first time this has happened. We lost pilots at the beginning of our deployment, and yet earlier in a training accident right before the deployment. It hit everyone in our small troop pretty hard. My DH included. Not to mention the tragic events that happened 3 weeks before the SQDN was scheduled to return home the last deployment, that one in particular, I refuse to allow myself to relive. I guess it was just another reminder to me at how extremely fragile everything is over there still, and how no one seems to care anymore. I mean of course people with someone who is stationed over there cares, but the general public would rather figure out how Micheal Jackson died, or why Sandra Bullock moved out. In the scheme of things, that seems to trivial to me, yet, more of the general population is overwhelmed with that, almost as if Iraq and Afghanistan have become that weird uncle everyone avoids at the family reunion. If there is one thing I could give my friend right now, it would be peace of mind. Peace of mind to know her husband made a difference in peoples lives.that he was a brave and proud man,and that people care, not just people he knew or worked with, but that America still cares.... I'm just waiting for the day I can give that to her,a day which may never come.