They say that in order to hook a reader you need to use great, attention-getting phrases at the beginning of your writing piece to entice and intrigue. If that's the case, then here are mine that neatly sum up the last few weeks of deployment life:
FRG Meetings, Bible Studies, hospitalization, the circus, Brandon Heath, Labor Day, German class, and doggy-paddle swimming.
Are you still reading? Just in case you might be, I'll go on and more fully explore these events, especially the exciting ones like earning a deluxe overnight stay at Madigan Army Medical Center. Staying busy is supposed to be crucial to combatting the blues during deployment, and if that's the case, then my blues will hopefully stay away for a good while!
One thing that I have to give Dereck's unit props on during this deployment is the number of opportunities that they offer for us to plug in and hear updates before they become gossip. Every month we have our FRG (family readiness group, aka family deployment info and support) meeting at the movie theatre on post, and after the meeting we can stay and watch a movie for free! I haven't stayed yet, but this week's movie is Zoo Keeper, and that one looks just silly enough to keep me in my seat. I have to say that I think this idea is genius! No one can say that they can't find childcare, and it gives everyone a solid chance to get out of the house and see friends from the unit. On top of FRG meetings, I have also been enjoying weekly bible studies that our unit's Chaplain's wife leads. We are currently working through Tour of Duty- a study on deployment as it relates to Christians, and all those emotions entwined. God has been really good about offering a diverse group of women from all over the country, and of all ages in my unit. There are wives my age also going through first deployments, and wives who have kids my age and offer amazing "mom hugs," something I never take for granted. I feel continually blessed to meet such a wide variety of people from all over the country, in ways I never could have in Huntsville, Alabama. From the ways we say "soda, coke, pop, etc" to the lifestyles that have made us who we are, I am delighted at every turn when I meet a new friend. God weaves a very rich tapestry of humanity here on post.
The family I've made within the unit, while always crucial, has been especially valuable to me when I ended up in the hospital. I went to the ER about 10 days ago with pain in my back and the inability to breathe well. My mom had given me the order to go, and while I didn't want to go, wait nine hours, and then be given an inhaler and pat on the back, I decided to appease my mom and visit anyway. I'm here to say that chest and back pain get you seen super fast by doctors! I only had to wait for a few minutes before getting whisked back for tests and needle pokes. As the night progressed and I had the delight of multiple pokes and prods (if you haven't had the pleasure of having your temperature taken from your bottom like a baby, I can't say I recommend it!) I quickly realized how much I dislike hospitals. The blood work and x-rays came back normal, and so I began thinking that I would be discharged soon, and started packing my things. Then my CT scan came back with news of a blood clot in my lung- thus the chest and back pain, and an overnight stay.
At this point I crumpled in denial and confusion. I was supposed to be given an inhaler for my "asthma" symptoms, and be on my merry way to a friend's house for dinner. At first the doctors placed the blame on my birth control, but as this week has developed, it might not the culprit, which opens the scary door to more serious blood/genetic issues. The good news is that I am on two types of blood thinners, have my blood tested twice a week, and have a RN that is in charge of my case from the Cardiac Clinic. The big thing right now is waiting on more testing results to come back in, and the issues that I will have with clotting in the future. And to be honest, I am not a happy camper; giving myself shots in the belly everyday is no bueno. However, I have been blessed and never dealt with a health issue of this magnitude and width before now. Like diabetes, it is something that has to be managed and monitored indefinitely, especially when we start having a family.
To be honest, like I feel this blog deserves, I have run the emotional gamut last week. Angry, tired, sad, scared, optimistic, confused, loved, and lonely. The fact that the clot had hit my lung means it is a short jump and skip away from heart or brain, neither of which I would appreciate! To compound things a little further, Dereck was on mission when it all happened, so I didn't get to talk to him until three days after being hospitalized, and for only 20 minutes. I have never missed Dereck so much in our relationship as I did while experiencing this roller coaster of issues. I wish my rock could be here to hug me and say that everything will be okay. And I have great friends who have been doing just that, but there is something to be said about having your husband around during the bad times, and not on route-clearance missions in Afghanistan. For the time being I am thankful to not be pain, to be on medicine that is allowing the clot be re-absolved into my system, to have a fantastic support unit, and to know that while this can be life-threatening, for the moment it isn't. It's all about perspective, and mine has certainly had an abrupt wake-up recently.
And as for those other fun words I mentioned at the beginning- fear not! After being discharged from the hospital I got to see the circus with my friend Jodi, her husband, and four kids. Seeing the circus: fun. Seeing the circus through the eyes of a three year old: awesome. I wish we as adults could be a little less jaded, and a little more delighted in the spectacle of life. I also got invited to a Brandon Heath concert held by Young Life to benefit a family whose daughter was in the hospital after a horrible car accident (and there's that perspective again!). The best part besides the wonderful acoustic set? Meeting Brandon in person and having him thank me for my service as an Army wife. Those few kind words still touch me. Labor Day rolled around last week, and I am happy to report that we had sunshine and warmth to welcome outside for a wonderful BBQ, to which I introduced all my Yankee friends to Ambrosia, or fruit salad. After a few skeptical looks, everyone who tried it fell in love. After all, what's not to love about cool whip, marshmallows, mandarin oranges, and pineapple chunks?
The last two things that are fun enough to actually include in my blog are these two tidbits- Ritter is now officially swimming in deep water, and German School has started back. I took the summer off, and I am excited to announce that my first day back wasn't as rough as I anticipated. Slowly but surely the language cobwebs got knocked off, and I found myself laughing and getting into the conversational swing. My goal is to be back to par when I meet Dereck in Germany this spring for his R&R break. The swimming issue with Ritter has been a work in progress. Before yesterday, he would paddle a little, and then always swim back to spots where he could stand. But when I went with my friend Jamie and her dog Izzy, he watched her paddle around, and was immediately game! There are pictures of him trying it out on facebook, so feel free to check it out. I am super proud of my little pup!
Now that I've run out of the keywords from the beginning of this blog, it's probably as good a spot as any to call it quits. It's Sunday afternoon, Ritter and I have enjoyed a great post-church nap, and the afternoon is waiting in front of me, dizzy with possibilities. The best part? I'm healthy enough to enjoy it, even if I don't have all the answers and can't exercise for the time being. This girl will take what she can get!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Seeking "Normal"
I just realized that I haven't written in two weeks, and in all honesty, that makes me feel a little rusty! It's a daily surprise how much I have been trying to invent a new normal the past few weeks. From scheduling the weekly activities to attempting to make a rhythm of the daily chaos, I keep clinging to the idea that this elusive "normal" is going to settle me into a pacified/satisfied state. The challenges of being a planner in a lifestyle that allows anything but that. I'm now wondering if I will be expecting "normal" to hit when I'm an old lady sitting in a rocking chair and contemplating my younger years. Part of the struggle is finding ways to fill an otherwise empty home. Here I have to interject that I am blessed with these simple facts: I have a job, I have great friends, and I love my church family. All that combined though can't wipe away the fact that silence is inevitable when your little family shrinks by one....and the fact that Ritter can't talk, but I'm still holding out hope that this too will happen in the near future. Then I plan on touring the country with my amazing dog, earning boat loads of money, and inventing a time machine to make the deployment move faster.
While I'm waiting for the creative genius needed to travel time I did make a little something to help me pass the days. The key? M&Ms. They are chocolate goodness, and make me happy, so I am now a proud owner of a "countdown" jar. At first I filled the jar with the obvious one per week, but the jar was sadly empty. To fix this issue I kept filling the jar by multiples until I felt like it was nice and full looking. This means that I now get to eat five a week on Mondays (my counting day), although I have to admit this may be a bigger test in will power than I anticipated. Each stinking time I walk into the kitchen for any reason I stop and stare at the jar and want to eat some with everything inside me. I sometimes find myself trying to reason out how many I could eat and remember to subtract from the following week. My inner dialogue sounds a little something like this: "I could eat one and just remember to take that off next week's count. Wait, what am I thinking? I could eat five and take one off of each week for the next five. Or maybe I could remember that I get none next Monday. No, that wouldn't be fun. In that case I should eat twenty and buy a new bag at the store tomorrow..." and on it goes until I can convince myself to walk out of the kitchen. Even writing about those M&Ms makes me have a craving! Next time I am going to have to make a paper chain countdown, or something a little less delicious.
Beyond my weakness for chocolate, the last two weeks have passed pleasantly fast. I work three days a week, and find a good bit of trouble to get into on the days in between. Last Saturday I got to watch my friend's little boys Boyce and Gage while the rest of the family went to a wedding. I thought I knew energetic until I met these brothers! From the time I got there in the morning to when I left that evening, we were moving the whole time outside of naps. One of my favorite things that Boyce and Gage do is to say thanks to all the cars that would stop for us at the crosswalks. They would laugh and yell it as we passed, and more than one driver was smiling at the boys. If only I could pass on kindness like that to strangers more often. They have the idea down. I also got a chance to eat McDonald nuggets with them, and I have to admit that every so often that is a yummy meal. Boyce was the one who decided we should all eat nuggets, so I had to oblige and go with the flow :)
Then to make my weekends even more awesome, I went to the beach and American lake yesterday. My sweet PWOC (bible study for Army wives) friend Heather invited me to the outing, and I had a great time! First, we all piled into cars and drove out to Grayland Beach on the Pacific Ocean for lunch and fun in the sand. Or that was the plan until we got to the beach and realized it was twenty degrees colder than where we live, and that the sand was being kicked up by a terrific wind. We then decided to eat a quick lunch on the beach since we had made the drive out, and then came back to the lake for kayaking. This was my first time to kayak, and, to top that off, there was a huge Bald Eagle circling the lake. The NW can be stunning when it isn't raining. Finally we hit exhaustion point and decided to call it a day, but what a great day it was!
And how did I top this off? By coming home and working on my backyard. Adulthood has a way of being sneakily pragmatic like that. At first I tried to use my friend's push mower (think old-school, human-powered), but the evil pine cones kept jamming the blades. I then had to spend two hours raking those pesky tree bits into piles around the yard while Ritter tried his best to dig in them. Three large pine trees/evergreens make for quite a bit of work! Needless to say, I had to stop raking and mowing and concede to the fact that the yard work would branch into this morning once I understood the scope. The good news? After building biceps of steel and putting in more hours today, I am now the proud owner of one nice looking yard. And the hippies can be proud of my push mowing, environmental friendliness. Maybe that will balance out my lack of desire to take things outside to the recycling can. We've had more than a few things hit the trashcan that could have been recycled- just don't tell anyone here. They might protest on my freshly cut yard...
The final highlight of my last two weeks was going to see The Help with my friends from book club. To put it simply, the movie is awesome. Take your friends and go see it now. Even better, make friends with people in a book club, sit around and talk about books you all read once a month, and then make a date to go see this movie. It was one that lived up to the book, which is no small feat in my eyes.
And there you have it, my life in a nutshell, with highlights of cool events. It may not be all-encompassing, but then who wants to read about the mundane things like my lack of ability to unload the dishwasher full of clean dishes for eight days running? I have more important things to do....like blog!
While I'm waiting for the creative genius needed to travel time I did make a little something to help me pass the days. The key? M&Ms. They are chocolate goodness, and make me happy, so I am now a proud owner of a "countdown" jar. At first I filled the jar with the obvious one per week, but the jar was sadly empty. To fix this issue I kept filling the jar by multiples until I felt like it was nice and full looking. This means that I now get to eat five a week on Mondays (my counting day), although I have to admit this may be a bigger test in will power than I anticipated. Each stinking time I walk into the kitchen for any reason I stop and stare at the jar and want to eat some with everything inside me. I sometimes find myself trying to reason out how many I could eat and remember to subtract from the following week. My inner dialogue sounds a little something like this: "I could eat one and just remember to take that off next week's count. Wait, what am I thinking? I could eat five and take one off of each week for the next five. Or maybe I could remember that I get none next Monday. No, that wouldn't be fun. In that case I should eat twenty and buy a new bag at the store tomorrow..." and on it goes until I can convince myself to walk out of the kitchen. Even writing about those M&Ms makes me have a craving! Next time I am going to have to make a paper chain countdown, or something a little less delicious.
Beyond my weakness for chocolate, the last two weeks have passed pleasantly fast. I work three days a week, and find a good bit of trouble to get into on the days in between. Last Saturday I got to watch my friend's little boys Boyce and Gage while the rest of the family went to a wedding. I thought I knew energetic until I met these brothers! From the time I got there in the morning to when I left that evening, we were moving the whole time outside of naps. One of my favorite things that Boyce and Gage do is to say thanks to all the cars that would stop for us at the crosswalks. They would laugh and yell it as we passed, and more than one driver was smiling at the boys. If only I could pass on kindness like that to strangers more often. They have the idea down. I also got a chance to eat McDonald nuggets with them, and I have to admit that every so often that is a yummy meal. Boyce was the one who decided we should all eat nuggets, so I had to oblige and go with the flow :)
Then to make my weekends even more awesome, I went to the beach and American lake yesterday. My sweet PWOC (bible study for Army wives) friend Heather invited me to the outing, and I had a great time! First, we all piled into cars and drove out to Grayland Beach on the Pacific Ocean for lunch and fun in the sand. Or that was the plan until we got to the beach and realized it was twenty degrees colder than where we live, and that the sand was being kicked up by a terrific wind. We then decided to eat a quick lunch on the beach since we had made the drive out, and then came back to the lake for kayaking. This was my first time to kayak, and, to top that off, there was a huge Bald Eagle circling the lake. The NW can be stunning when it isn't raining. Finally we hit exhaustion point and decided to call it a day, but what a great day it was!
And how did I top this off? By coming home and working on my backyard. Adulthood has a way of being sneakily pragmatic like that. At first I tried to use my friend's push mower (think old-school, human-powered), but the evil pine cones kept jamming the blades. I then had to spend two hours raking those pesky tree bits into piles around the yard while Ritter tried his best to dig in them. Three large pine trees/evergreens make for quite a bit of work! Needless to say, I had to stop raking and mowing and concede to the fact that the yard work would branch into this morning once I understood the scope. The good news? After building biceps of steel and putting in more hours today, I am now the proud owner of one nice looking yard. And the hippies can be proud of my push mowing, environmental friendliness. Maybe that will balance out my lack of desire to take things outside to the recycling can. We've had more than a few things hit the trashcan that could have been recycled- just don't tell anyone here. They might protest on my freshly cut yard...
The final highlight of my last two weeks was going to see The Help with my friends from book club. To put it simply, the movie is awesome. Take your friends and go see it now. Even better, make friends with people in a book club, sit around and talk about books you all read once a month, and then make a date to go see this movie. It was one that lived up to the book, which is no small feat in my eyes.
And there you have it, my life in a nutshell, with highlights of cool events. It may not be all-encompassing, but then who wants to read about the mundane things like my lack of ability to unload the dishwasher full of clean dishes for eight days running? I have more important things to do....like blog!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
There's a rumbly in my tumbly!
I have finally hit the realization that Dereck isn't coming back anytime soon. I knew this would happen, and I haven't been trying to necessarily avoid it.....ok, maybe just a little, but here I am. All of his laundry has been folded and put away, all the little things he left laying around the house have been placed back in proper places, and most sad of all, the fridge is now largely void of the foods he likes. It's weird how these little things can hit harder than the blaring ones of deployment, like the fact that he is nowhere to be seen. Ritter has stopped looking for him in the mornings, and I am already losing contact with the soldier rhythm of post. Just yesterday I was at the gym, and it was uncharacteristically empty, and I had to wonder if it was a DONSA (day of no scheduled activity) instead of knowing because of the simple fact that my husband was home. When I go grocery shopping I am now that deployed spouse whose cart is lined with food that screams "my soldier is gone." Staples like deli meat, sides for meals, and Dereck's favorite salsa have been replaced with my comfort foods and frozen meals. It made me laugh just a little while I walked the aisles debating whether to eat tortellini for the third time this week. I have never proclaimed to like cooking, and with Dereck gone my skills have dropped to boiling water and making sandwiches, but then I secretly love peanut butter and jellies, so no complaining here!
One a more happy note, the last week hasn't been too crazy, so I am grateful. The sun finally made its biannual appearance and we have been in the *gasp* 70s- almost 80s. This helps me to not miss Dereck as much since I'm not locked inside like a crazy woman with the cold rain. Work has also given me a reason to wake up and wash my hair, something I find hard to do on days when I don't have to be anywhere at any particular time. Sometimes I really wish that girls could rock short hair as a gender norm and avoid all the fuss associated with the ordeal. I might look rough, but man would it be so nice in the mornings!
Beyond all the sad aspects of deployment, I have the blessing of "battle buddies" whose husbands are also gone, and offer great friendship. This last week alone I have tried an amazing restaurant in Olympia, eaten a delicious "brinner" (breakfast for dinner), and seen the new Whinnie the Pooh movie. Before you judge the Pooh decision let me state that I have been an avid Pooh fan since I was a toddler, and going to see the new movie was simply a must, so there! When I found out other friends wanted to see it I had to jump on the opportunity. And the movie? It was everything I hoped for: cute, short, funny, and accompanied by great music from Zooey Deschanel. I recommend grabbing a small kid, or other friends who also secretly want to see it, and going today.
In addition to my battle buddies with deployed husbands, the Army is also a fantastic spot to meet friends from all over the country (and sometimes world), and I spent yesterday evening with one of my favorites and her husband. They are the sweetest people, even if they are Yankees ;) A dinner full of laughter and crazy conversation was just the thing I needed as I count up the days since I last talked to Dereck. I'm thankful for every opportunity, but when we average 10-15 minutes per conversation, and this only happens twice a week it can get a little taxing. In fact, I am praying he gets on Skype as I write this sentence. With the time zone differences I can reasonably guess the times he might be available, and the later it gets into a day, the lower the odds. It's not looking too hot the more I write on this blog though.....The Army is nothing if not a game of hurry up and wait!
One a more happy note, the last week hasn't been too crazy, so I am grateful. The sun finally made its biannual appearance and we have been in the *gasp* 70s- almost 80s. This helps me to not miss Dereck as much since I'm not locked inside like a crazy woman with the cold rain. Work has also given me a reason to wake up and wash my hair, something I find hard to do on days when I don't have to be anywhere at any particular time. Sometimes I really wish that girls could rock short hair as a gender norm and avoid all the fuss associated with the ordeal. I might look rough, but man would it be so nice in the mornings!
Beyond all the sad aspects of deployment, I have the blessing of "battle buddies" whose husbands are also gone, and offer great friendship. This last week alone I have tried an amazing restaurant in Olympia, eaten a delicious "brinner" (breakfast for dinner), and seen the new Whinnie the Pooh movie. Before you judge the Pooh decision let me state that I have been an avid Pooh fan since I was a toddler, and going to see the new movie was simply a must, so there! When I found out other friends wanted to see it I had to jump on the opportunity. And the movie? It was everything I hoped for: cute, short, funny, and accompanied by great music from Zooey Deschanel. I recommend grabbing a small kid, or other friends who also secretly want to see it, and going today.
In addition to my battle buddies with deployed husbands, the Army is also a fantastic spot to meet friends from all over the country (and sometimes world), and I spent yesterday evening with one of my favorites and her husband. They are the sweetest people, even if they are Yankees ;) A dinner full of laughter and crazy conversation was just the thing I needed as I count up the days since I last talked to Dereck. I'm thankful for every opportunity, but when we average 10-15 minutes per conversation, and this only happens twice a week it can get a little taxing. In fact, I am praying he gets on Skype as I write this sentence. With the time zone differences I can reasonably guess the times he might be available, and the later it gets into a day, the lower the odds. It's not looking too hot the more I write on this blog though.....The Army is nothing if not a game of hurry up and wait!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Lions and Tigers and Bears- Oh My!
When I moved to the NW, I knew that I would see more than my fair share of wildlife. Especially compared to living in the suburbs of Alabama; what I didn't expect was for that wildlife to come quite so close to my house. But now I'm getting ahead of myself, because any good story about wildlife encounters always has a beginning.....
We have had a rather cold and rainy spring here, and while that leads to lots of groans from those of us living here, it also means that all the vegetation is blooming much later than normal. And with the lack of vegetation comes the lack of blooms and berries, something that the black bears like eating. In fact, I didn't realize just how much the bears like eating berries until they started making appearances near the edge of our neighborhood looking for said berries. At first I would share and hear reports about them lurking around the woods that surround our area in a crescent shape, and then started hearing about them running by backyards. The best report came from my Chaplain's wife- she told me about a bear chasing her husband on a run on the backroads to the ranges behind our village. At this point Ritter and I decided that we should probably take a break from hiking the trails in the woods for a while. Ritter might start to look tasty to those hungry bears! Even if they are not grizzlies and much less known to attack humans. Who am I to judge a bear that hasn't been eating well this spring? Finally, for a couple of weeks the bear chatter around the block had died down, and just when I was beginning to hope that the pandaemonium...or should I say beardaemonium....had ceased, I spotted one on the way home from church! This bear was probably less than 400m from my house digging a hole only two feet from the roadside. This concerned me for the following reasons: 1- I left Ritter in the backyard, and he feels especially tough when on his own turf. 2- Did I mention the bear was next to the road and had no worries that cars were passing him, and 3- the bear had huge paws and claws! After freaking out to the degree that I believed the situation deserved, I called the MPs and were less than impressed with their response. They informed me that the bears like to live in the woods and next to the creek (where my hiking trail is!), and that I shouldn't worry because bear traps were out (which was wrong- they had been out and then were taken away probably two weeks ago). The kicker of my call to the police? They informed me that someone would come out to "scare the bear back into the woods," because that would keep the hungry bear from coming back towards our neighborhood full of tasty kids, pets, and trash cans. That moment was the first when my confidence in the police went down a few points, to say the least. Since then the bear has decided to sample our trashcan fare and run by the backyards to keep us en pointe. Welcome to the wild west of Ft. Lewis my friends, welcome.
No more major sightings have occurred since, but it has been less than a week since my run-in, so I am still on guard. And on this vein of crazy events in my neighborhood I have even more to share! There was also a major meth-lab bust in the woods next to my house a couple of weeks ago. This has since led me to speculate that perhaps the bears play a part in the drug industry of the NW. The lab was in their area, and I'm pretty sure that people and bears on meth will do crazy things for blackberries. I won't be able to confirm my suspicions until I see that our neighborhood bear is losing his teeth though, so stay posted. Beyond this, the only big news for my street is the evil road construction on the major road connecting us to the rest of post. Every evening starting at 6pm, our main road is closed, and we then have to use tiny gates to get off post (but they close at 6:30 and 6:45pm), after which we have to take a large circular route around the woods behind our neighborhood to get to the main road and any access to roads that lead off post. This means starting at 6:45pm I have to add a minimum of 12 minutes to any route I want to use if I plan to leave my house. It's not the end of the world, but I'll be darned if it isn't super frustrating.
With that tirade over, I am happy to say that Dereck has safely made it to his FOB (forward operating base) home for the next couple of months. Much of the detail he told me was over a phone call made at 3am, so the details are more than fuzzy on this side. In fact, I woke up wondering which parts he told and which parts I dreamed up while going back to sleep. I am super excited to report that I know for sure he has internet (which means Skype!), and an address- FB message me if you would like it. He still sounds to be in good spirits, and excited to finally be playing Army for real. While it may not sound amazing to be deployed to a hostile country, Dereck has a job that allows him to be moving around and using tons of Army gadgets, something that suits him very well. Other than that, we are praying that the debt ceiling crisis gets resolved quickly since it could affect government employees' pay- and therefore soldiers' pay. More than a few of Dereck's soldiers can't afford to miss a payday thanks to previous debts, bills, and general expenses, so please pray that things will be resolved before this turns into a big mess.
And to that end, I am now planning on going outside to enjoy some rare sunshine with the dog. Let's just hope the bear isn't planning the same thing!
We have had a rather cold and rainy spring here, and while that leads to lots of groans from those of us living here, it also means that all the vegetation is blooming much later than normal. And with the lack of vegetation comes the lack of blooms and berries, something that the black bears like eating. In fact, I didn't realize just how much the bears like eating berries until they started making appearances near the edge of our neighborhood looking for said berries. At first I would share and hear reports about them lurking around the woods that surround our area in a crescent shape, and then started hearing about them running by backyards. The best report came from my Chaplain's wife- she told me about a bear chasing her husband on a run on the backroads to the ranges behind our village. At this point Ritter and I decided that we should probably take a break from hiking the trails in the woods for a while. Ritter might start to look tasty to those hungry bears! Even if they are not grizzlies and much less known to attack humans. Who am I to judge a bear that hasn't been eating well this spring? Finally, for a couple of weeks the bear chatter around the block had died down, and just when I was beginning to hope that the pandaemonium...or should I say beardaemonium....had ceased, I spotted one on the way home from church! This bear was probably less than 400m from my house digging a hole only two feet from the roadside. This concerned me for the following reasons: 1- I left Ritter in the backyard, and he feels especially tough when on his own turf. 2- Did I mention the bear was next to the road and had no worries that cars were passing him, and 3- the bear had huge paws and claws! After freaking out to the degree that I believed the situation deserved, I called the MPs and were less than impressed with their response. They informed me that the bears like to live in the woods and next to the creek (where my hiking trail is!), and that I shouldn't worry because bear traps were out (which was wrong- they had been out and then were taken away probably two weeks ago). The kicker of my call to the police? They informed me that someone would come out to "scare the bear back into the woods," because that would keep the hungry bear from coming back towards our neighborhood full of tasty kids, pets, and trash cans. That moment was the first when my confidence in the police went down a few points, to say the least. Since then the bear has decided to sample our trashcan fare and run by the backyards to keep us en pointe. Welcome to the wild west of Ft. Lewis my friends, welcome.
No more major sightings have occurred since, but it has been less than a week since my run-in, so I am still on guard. And on this vein of crazy events in my neighborhood I have even more to share! There was also a major meth-lab bust in the woods next to my house a couple of weeks ago. This has since led me to speculate that perhaps the bears play a part in the drug industry of the NW. The lab was in their area, and I'm pretty sure that people and bears on meth will do crazy things for blackberries. I won't be able to confirm my suspicions until I see that our neighborhood bear is losing his teeth though, so stay posted. Beyond this, the only big news for my street is the evil road construction on the major road connecting us to the rest of post. Every evening starting at 6pm, our main road is closed, and we then have to use tiny gates to get off post (but they close at 6:30 and 6:45pm), after which we have to take a large circular route around the woods behind our neighborhood to get to the main road and any access to roads that lead off post. This means starting at 6:45pm I have to add a minimum of 12 minutes to any route I want to use if I plan to leave my house. It's not the end of the world, but I'll be darned if it isn't super frustrating.
With that tirade over, I am happy to say that Dereck has safely made it to his FOB (forward operating base) home for the next couple of months. Much of the detail he told me was over a phone call made at 3am, so the details are more than fuzzy on this side. In fact, I woke up wondering which parts he told and which parts I dreamed up while going back to sleep. I am super excited to report that I know for sure he has internet (which means Skype!), and an address- FB message me if you would like it. He still sounds to be in good spirits, and excited to finally be playing Army for real. While it may not sound amazing to be deployed to a hostile country, Dereck has a job that allows him to be moving around and using tons of Army gadgets, something that suits him very well. Other than that, we are praying that the debt ceiling crisis gets resolved quickly since it could affect government employees' pay- and therefore soldiers' pay. More than a few of Dereck's soldiers can't afford to miss a payday thanks to previous debts, bills, and general expenses, so please pray that things will be resolved before this turns into a big mess.
And to that end, I am now planning on going outside to enjoy some rare sunshine with the dog. Let's just hope the bear isn't planning the same thing!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Deployment Blog- Take One!
After taking a break for some much-needed relaxation from the taxing world of blogging, I am back at it and ready to go! Since the last post, which I think was way back in October of last year, there has been a ton of life, living, and other fun things going on around the Northwest. Here's what all you missed in the "gap months:" Dereck's parents came out for Thanksgiving, we went home for Christmas, I quit my old job and got a new job- woot, woot!, we went home and to Key West for two weeks in May, and Dereck is now deployed halfway around the world. See? Not too much has been missed when you look at it in these terms!
In all honesty, I have been wanting to get back to the blog for quite a while now, but couldn't justify doing it while Dereck was still home, especially in these last two months. Now that he's gone though, I am a free woman! Next thing you know, I will be hitting up the casinos and buying flashy sport cars, simply because no one can stop me :) For those of you that are wondering where the deployment thing came from, we've known about it for a while, but thanks to Army rules like Operational Security, or OpSec, it wasn't in our best interest to broadcast that he was going anywhere until right before he left. So, my apologies if it was a surprise in any way. Dereck is now on a grand tour of a country in the Middle East for twelve months, and has had to acclimate to a literal doubling of temperature. The Northwest has been having a less-than-stellar summer, and while the rest of the country is broiling, we have stayed at a cool/cold 50 and 60 something with rain. Now before you start to think that this sounds heavenly and become jealous, remind yourself that you most likely had beautiful warm months called March, April, and May to enjoy while we soaked in a consistent drizzle of coldness. A girl could use some heat here!
But I digress.....Dereck left earlier this week, and I was able to talk to him for a good ten minutes on Wednesday morning, so I have no complaints. He survived a 42 hour flight to get there- that's right- 42 hours on one stinking plane. We found out after the fact that his group was in a smaller plane that needed to refuel every so often, and so landed four times during the journey from Seattle to the desert. One highlight for Dereck was eating schnitzel in Germany, so all was not lost. And he got ample time to read his new Kindle (e-reader) that we purchased for the deployment. I don't think Dereck has ever been that excited about a purchase. It was glued to his hands most of the hours before he left, and for that reason, I am thankful he bought one small thing to make the long days ahead more fun. He even got a cool case that has a reading lamp attached for the dark nights when he will be sleeping in trucks and tents.
In order to gear myself up for this next year, I have been thinking on positive aspects of the separation and here's what I have so far: I get to sleep anywhere on the bed I like, I can buy skim milk without any objections, TLC is the channel of choice when the TV is on, girl time is guilt-free since no one is waiting at home, the house is immaculately clean, I rock the Tacoma whenever I need to drive somewhere (the Civic was totaled in February thanks to evil black ice, and the NW's refusal to salt icy roads- thanks salmon, thanks a lot), no one goes hungry when I refuse to shop for groceries out of pure laziness, Ritter suddenly finds me much cooler since his favorite person is gone, Army gear doesn't litter every free corner of the house, I suddenly have time to ponder life's mysteries, I have had great phone chats with friends, and God loves on me every time someone prays for us. See- there is a lot of good to be had given the situation.
One other highlight is my "happy deployment" present to myself. Instead of going to the casino or buying that sportscar I thought about earlier, I am now the proud owner of a Keurig Coffee Machine- one of those cool machines that takes a pod and gives you hot coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. It's perfect for someone who only needs to make coffee for one (or a small group), and only wants to make coffee every now and then. What really sealed the deal is that the PX (like the Army version of Wal-Mart) finally has some in stock, and you don't have to pay sales tax at the PX! That's a big deal when sales tax is near 10% in the state thanks to the lack of income tax- so, with a big purchase like a Keurig, that's a difference of roughly $13. After standing and debating whether I needed it or if I was being crazy for twenty minutes, finding a random couple to debate with in the coffee aisle, and then a quick conversation with the lady ringing up my purchases, I found myself the proud owner. Two days later I am still happy, have no regrets, and can brew a mean cup of coffee in less than a minute. Shazaam!
And there you have it. Life without Dereck for 12 months is underway, I am working on finding small joys in daily life, and the Kennedy house is host to one cool coffee machine! Now start booking your flights to come visit! No seriously....we have a guest room, and Ritter likes to cuddle......
In all honesty, I have been wanting to get back to the blog for quite a while now, but couldn't justify doing it while Dereck was still home, especially in these last two months. Now that he's gone though, I am a free woman! Next thing you know, I will be hitting up the casinos and buying flashy sport cars, simply because no one can stop me :) For those of you that are wondering where the deployment thing came from, we've known about it for a while, but thanks to Army rules like Operational Security, or OpSec, it wasn't in our best interest to broadcast that he was going anywhere until right before he left. So, my apologies if it was a surprise in any way. Dereck is now on a grand tour of a country in the Middle East for twelve months, and has had to acclimate to a literal doubling of temperature. The Northwest has been having a less-than-stellar summer, and while the rest of the country is broiling, we have stayed at a cool/cold 50 and 60 something with rain. Now before you start to think that this sounds heavenly and become jealous, remind yourself that you most likely had beautiful warm months called March, April, and May to enjoy while we soaked in a consistent drizzle of coldness. A girl could use some heat here!
But I digress.....Dereck left earlier this week, and I was able to talk to him for a good ten minutes on Wednesday morning, so I have no complaints. He survived a 42 hour flight to get there- that's right- 42 hours on one stinking plane. We found out after the fact that his group was in a smaller plane that needed to refuel every so often, and so landed four times during the journey from Seattle to the desert. One highlight for Dereck was eating schnitzel in Germany, so all was not lost. And he got ample time to read his new Kindle (e-reader) that we purchased for the deployment. I don't think Dereck has ever been that excited about a purchase. It was glued to his hands most of the hours before he left, and for that reason, I am thankful he bought one small thing to make the long days ahead more fun. He even got a cool case that has a reading lamp attached for the dark nights when he will be sleeping in trucks and tents.
In order to gear myself up for this next year, I have been thinking on positive aspects of the separation and here's what I have so far: I get to sleep anywhere on the bed I like, I can buy skim milk without any objections, TLC is the channel of choice when the TV is on, girl time is guilt-free since no one is waiting at home, the house is immaculately clean, I rock the Tacoma whenever I need to drive somewhere (the Civic was totaled in February thanks to evil black ice, and the NW's refusal to salt icy roads- thanks salmon, thanks a lot), no one goes hungry when I refuse to shop for groceries out of pure laziness, Ritter suddenly finds me much cooler since his favorite person is gone, Army gear doesn't litter every free corner of the house, I suddenly have time to ponder life's mysteries, I have had great phone chats with friends, and God loves on me every time someone prays for us. See- there is a lot of good to be had given the situation.
One other highlight is my "happy deployment" present to myself. Instead of going to the casino or buying that sportscar I thought about earlier, I am now the proud owner of a Keurig Coffee Machine- one of those cool machines that takes a pod and gives you hot coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. It's perfect for someone who only needs to make coffee for one (or a small group), and only wants to make coffee every now and then. What really sealed the deal is that the PX (like the Army version of Wal-Mart) finally has some in stock, and you don't have to pay sales tax at the PX! That's a big deal when sales tax is near 10% in the state thanks to the lack of income tax- so, with a big purchase like a Keurig, that's a difference of roughly $13. After standing and debating whether I needed it or if I was being crazy for twenty minutes, finding a random couple to debate with in the coffee aisle, and then a quick conversation with the lady ringing up my purchases, I found myself the proud owner. Two days later I am still happy, have no regrets, and can brew a mean cup of coffee in less than a minute. Shazaam!
And there you have it. Life without Dereck for 12 months is underway, I am working on finding small joys in daily life, and the Kennedy house is host to one cool coffee machine! Now start booking your flights to come visit! No seriously....we have a guest room, and Ritter likes to cuddle......
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