it's the thought.... right

A while back DH came home from work and proudly announced, "I got leave for August 9th and 10th."
He was waiting for a response when I finally said, "Ok, that's nice. What's going on then?"
"I got leave so we would actually be together on our anniversary this year."
"Uh, you know our anniversary is on August 13th right?"

In DH's defense all important dates in our family happen on a 9 or a 13, so he just got them mixed up. It really was thoughtful of him to make the effort to be together on our actual 5th anniversary.

Plus he totally surprised me with a 1 night get-a-way to NYC while his parents watched LB. This gave us a chance to see a Broadway show. I want to give a big shout out to New Jersey Transit who let all active duty military ride their rails for a discounted rate. This saved us around 50% on our train tickets into NYC. So next time you are headed to the city, and don't want to deal with traffic check out NJT.
Another shout out goes to the Museum of Art and Design on Columbus Circle. We were prepared to pay $15 per person to see an exhibit we had heard great things about. To our pleasant surprise, military personal and their families get in FREE. We ate dinner at their roof top restaurant with beautiful views of Broadway and Central Park. It never hurts to politely ask if there is any sort of military discount available. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

I always remember

While I was still lying in bed this morning, I was thinking about this exact day 9 years ago. It was a day that changed many lives and changed the course of United States History. For me, it was the day I changed from a 16 year old girl, into a young woman. As I evacuated the United States Capitol building that morning, I could see the smoke pouring out of the pentagon and into the sky. I felt uncertain as planes from Regan National Airport Circled above. Were they headed for the Capitol?

There was a moment among the chaos when I just stopped and looked as people ran down the Capitol steps. In that moment I saw the unbelievable look of horror in the eyes of some of those around me. That would not have been as shocking if it had been the eyes of my fellow classmates, but it was not, it was the eyes of adults. Adults who held powerful positions. The adults who ran our nation were terrified. This shocked me.

Bright and early the next morning my classmates and I made the trek back into Washington, DC to resume our duties as Senate Pages. This seemed natural since the Senate was in session, but upon arriving we realized that there were many who did not return to work that day. It was an honor to serve when my country needed me. I realized that the next few months of my life were going to be the hardest I had ever experienced. I would never again see the world through innocent child's eyes, but I would see the world with eyes that know neither age nor position make a human great. It is one's character, especially in times of stress, that makes a human great. I have never felt like a child since that day. I still pray for those who lost loves ones that day, you are not forgotten.




I promise to lighten up. I really am NOT this serious of a person. I have a few funny posts headed your way soon.

Put the Grills in the Bathroom, it's Typhoon Time

My husband always seems to be gone for the exciting things, Tuesday was no exception when a big typhoon was coming and he was TAD to Rhode Island. When wives are home alone it is easy to get out of the loop. In fact if it weren't for the fact that I got involved in a mommy work out group and the leader e-mailed that we might not have class on typhoon day I would have seen my bbq grill flying through the window before I knew what hit me, well, that probably wouldn't have happened, but you know what I mean.

On typhoon day three other single wives and two people from church were all in communication about the typhoon and wanted to make sure I had everything I needed and even offered a place to stay during the storm.

The point of this story is that sometimes when we move around so much it is easy to think, I'm sick of this putting myself out there crap, making new friends, joining new organizations, again, but it is worth it in the end. Because the relationships we make over and over become the very things that save us in our deployments, TADs, baby births, holidays, and maybe even save our windows from a bbq grill.