How ya holdin' up?

It's the holidays- it's stressful. How are you holding up? I'm hanging in there, but only by a thread. I feel like my gift giving has been sub par this year. I haven't made any home made candies- which is a family tradition. I barely got Christmas cards out it security printed envelopes (I know super tacky) and I am typing this with a pile of tissues for my stuffy nose right by the laptop.

I'm gonna make a huge generalization, but I feel like holidays are extra hard on military families. Spouses, daddy's and mommy's are gone, and there usually isn't family right by to fill in the gap. DH got called out on a mission on Thanksgiving day, which ruined our Thanksgiving plans and our much needed 4 day weekend as a little family. I will admit that I might have been a teeny bit bitter when I thought how unfair it was that while most people were making preparations for family and friends to visit, we were making preparations for DH to leave. We held it together (barely) and DH was blessed with a short mission.

We are hoping, praying, wishing, and even asking Santa that DH will be here this Christmas. He has been working really, really long days, but he's here, so we are grateful for that. I can't help feel this sense of dread not knowing whether or not DH will be here. It really puts a damper on the holiday spirit. I hope that your loved ones will be home for the holidays. If their not, I hope your separated family is still surrounded with love, joy, and peace. I truly hope you are holding up ok. You will make it through and so will I. I know it, because it's our only option and we are strong enough to do it.

Happy Day of Thanks

I hope that your Thanksgiving is going to look like this.
And that your service member is home to join in on the celebrations.
If they aren't home, know that they are blessing lives everywhere and that I am grateful. Hope that you find a moment to feel grateful and moments filled with joy, even if your family isn't together. Happy Thanksgiving.

(all images are Norman Rockwell prints- he's one of my favorites)

Fisher House

Have you heard of the Fisher House? I didn't know about the organization until recently. A Fisher House recently opened at Dover Air Force Base for families of fallen soldiers who come to Dover Air Force Base to witness their loved one's dignified transfer.

Learn more about the Fisher House at http://www.fisherhouse.org and read about the Dover house here. Their purpose is to provide a "home away from home" for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

You can make a donation to this organization through the Combined Federal Campaign, so check them out if you are a government employee or if you want to learn about a great organization helping America's Military families.

Don't Quit

I ran across the "Don't Quit" poem again while I was reading one of my favorite books. I love the line in it that says, "And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far." Lately I have been feeling that success in certain areas of my life seems so far away, maybe you feel the same way about something in yours. This poem provided a good reminder that even though it may seem like we are walking on a treadmill uphill, just by walking the hill at all we are closer to the end than we realize. If we keep on moving on we have already won half the battle, if we quit, then we certainly don't win anything. So read the poem...and just don't quit.

DON'T QUIT

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit...

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

-Author Unknown

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.