All I can say is WOW!

I'm kinda stunned and at the same time I have to laugh.  Several weeks ago I had a dream that my son was deploying back to war.  All the fears and anxieties were all there in my dream.  I woke up and thought, thank goodness it was just a dream, he's not going to deploy again.  I thought I would mention it to a friend of mine for some sense of documentation just in case but I said nothing else to the others....Well my son called me yesterday to ask my opinion or at least thoughts about him re-enlisting in Active Duty.  Wow, what do I say?  All I could really muster up was make sure the decision you make you can live with.  I just want him to be happy.  Of course and then I said, you know you'll probably deploy again.  Sigh, I don't really know what to say.  The economy is in the tank, he has no job, he's in school but that's no guarantee of getting a job, not anymore.  I guess really all I can do is wait and see what he decides to do.  He wants to talk to a recruiter before making his final decision, so I will wait...

...and try to remain calm. ohmmmmmm, ohmmmmmmm...

Once an Army Mom always an Army Mom

I know I brushed on this topic before, but it never ceases to amaze me the bond between a mother and her child and the bond of the military mothers as well.

The soldiers have their fraternal brotherhood, but let me tell you, the military moms have their own and it extends to the other mothers' soldier as well. It's not just about our own kids, it's about everyone else that touches the lives of our children within the military. We all grieve together, and we all rejoice together. Now I thought that now my son is serving in the National Guard and the possibility of him going back to Iraq had dimished greatly and the resemblence to a "normal" life would resume. However, that's not so, that is I still think about the Soldiers still fighting and are about to fight. I still say prayers for them and my heart goes out to the ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I still think about JD's mother who is now a Gold Star Mother.

When I see a soldier, during my everyday life, I think of his mother, of him and all that he has gone through. He may or may not have been through war, but he has still made sacrifices for the sake of our country. It humbles me to think of all they have been through. I think of my life when my son was deployed both times. In fact I had a dream not too long ago about my son. He was redeployed. All the feelings I had back way when came rushing back. It actually shook me up a bit. Now don't get me wrong, I'm truly proud of my son, it was that fear that came back of having a child deployed in harms way. I don't miss that part of his Active Duty.
My heart still goes out to all of the mothers with current Active Duty Soldiers. God bless them all.

However, I know there are a lot of you out there who have not gotten to the stage of their child finishing up his/her contract or for those whose child will be a lifer. For you, how are you doing? How are you coping? If you ever need an ear, please drop me a line. I'm here for you.

Until next time, Army Mom Out

California: Boring would be good

I just don't know what to say except for boring would be good. I'm already hating the move because well, quite simply it's a lot of work to do on your own, that is no help from a moving company. My knees hurt, back hurts, feet hurts you name it, it hurts. So yesterday rolls around and about 2/3 of our stuff has been moved. Smaller items and the bed are pretty much all that is left. I arranged to have the utility companies and DirecTV to come out and do their do. I'm excited, we're almost done. I'm unpacking boxes now, got all the books back on the bookshelfs, need to unpack the kitchen, but got the bathroom all done, I'm on a roll and loving it. Soon I'll have TV. Yippee DirecTV is here to install the dish and get us rolling. Life is good.

What's that I hear outside? Damn. Mr. Deputy Sheriff, you say I'm in a mandatory evacuation zone now, and I have to grab what I can and flee my house? But, but, but, fine.....So my husband and I grabbed what was irreplaceable and left. Funny what goes through your mind though. I've always wondered why people want to stay when brush fires threaten their homes. I mean really, your life or your home. Ok, the first thing I thought of was, I"m not going to be one of those people who need to be rescued because they didn't leave when they were told. Then I thought, but I just moved all my stuff, we can't possibly take it all out. Grab the tv, grab the photos. No we'll be fine, I'm not leaving. I can't see any flames, we'll be fine, but as soon as we can see the flames, we'll leave. Ok, act like you've got some sense, get your shit and leave. And so we did. I now have a different perspective on why people stick around. I still don't think they should but I understand the thought process better. Even the little things such as books you don't want to leave behind, actually none of your stuff you wish to leave behind. In fact, I chose photos over clothes, so most of my clothes are still in the house. Now we wait and see what happens and say a lot of prayers.

Boring would be good.

So much to do so little time to do it

Ok, I know I've been sparse on here, but I've been soooo busy. I'm in the process of moving so it's been packing, packing and more packing. Did I mention packing? Then today we took my son's dog to the vet to be spayed. Poor girl, just a drugged dog wanting to just lie on the floor.

Well I have to make this short, got more packing to do. Where did all this stuff come from?

Just not a good day for me

So I come home and wonder where everyone is. The dogs are locked up in the kitchen, the tv is on in the livingroom but no son in sight. I walk back to the bedroom, the door is shut, I go in no sign of my husband but his tv is on too. I so walk past the dogs and walk outside being careful not to let them out. I assume there's a reason why they can't get out. I see my husband and son kneeling over a box seemingly petting whatever is in the box. I think, did they bring home another pet? Then my son looks up at me and shakes his head. I realized I was wrong. I walk closer to the box to discover my cat, Kismet in the box lying down. She doesn't seem to be moving. They tell me she was hit by a car about 20 minutes before I came home. I pet her as I see no sign of life to her. I cry.









RIP Kismet, you were loved and will be sorely missed.