Blessings

I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my life and my blessings today. I have so much to be thankful for this year......I don't even know where to begin. I've been blessed with such a wonderful family, and some great friends......so blessed that I sometimes wonder if I'm going to wake up to find that it's nothing but a dream. What did I do to deserve such blessings?? I haven't got a clue.

I've also spent quite a bit of time thinking about all our service men and women who are very far from home right now......whether they be in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, or so many other locations across the world that keep them from being home with their families. How blessed we are to have these men and women who are willing to sacrifice so much for us. My heart aches knowing that they are so far from home today, but my heart also bursts with pride for them. I'm lucky to have all three of my boys home for Thanksgiving this year, but next year will be a different story......Seth will be in Iraq......so I'm relishing every prank they pull on each other and treasuring every moment we have to spend together.

The best way to describe the way I feel is in the words of a song by Martina McBride......

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way.
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day.

I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve.
To be here with the ones who love me,
To love them so much it hurts.

I am so blessed.

Happy birthday, Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday....true, she is no longer with us here on Earth, but I know she still watches over all of us from the heavens. She was at Seth's wedding in the vacant chair beside my Dad....funny how that worked out, it wasn't planned that way, it just kind of happened.

Mom's the most unselfish person I've ever known. She was beautiful inside and out and my Dad absolutely adored her, as did all of us kids. My only regret is that I didn't get to know her really well until after I had kids of my own. She was so busy when I was a kid, raising me and my two sisters and two brothers....we were really close together in age and kept her hopping, literally. After my first son, Rick, was born, however, we spent alot of time together and became more than just a mother and daughter, we became great friends. She was such a special person, one of a kind, and I was so blessed to have had her for a mother and a friend. I miss her every second of every day.....but I know I'll see her again someday...... :)

Happy birthday, Mom......I love you!!!

Anniversaries

Today is my Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, they would have been married for 63 years...... but, the love of my Dad's life died of cancer 11 years ago. They married during WWII when my Dad was in the Marines and came home on leave before he was sent to the Pacific. They spent their first 2 years of marriage separated by an ocean and a war...but it didn't dampen their love for each other. I never once heard them raise their voices when they had a disagreement. My Dad is still cranking on almost all 8 cylinders and enjoys his life and all of us kids and his grandkids, but he looks forward to the day that he'll get to see his love again. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!

Tomorrow, the 18th, is my 33rd wedding anniversary. I can’t believe I’m that old, much less been married that long. I was just a teenager when I got married, way too young to be making a decision about spending the rest of my life with someone, but somehow, it turned out to be a good decision, one of the best I’ve ever made. No, it hasn’t all been peaches and cream, I don’t think any relationship could ever be wonderful all the time. It takes a lot of love, understanding, love, commitment, love, forgiveness, love, compromise, love, trust, and did I mention love. We’ve had good times and bad times and were on shaky ground not too terribly long ago, but I’ve never been happier or more in love than I am right now. It’s hard to explain what happened, or how and why it happened, but something happened, that's for sure. I think there were a lot of contributing factors, including the fact that I almost lost him twice this year, but I know that I’ve changed a lot the last couple of years, too. One thing's for sure, though, we’ve fallen in love all over again...after all these years. And I’ve got to tell you, it is glorious...it makes me feel young and beautiful and sexy...even at my age. I wish everyone could experience that feeling. My little sister even made a comment about how I smile all the time now...go figure...... :)

Autumn leaves

After lunch today, I sat outside on the stairs under the trees, avoiding going back into the office for as long as possible. The air was so fresh, but it's hard to describe the smell......it was the leaves, I think......kind of sweet, yet fresh and almost spicy. When the breeze stirred the tree branches, the leaves would flutter down like snowflakes, spinning and tumbling down onto the stairs, the grass, and me. When the wind picked up, the leaves skittered across the concrete making such a unique sound. And there's nothing quite like the crunch of leaves under your feet when you walk. Sighhhhh......I love this time of year...... :)

Have you hugged a vet today??

I ran up new Army and Air Force flags at my house last night, the old ones were getting quite worn and frayed, and I didn’t want them looking bad today. They wave proudly beneath the American flag that flies over our house all year long. Before I left the house this morning, I kissed Seth’s cheek while he was still asleep and did the “Mom” thing of rubbing the top of his head. Then, I gave his wife, Katie, a hug. I stopped at my Dad’s on the way to work and gave him an extra-big hug and made plans to go out to lunch with him today. When it gets to be daylight in Alaska, I’ll give Kevin a call and send him my love. I also e-mailed a friend who spent last year in Iraq, the daughter of a high school friend who also just returned, and my uncle who was a B-17 pilot during WWII. This is a ritual I look forward to every year on Veterans Day. You see, these people, all vets or will-be-someday vets, are my heroes, and I want them to know just how much they mean to me.

Have you hugged a vet today??

He's home

Since this is my first real post, I should tell everyone a little bit about me. As it says at the top of the page, I'm a military mom/daughter. My father was a Marine during WWII who fought on the islands in the Pacific. He fought on Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima (where he was wounded). I grew up listening to his stories and learned to have a great love and respect for anyone in the military. Dad's always been my hero...... and he always will be.

I've been happily married to the same guy forever and have three grown sons. I couldn't be any prouder of them or love them any more than I do. The oldest, Rick, is a shy, thoughtful guy with a quiet demeanor and gentle nature. Animals love him and warm up to him in a hurry because of that. He is the computer guy in the family and works in wireless Internet. The younger two chose the military. The middle one, Kevin, has been a flight-line jet mechanic in the Air Force for 7 1/2 years and has worked on a variety of planes ranging from the giant B-52 to the hotshot F-15. He's currently stationed at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska, and loves it there. He's always been a bit of a polar bear, so the weather just makes him want to go skiing or snowmobiling. The baby boy, Seth, joined the Army 3 years ago and graduated from basic/AIT (artillery) the day after the war in Iraq started. We watched the opening minutes of the war from a hotel room near Fort Sill when we went to his graduation. He went directly from graduation to spending a year in South Korea, and has been back in the states at Fort Hood for a year and a half...... long enough to fall in love and get married this summer. Now, he is readying to deploy to Iraq the first part of December.

That pretty much brings us to this post. My baby boy is home on leave...... :) I hadn't seen him in a month, and the first thing I had to do when he got here was squeeze the livin' daylights out of him. He understands my need for that and just grins and bears it. He'll be catching up with friends and family for the next week and a half before he has to report back to Hood. I just know that it's good to see his face again...... it has been too long...... phones are great, but not the same as face to face. He'll be able to come home one more time at Thanksgiving before he deploys...... yay. Kevin will be coming in from Alaska for the holiday, too, and Rick is here, so it will be "home, sweet home" for a few days. All my boys will be home, at least for a short time.

As it gets closer to the time for Seth to deploy, it gets harder and harder to keep my emotions in check. One day I'll be talking to an old friend, catching up on family stuff, and will tell her about his upcoming deployment with a smile on my face. The next day I'll be e-mailing a friend, just mention Seth in the e-mail, and burst into tears. A good friend told me that it would be a roller coaster ride of emotions for the next year...... he was right. And I hope this particular friend won't mind if I unload on him sometimes when I need to talk to someone...... you see, he's been there and done that...... Iraq, that is...... and talking to him brings me some peace of mind. In the meantime, I hug Seth every chance I get...... :)