Our Veteran

I have to confess that I used to think all veterans were old men. Old men who wore 3-piece suits and stood up in church to be recognized on certain Sundays of the year.

Boy oh boy, was I wrong. And naive. And we'll just chalk it up to my young age.

Now I know the truth.

And now... I'm married to one!

But...
I know veterans who aren't even 25 yet.

I know girl veterans.

Single veterans.

Veterans with degrees and veterans fresh out of high school.

Veterans with one "tour" and veterans with too many to list.


I know families who wish they had a veteran to honor this week.

I hope that we all would take more than a day to honor those who served. And those who are still serving.

PS... Yep. That's my skinny minny husband on the left up there. Gheez. I told him he wasn't allowed to come home weighing less than me.

Don't fret peoples... he will gain it ALL back. He always does. Two or three trips to Red Robin and Outback and he'll be back to his old self.

I even hesitated in posting this picture for fear of what his mother and grandmothers and aunts will say to me when they see it... "That poor little skinny thing!" ... "He's just wasting away!" ... "If he were here we could fatten him up!" ... "The Army should feed them better!"

If you ask me, I think if he's gonna be flying around in that tiny helicopter and standing on that narrow mountain... he's better off skinny.

One Week and 5 Days of Us

Merciful heavens. It has been awhile, people.

I am not about to make any excuse for my blogging lapse.

So here's a recap. In no order whatsoever. With no purpose or deep-seated meaning at all. Purely random. Like me.

1. Halloween was a sugar-infused blast of a good time. My mom and dad came up for the weekend, and I know they left tired. The boy went as a Dementor. "What's that?" you say. It happens to be an evil creature from "Harry Potter." It will chill the air around you as it sucks your soul from your body. Just precious for a chaplain's (ex-preacher's) son, don't 'ya think? So cute without the hood, too.





(By the way, I know that my husband is STILL a preacher. I just get a kick out of saying "ex-preacher.")

2. We went to Disney in Ice. Yep, Disney on Ice. Not at all related to Halloween, but equally as fun. There was a special event here for the children with deployed parents. The arena was FULL. The show was great. I sang along like nobody's business, Loud and proud... much to the dismay of some lady in front of me. I am a human catalog of memorized Disney songs, and I didn't disappoint.

The snow cone and cotton candy were $87.68, but the tickets were free. And did you know that Donald Duck can drive a Zamboni?





3. We have begun the process of getting braces on the boy's teeth. Therefore, no one is getting Christmas presents. Good grief. Have you priced a mouth full of hardware lately? It pains me, and it's paining our savings account.

4. I made a fool of myself at the McDonald's drive-in. What is it with me and fast-food drive-ins lately? Maybe it's God telling me to eat healthier. I misread a sign that named the winner of a contest. It said that Mary D. and Tom S. won $10,000. I thought it said that Mary D. Won and Tom S. Won won $10,000. See my mistake? I thought they both had the same last name... the last name "Won." They were both very non-Won looking. I had to laugh at myself. I was also wearing my sparkly witch hat at the time. I think that distracted everyone from my stupidity.

5. We have passed the 6 month mark in Dan's Army "vacation." It is a bit hard for me to fathom that 6 months have gone by since we saw him. Since he was home. Some days it feels so easy and manageable. Other days, it doesn't. I could go on and on and on. I could whine about being a single mother or being lonely or trying to make sure my son's ok... but I shouldn't. I know lots of single moms who get through life's challenges every day. I know that people can be lonely with a house full of family. And my son? He's doing great. We lean on each other and he's learning that God is the one seeing us through. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

6. I am enjoying the cool weather.

7. I want to kiss the person who invented "Fall Back." Seriously. Well... hug them. I just can't be kissing random people with my husband gone and all this swine flu going around.

8. I hate making holiday travel plans. It's that time of year again when I obsess over whether or not everyone is happy with the arrangements. I know, I know. It's not something to obsess over. But, it is what I do best. Besides feel guilty.

9. Bought myself a new American flag and a cool solar light to illuminate it at night. Ain't I patriotic?

10. I had a girls' night out while my parents were here to play with the boy. Some pals and I went to a yummy Italian place. We all ate steak. My good friend told our server to bring on the bread, meat and wine. A great meal and a good time.

Happy November, folks.

Trick or Treat?

Now if this doesn't put you in the Halloween spirit, I don't know what would.



Ain't she a happy camper?

I mean... Ain't she a happy obese elderly cat wearing a witch hat with groovy green hair?

Let the Halloween madness begin!

What HAVE I Been Doing?

There are times - on the phone - my husband will ask me, "What have you been doing?"

He doesn't mean it sarcastically... he KNOWS I have lots of things to keep me busy.

He doesn't say it to be mean or condescending... he KNOWS that raising the boy alone is as hard as being in a war zone. At times, it is a war zone.

He really just wants to know what activities we've filled our days with. What keeps us occupied.

And here lately... I have no idea.

I wake up, and before I know it... it's bedtime again.

It's all a blur.

A blur that looks a lot like a really cute, but tiring, 10 year-old.

And so I give you... a moment in my day, honey. Multiply this scene X 24 hours, and then you'll know exactly what I've been doing.


Monday afternoon. 3:32 pm.

The boy: "Beep. Beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
"Ba-whooop. Ba-whooop."
"Bee-boo. Bee-boo."
"Oh-wee. Oh-wee. Oh-weeee-beepbeep."
"Bwap. Bwap. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. Bwap."

Me: "How in the world can you be doing homework while you're making all those robot noises?"

The boy: "It's just easy math; it helps me concentrate."

The boy: "And I like it."

(More various assorted noises and singing.)

The boy: "I'm watching you."

The boy: "With these two eyes."

Oh The Weirdness Of It All

Do you ever feel like you're on Candid Camera? (Did I just reveal my age?)

You know... do you ever feel like the things that are happening around you and to you are a huge practical joke? As if, at any moment, a host with big hair and a fake smile is gonna pop out and say,

"Surprise! You're on our new hidden camera game show!"

Last night, after AWANAS (kids' Bible clubs), I scooted through the Burger King drive-in to feed the boy. I wanted him to have a hot and nutritious meal before heading off to bed.

I pulled up to order, and the voice said,

"Welcome to Burger King. Can I take your order? We are all out of burger meat and steak-burger meat."

Turning to my little co-pilot, I said,

"Did she just say they were out of BURGER meat?"

"Yep," he said, "I think so."

"OK," I said, "I'll have a kid's chicken nugget meal, please."

As we "pull forward to the second window," I can't help but wonder just how many people came (like us) for a burger tonight. This place is on an Army base, folks. LOTS of young hungry soldiers... looking for food. And the line for the drive-thru is usually out the wazoo. Whatever that is.

At the window, as she took my money, I could not suppress my curiosity (or my mouth).

"Did you really say you guys were out of BURGER meat? As in, no BURGERS?"

"Yep," she said, "That's right."

I couldn't stop myself. The sarcasm rolled out faster than I could think...

"But this is 'BURGER' KING," I said.

I don't know how to put her reply into words. It was more of a sound. Like a groan and a grunt combined. She wasn't rude. She seemed to be wondering the same thing as me.

When is the hidden camera guy gonna pop out?

And by the way, did you know that some chickens produce nuggets in the shape of tiny little crowns?

Go BK, I say! If you're gonna run out of beef, at least you can serve us fancy royal nuggets.

Let's Just Say It's Only Been 10 Years

Whew.
I'm spent. Done.

We're back home after an extra long weekend at my parents' house, and you all know how much I love getting back to reality.

I had myself an excellent time at the reunion. It was amazing to see how GREAT everyone looked. And how we all turned into relatively normal adults. We laughed and talked and laughed and talked and no one broke a hip... we partied like it was 1989.

Except with mortgages and minivans and less hair on the dudes. And way less hair on us gals. We spent part of the evening wondering just why... back in the day... we felt it necessary to poof our hair up into the stratosphere. The hair was B I G, folks. Big. Huge.

Thank you, Lord, for some changes.

And thank you, Lord, for friends. Even after all these years, it felt like only yesterday that we were all 18. I went to school with these people from Kindergarten to Senior Year. They were like my family. And it feels like they still are.









The boy had himself a mighty fine weekend as well. He tromped around the farm behind my dad. He spent 3 whole days shooting at things, poking dead things with sticks, eating greasy hot dogs, eating an entire bag of Chick-o-Sticks, and riding his 4 wheeler. While I was at my reunion, he and his grandparents ordered pizza and rented a movie. Ahhhh... to be 10 again.

Or, 18.

Does This Shirt Match My Walker?

As I may have mentioned before, my high school reunion is coming up. "Up" as in, this weekend.

And I can tell you exactly what I've done to prepare myself to see these people I haven't seen since we were all MUCH younger.

Not. A. Thing.

That's right. Oh, I had plans, let me tell you. I was gonna drop a few pounds, get myself into kick-boxer shape, and get some Botox. Remember?

Instead, I got myself some germs. Germs that have pretty much incapacitated me for the last 10 days.

After 2 trips to the doctor, 2 flu tests, 1 strep test, one peak flow meter breathing test, one respiratory infection test that I SWEAR PULLED OUT BRAIN MATTER, 2 finger pricks, and 1 chest X-ray....

I have some kind of infection. Medical marvels.

I also have an antibiotic, some steroids for the whole breathing issue, and some mighty fine cough medicine. Translation... narcotics=sleep.

So I dragged my feeling better self out today to find the outfit. You know, the one that will make everyone say,
"Wow! You look great!"
"You haven't changed a bit since graduation!"
"You could pass for 21!"

Let me just pop your Class of '89 balloon right now and tell you... that outfit does not exist.

I may just settle for a new top or a pedicure.

And a puff of my inhaler to get me through the night.

My cousin, who also graduated the same year (and will be at the reunion), posted a great Facebook comment recently. He said we may need a doctor on hand Saturday night in case someone falls and breaks a hip. Oh my. Now that's funny.

But don't make me laugh too hard, 'cause I'll start coughing and then probably tinkle a little bit in my cute jeans.