It isn't the USMC, but they are good to go

Today's Quote:

"Think positively and masterfully,
with confidence and faith,
and life becomes more secure,
more fraught with action,
richer in achievement and experience."
- Eddie Rickenbacker

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Lesson Learned: You really can do everything if you put your mind to it.

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In a few short months, our "Weekend Warriors" went from citizens whose lives only lightly touched each other, to a team. They found out what drives them crazy about each other and how to overcome that for The Mission. They found out what makes each other tick and how to use that to their advantage. My husband said it was good to see the "kids" growing up - but it was equally good to see him also maturing. He has little tolerance for BS and imperfection, yet I see him "going with the flow" and laughing about some of the absurdities of Army Life. He's doing something important, and he knows this, and to be a part of it, he's willing to put up with some BS.

As for me, I think I am regressing! I've heard ARNG wives who said that their kids regress when their Daddy is deployed. Well, I must be the kid! Acting out, temper tantrums, not eating, not sleeping, crying a lot! Sound like a 3 year old? Sounds like me! And just when I thought the parent in me was about done with the clingy, whiny 3 year old in me, I discovered MFLC. Military and Family Life Consultants - paid for by your tax dollars and mine and our soldier's butts on the line. These are highly trained counselors, and except for "reportable" issues such as child abuse or domestic violence, is NOT reported to The Dreaded Chain of Command. And it's FREE, FREE, FREE. So you are having marriage issues because your soldier is deployed (OK, that would be 100% of us, I'm guessing), and you want to find ways to communicate better - work with your own personal counselor - and no one need know. Not your soldier's commander, not your mother-in-law, nada! Need help learning how to be a "single parent" - there you go. Deployment have you just a weee bit frazzled? MFLC is the place to go. And then you don't have to act out in front of the commander's wife. (Ok, I didn't do that, and our commander's wife is awesome... still, you get the picture...)

So the soldiers are good to go and have boots down in the rocks and sands of the Middle East. And the families are marshaling their resources for a long year or so. And, mostly, I can believe we will be Just Fine. And I can believe that in the lazy afternoon... but try telling me that at 2 am when I wake up with my stomach in knots. You with boots on the ground, you know what I mean.

Bless our Troops and Those Who Wait for Them, for They Also Serve.

Books and People

Today's Quote:

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."- George Bernard Shaw

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Lesson Learned: Keep learning, keep connecting.

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Some days I feel like I won't ever sleep again. The up-side of that is that I have been able to read several books in the middle of the night.

As You Were: To War and Back with the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard By Christian Davenport. This book tracks the experiences of several Virgina Guardsmen and their families as they prepare for deployment, deploy and return home. Perhaps you will see yourself in this book. And even if you don't, it is a testament to the strengths of the human soul and a person's ability to survive. Christian Davenport is a journalist, and the book reads like a documentary at times - but the stories are so human and the lost and found hopes and dreams are so powerful, that you can't help but be drawn into them. This is not a "preachy political book," although politics is brought up where appropriate and sensitively done. It is also not a "blood and gore" book, but he minces no words describing the soldiers' experiences. I recommend it.

The Book of Positive Quotations compiled and arranged by John Cook. I have used this book to find inspiration to write on the backs of envelopes and on packages sent to the Middle East since 2004. It is not a replacement for your Bible or other Spiritual Teaching book, but it does have the power to help brighten or better some one's day. Many of the quotes I use on this website come from this book.

I'm Already Home...Again: Keeping your family close while on assignment or deployment (2nd ed.) by Elain Gray Dumler. Filled with tips and tricks learned by military families of all service branches. They are organized by "deployment" stages, and many are geared to families with children. There are also poems sprinkled throughout that remind us why we do this. A good, quick, light read.

But books are merely books, and the most precious thing I have found is connecting with other spouses and significant others. Younger, older, "been there, done that" or not - they have all found a way to help keep me going. Like a Band of Sisters, we lean on each other when we need propping up and we "high five" when someone hears from their soldier. We commiserate that we are looking at a year or so of celibacy and we bake cookies together and tell heart-warming stories of our soldiers. (I know, I know, those of you who know me know I don't cook, but I have participated in some joint cookie baking ventures - yes, even me). Some of the ladies I know only through email, but to my delight and sanity, I have also met some motivated and loving women in person. Reach out and touch someone. It's been a little tougher as we don't have a strong FRG system in place, but we are making our way. The Minute Men gathered together before This Great Nation was born, so we are part of a long tradition of women standing behind their Citizen Soldiers. That helps, too.

Major Changes

Today's Quote:

To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to posses a guiding principle. A belief of some kind. A bumper sticker, if you will. - Judith Guest

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Lesson Learned: For every thing, there is a season.

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The soldiers went to training, came home on leave and then left for the Middle East. A time of change and transition. And a time to "be in the moment." Now, a month later, when events are no longer "OpSec" and a routine is taking shape, now I can look back and reflect on the last weeks.

I know my DH hides The Truth from me. At least for the most part. He described training at the JMTC (Joint Maneuver Training Center) like how a teen-age son would describe summer camp - great swimming pool, rained too much, but still enjoyed running around in the mud - oh, and yes, enjoyed qualifying on the various weapons, too. But he's not too clever. Every now and then he let slip a comment such as, "Yeah, we're all pretty serious about the 'Combat Lifesaver Course.'" OK, I'm glad they were all serious about it. But it reminded me that yes, they were preparing to enter a War Zone. Where people die. I try to delude myself as much as he tries to hide The Truth from me, but sometimes that's an impossibility.

So they practiced with their weapons and gave each other IV's and my DH called home and said that "all is well" and "of course you know I like this stuff." Of course you do. You never did get over being a Marine. And you never did get over that you were never called to deploy. To me, being willing and able was enough, but not for you. So here we are, with you newly deployed to the Middle East. And me, my "bumper sticker" is now: Army Wife - Proud And Strong.