Deployment Day February 9th, 2007

In sickness and in health

No it's not a marriage but it is a committment. A promise to lend aid, comfort and support to a family while daddy is away. I suppose it is a marriage of sorts and the vows certainly apply. This first week has been a test, of that I am sure. I remember a time when I had car problems and didn't know if I would arrive to and from work or home on a daily basis. When you are a single parent, there isn't always someone there to "rescue" you in times of need. So our week was off to a great start when the van began having a brake problem. We escorted it to the shop and loaded us all up in my car, which is a bit on the small side when it comes to children's car seats. But the little sardines managed and we were none the worse for the wear. Wednesday found us unexpectedly having to go to the emergency room, always a parents nightmare. Little Kaylin had a febrile seizure. We discovered the measure of God's grace to us in the form of our new pastor and his wife. What a treasure! The customary follow up visit yielded strep throat results and now it appears that Kyran may follow suit and another visit to the ER may be in order. Well, life is never dull when little kids are involved for sure. So here I am, in sickness and in health trying to give moral support and hoping to maintain my own health among the munchkins.
Perhaps another challenge is in order to all of you who are blessed to have a spouse. Be conscious of those single parents or other folks who may not have that additional support in the form of a spouse or other family member to help out. Some people find it difficult to ask for help and struggle along on their own. Look for opportunities and don't be afraid to "butt" in sometimes because chances are that person really needs help but doesn't know how or is afraid to ask. I personally have been in that position and now am surrounded by many military wives who have husbands that are gone for a year. It is amazing how many things can go haywire in a home or car and can overwhelm someone who is already up to their neck in other issues. Be aware people!

Precious Moments

I have a small collection of Precious Moments figurines but most of the ones I have, has a particular significance in my life. In other words it was given to me by someone special or I purchased it because it had some particular meaning for me. While I enjoy my collection there are precious moments that are much more important and that is being with family. With Jeremy's soon departure to Iraq, I have come to value each minute as especially precious. A year in broad terms does not seem like much but when you have to go through that 365 days moment by moment, hour by hour while someone you love is far away in a dangerous place, it can be excruciatingly long. So I challenge each one to take time today and go tell your husband or wife, brother, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, mothers and fathers, how much you love them. And if some rifts have come between you over time, make this the time to mend a few fences. We have been dreading when Jeremy has to leave and yet we want to enjoy this week as much as we can so we are squeezing every minute out of every day. I hope you will all do the same with all of your families. Never take them for granted. Treasure your precious moments. If there are days when you seem to tire of each other or get a little short tempered with your kids, your spouses or just family in general, pause and think what it would be like not to have them around for a year and remember to say a little prayer for three little kids who are missing their daddy and a wife who now must assume multiple roles, and for another mom who just wants her kids to be safe.

Lessons

Ten things I have learned since being in Kansas:
1 Contrary to popular belief, Walmarts are not all the same.
2 Unlike some metropolitan areas that sort of merge together, when traveling from one
community to another, there is not much in between. In other words, you know where one
one town ends and the other begins
3. Kansas is pretty flat, only rolling bumps
4. Tractors are a hot commodity and you can plow streets with them
5. You can have more than 7 days in a row with sunshine
6. Traveling with kids is always an adventure and never dull.
a. DVD players built into cars is a good thing
b. never forget the kids juice/water cups/snacks
c. practice up on all the kid songs that you know from your childhood
d. some kids are good travelers, others not so good even on short runs
e. always be prepared for the why questions, practice lots of patience
f. it is a good idea to always have an extra set of clothes for the kids, stuff happens
well anyway, you get the picture
7. Town meetings are announced with the tornado warning siren. Don't be late
8. Water towers are everywhere, you know the big tall ones you always saw in pictures
9 You can play in the snow without getting soaked
10. Coffee shops are not on every corner. I know now where there are three, one in
Junction City and one in Manhattan and one on the base. None of them is a Starbucks. Go
figure. I have come to really appreciate a latte when I get one.

After the storm

It is now several days following our snow storm and it is beautiful. The snow is still on the ground, the sky is blue. the sun is shining and the daytime temperature has been in the upper thirties to slowly melt the snow as it should. Sorry Ketchikanians for your grey dismal weather. There are areas where there has been nothing to disturb the snow and it is glistening in the brightness of the sun as it lays like a soft blanket over the earth. There were times on those rare sunny days in Ketchikan that I felt like a mole who had not seen the light of day for weeks. I was out walking today with the dog and thinking this was all just for me. Now don't get me wrong folks, I love Alaska and it will always be a part of me but I have to say that days like today make me forget that there aren't any mountains here. The sky goes on forever and there is nothing to block the view. I hope I will still be saying these words come July or August when the ground is dry and parched and the wind is blowing and I can't see for all of the dust and the grit that is in my contact lenses. But for today and I will take one day at a time, the snow is fabulous and it looks like it may be here for a little longer. I once said, I don't know why anyone would live in Kansas and look at me now. I guess God has a sense of humor and He wants me to eat my words or something. As I learned when I first moved to Alaska, you have to take the good with the bad and maybe this is the good for Kansas. So while some of you folks don your yellow slickers and your Ketchikan sneakers, just think of me while I don my sunglasses to shade my eyes from the glaring sun and run out to make snow angels in the "dry" snow.

Snow

Lest anyone think I left the inclement weather behind and am enjoying sunny days to my heart's content, rest assured it is not so. It has been snowing pretty much all afternoon and we now have accumulated about 6 inches of white fluff. Now that in itself is not bad. I'm used to snow and slush. However, out here where we live, the roads don't get plowed much. The main highway is cleared of course, but this little town is five miles from the main highway. We are very lucky if someone comes around at night and plows a path down the middle of the street. The dogs love it and it brings out all the "frisky" in them. I suspect that tomorrow we may have to find a place and let the kids slide down a hill. I think I see a snowman in our future. The last snow we had was so dry that we couldn't even make a snowball, much less a snowman but this snow seems to have a little more moisture so it might work. Hmm dry snow, who would have guessed? At any rate, we shall see what tomorrow brings and if we can even get to church.

An Alaskan in Kansas

It finally happened. The driving rain and wind of Ketchikan Alaska blew me away and I found myself in Kansas. Who knew? Yes it is really true. After living in Ketchikan since July 1st 1984, and in 1980-1981, and in Juneau from Feb 14, 1977-Sept 1979, the duck has flown the coop and found herself drying the webs between her toes in, of all places, Kansas. Grandkids have a strong pull on your heartstrings. Jeremy will probably be deployed to Iraq sometime in February and it just seemed like a good idea at the time to come and lend Lisa a hand with three busy little bodies. I have to tell you, Kansas is different than Ketchikan in just about every way possible. First of all there is sunshine. Yes Ketchikanians, the sun does exist and it is bright and warm. Sorry but I just don't miss the rain right now, maybe later when I need to water the garden that is growing in our back yard. Yes, we are going to plant, maybe even a watermelon or a few other things that take more than 6 weeks to grow and there aren't any slugs to eat everything in sight. Hallelujah!
Of course there are things I do miss, one being the mountains. There are no mountains in Kansas only a few little bumps. I sort of miss that nice salt air, low tide aroma also but at least we live near a lake and we can see it from just about anywhere in this little town of Wakefield.
There is no shopping here. The main street consists of a small post office/bank, a car wash, a mini mart/gas station, laundry mat, and bar and grill and bait shop. For anything else you must travel at least 15 miles in one of a couple different directions to another town. Oh its true, you can actually drive more than 18 miles in many different directions. Although I have to say I think I got the driving bug out of my system when I drove here from Bellingham Washington. I crossed 8 states to get here with a dog and cat and a lot of Christmas cds.
Christmas was great with the kids and now I am settling in, trying to find a new life for myself. I managed to keep my job with KGH at least for a few months by working online. It is great. I get up early in the morning and work in my "jammies", take time with the kids when they get up, work a little more, play with the kids, work a little and so on. Does it get any better?
Josh and Kendrie came yesterday and will be here for a few days. It gives Kendrie a chance to get acquainted with the fam which she didn't have much chance to do when they were down for the wedding in July. So we are all here, just one big happy family. Josh is a certified flight instructor for those who didn't know and he has four students right now, all from China. He loves flying and this is a good way to build hours for future employment. He is also learning a lot about communication if you catch my drift.
As for myself, I believe I may be attending the Nazarene Church in Junction City. I have been a couple of times and it is a very active church with a lot of different activities for a lot of different folks. The pastor is very nice and friendly and seems to be well liked by the congregation so I think I may have found a good church.
We are going to work on getting some pictures and some new postings soon so keep checking. Love you all.
Veta