EJ's Ramblings: 01/01/2006

Oh, yeah, and one other thing

Happy Birthday, Scott!!!
Have an awesome day and a stiff drink tonight, and try not to think too much about what my brother did 7 (?) years ago tonight. *BG*

Your card is in the mail, late as usual. Now turn on the writing computer and get to work!

Yeah, I'm getting old

I was just going over my calendar, and realized what day it is. If I had stayed in the Air Force, I could be retiring today. Wow. Wrap your brain around that one!

It doesn't feel like 20 years since I sat in that room at the MEPS station in Detroit, waiting for the bus that would take me to the airport that would take me to San Antonio, Texas for basic training. It doesn't feel like it's been that long since we stumbled off the bus at Lackland in the dark and played "Pick them up, put them down" with our luggage as our training instructors screamed at us. I don't know how long it feels like, but it doesn't seem like it's been two decades. Maybe that's because I'm just getting to the age when I can remember what I was doing decades ago. Hmm, there's a thought!

I can safely say that I am a very different person than I was 20 years ago today. Thank goodness for that! I was still a teen then, sure that I had the answers and that once I got through basic and tech school I'd be home free to do whatever I wanted. I lived under than delusion for a few years, and then I had a baby and my husband deployed within three weeks. Desert Storm was what finally made me grow up. I shudder to think what I'd be like if I hadn't had those eight months of hell.

I can't help wondering how my life would be different today if I hadn't separated from the Air Force 12 years ago. Certainly I wouldn't have a resume as long as my arm, and I wouldn't have homeschooled my kids. We would be in much better shape financially, but our family could well be in ruins. Dual military families with kids are tough to keep together. I got out because our kids needed a parent at home. They were babies and faced being orphaned if their parents were deployed, and I couldn't live with that. In my heart I knew our family had better things ahead with only one military member, but it took us years of financial struggle to get back on our feet when our income was halved.

Who knows where we'd be if I'd stayed in, or even if I'd put in two more years and gotten out when I maxed out the time in grade for my rank. One of the great blessings from God is that we can't see too far into the future, and we can't know what might have been. That doesn't stop us from trying, of course. Kids will test the limits no matter how old they are.

I'm happy with where we are in our lives now. We're in a place that's good and safe. It's still too far to Mom's house. We're still not close to ready for college and ultimate retirement, which are approaching far too quickly. But we're blessed, and I wouldn't trade it.

I think I might be too old

Ryan kitty is very sweet and affectionate. He takes about two seconds to fill the nearest lap, and he fills laps all the way up! I'm guessing he's close to 10 lbs. The trouble is, he's shy about coming out of the laudry room and connecting hallway. He seems to know that the girls aren't too keen on his presence and is being very gentlemanly. Ergo, he wants scritchies, but to give them, we have to sit on the hallway floor. My back is killing me. I have to go to work. I hope the heat patch helps.

I think I might also be too old to wear my PJ top when I take the kid to school. I put on jeans and a jacket, so I'm mostly dressed, technically. This morning, though, a lady was dropping her sons off, and one of them had driven. She smiled at me as she walked around the back of the car to get from the passenger side to the drivers side, and she was nicely dressed and made up. Going to work, no doubt. I, on the other hand, was wearing a shearling jacket over a pink PJ top, no make-up, finger combed hair. I smiled back, of course. She's a mom. Of course, half the neighborhood drove by when I got out of the car at home, including one of the builders. Yeah, that's attractive. It's just to dad-burn early to be beautiful.

We have a new foster cat

We picked him this morning. His name is Ryan, and he's just a year old. He's going to be a big boy! We're fostering until we know for sure that he'll get along with Their Ladyships and won't go crazy when confined inside.

I know, he looks like Chloe in the picture, but he's easily half again her size, and I don't think he's done growing yet. He's solid, but he hasn't grown into his feet yet. We're not sure if he's been abused or if he's always been a stray. He's very friendly and will snuggle with anyone who sits down, but he's very skittish inside the house. It's hard to tell what's former abuse fear and what's survival mode. So far he's confined himself to the laundry room and didn't try to go into the garage when Eric went out and left the door open. That's a good thing because we have too much traffic for kitties to venture out.

Of course, Their Ladyships aren't sure what to make of him, but there hasn't been any hissing or spitting; just a little bit of growling (Tess) and cautious investigation.

He has the makings of an unusual cat. He didn't protest when I put him in the carrier, didn't cry or meow at all in the car, and didn't seem to mind when I didn't release him immediately when we got home. He curled up and patiently waited while the girls checked him out, and when I took the carrier to the laundry room (close to the litter box) and opened it up, he sniffed noses with Chloe before retreating behind the washer. He's come out to eat and snuggle, but he's not interested in coming out. It's probably just as well.

What I did on my Christmas vacation

Word count would be through the roof with this post if a picture really was worth a thousand words!

I had no commitments, appointments, or obligations for a whole week so I: