I cannot believe how busy we have been. I thought that coming home would be so relaxing. How wrong was I. We are constantly on the run. We are still trying to unpack the apartment and now we are getting down to crunch time. By September fourth this apartment needs to be spick and span. We have a long way to go.
Today we both registered for classes at University of Wisconsin Stout. It was a rather frustrating five hours. Because I am a freshman and I am enrolling so late in the year, most of the classes I need are full. I managed to get into a few classes and I'm happy with my schedule. This semester I will be taking sociology, intro to business administration, speech, and dance aerobics. Yes, dance aerobics. I hope you all think of me running around like a complete idiot from 9:05-10:00 in the morning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I hope that thought makes you smile. At least then I know somebody is getting enjoyment out of me prancing around like a three year old on a sugar high.
With classes starting on Wednesday, going back to work on the ninth, and trying to organize my apartment, my brain is on overload. I'm ready for things to settle down and to get into a routine. How amazing that will be.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tools
There is so much that needs to be written and so little time to sit down and focus on the job. We have been running back and forth to Hayward the last couple of days trying to get all of his tools out of mini-storage. And we aren't just moving little hammers and nails. Oh no... we're moving the jointer, the bandsaw, the drill press. Big, heavy, over-sized tools that make a boy feel like a man. The kind of tools I find my husband drooling over in Home Depot the way I drool over a pair of Franco Sarto shoes. Only difference being mine cost a hundred dollars and his around a thousand. It is a small miracle that the Xterra still has a home in our garage. I'm sure it is just a matter of time and more trips to Hayward before no vehicle will fit through the door. As a wife, I think that if I can no longer park in the garage I am deserving of an automatic car starter. One can always dream.
Today I am refusing to go to Hayward. I have a whole bag of ripe peaches and I have finally found my kitchen (including the table). I plan on playing Betty Crocker all day and making a full dinner. Chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a peach pie. Nothing beats comfort food when life is so up and down. A little kitchen aide therapy goes a long way. Maybe tonight I will find the time and energy to sit down and really write about life at the Salzman house. It's just to tedious of a task and my brain can only focus on my sore muscles at the moment.
Today I am refusing to go to Hayward. I have a whole bag of ripe peaches and I have finally found my kitchen (including the table). I plan on playing Betty Crocker all day and making a full dinner. Chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a peach pie. Nothing beats comfort food when life is so up and down. A little kitchen aide therapy goes a long way. Maybe tonight I will find the time and energy to sit down and really write about life at the Salzman house. It's just to tedious of a task and my brain can only focus on my sore muscles at the moment.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Social
Oh what a weekend! J.R. and I have been on a party streak for the last two days. Coming from Walter Reed where we did a lot of sitting all this action has been exciting but very tiring.
Saturday we celebrated the marriage of a fellow MN National Guard soldier. It was a fantastic reception. The party was held on a beautiful farm just north of Rochester, MN. With no one around for miles the music was loud and the keg was full. J.R. had a chance to see all of the guys and really talk to them for the first time since leaving them behind in Iraq. Being the typical soldier group, we were the last to leave. We arrived home at three am and crashed.
After a few hours of sleep we woke up and got ready to head to the MN state fair. Now if you have never been the the MN state fair you really don't know what you're missing. It is huge. HUGE. If you only have a day to spend at the fair, then you need to be very selective about where you spend your time. There are rides, farming equipment, cars, animals... everything you would expect out of a state fair. And then of course there is the food. One must go to the state fair if only for the food. Anything you can think of is available at the fair and all of it comes fried on a stick. Alligator, deep fried candy bars, fried pickles... if you can imagine it then they can make it. I rationed my calorie intake this week just so I wouldn't feel as guilty after today. One serving of cheese curds, five sweet martha's cookies, one gyro, and one (shared) bag of cotton candy and I was stuffed. It was delicious. And of course if you're going to go to the state fair, you make it a social gathering. We met up with more men from the unit and ran around the fair. Even though it was packed and hot, the company was great and we couldn't have asked for a better day. I have some pictures I'll be posting from the fair as soon as I find the energy to get off the couch and locate my camera.
Now that we have made it home I can't believe how tired I am. I've pushed myself to get through a few dishes and to continue on with the laundry that has piled up. I still don't have my shelves in the laundry room so it's nearly impossible to get in and use the washer and dryer. There is just so much stuff piled inside my one little tiny room. Hopefully tomorrow I can somehow convince J.R. to hang my shelves before he disappears to Hayward to dig out tools from his storage unit. I cannot wait to get rid of the storage unit. Unfortunately until we have a larger living area there is no way we have room for everything. Someday.
Saturday we celebrated the marriage of a fellow MN National Guard soldier. It was a fantastic reception. The party was held on a beautiful farm just north of Rochester, MN. With no one around for miles the music was loud and the keg was full. J.R. had a chance to see all of the guys and really talk to them for the first time since leaving them behind in Iraq. Being the typical soldier group, we were the last to leave. We arrived home at three am and crashed.
After a few hours of sleep we woke up and got ready to head to the MN state fair. Now if you have never been the the MN state fair you really don't know what you're missing. It is huge. HUGE. If you only have a day to spend at the fair, then you need to be very selective about where you spend your time. There are rides, farming equipment, cars, animals... everything you would expect out of a state fair. And then of course there is the food. One must go to the state fair if only for the food. Anything you can think of is available at the fair and all of it comes fried on a stick. Alligator, deep fried candy bars, fried pickles... if you can imagine it then they can make it. I rationed my calorie intake this week just so I wouldn't feel as guilty after today. One serving of cheese curds, five sweet martha's cookies, one gyro, and one (shared) bag of cotton candy and I was stuffed. It was delicious. And of course if you're going to go to the state fair, you make it a social gathering. We met up with more men from the unit and ran around the fair. Even though it was packed and hot, the company was great and we couldn't have asked for a better day. I have some pictures I'll be posting from the fair as soon as I find the energy to get off the couch and locate my camera.
Now that we have made it home I can't believe how tired I am. I've pushed myself to get through a few dishes and to continue on with the laundry that has piled up. I still don't have my shelves in the laundry room so it's nearly impossible to get in and use the washer and dryer. There is just so much stuff piled inside my one little tiny room. Hopefully tomorrow I can somehow convince J.R. to hang my shelves before he disappears to Hayward to dig out tools from his storage unit. I cannot wait to get rid of the storage unit. Unfortunately until we have a larger living area there is no way we have room for everything. Someday.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Sunshine
I woke up this morning, pulled back the curtains, and to my surprise the sun was shining. Today is one of the days that I remember why I love living in Wisconsin. It's not to hot, not to cold, no humidity, and there is just a slight breeze. The sky is dotted with big white fluffy clouds. For the first time I am able to sit outside and enjoy my new patio furniture.
Sitting outside for the first time since I've been home has been an interesting experience. With the pine tree missing from the corner of my apartment, I now have a clear view of the neighboring apartments. I've been out here for a little over an hour now watching my neighbors come and go. With the upcoming school year quickly approaching there are many new faces. Students are pouring back into town, both a welcomed site and an annoyance. Our quiet little town will soon once again be crowded with cars. Wal-Mart will be even more packed, the lines will be longer, and the cereal aisle will be picked over. Yes, even at twenty I'm still concerned about the cereal aisle.
It's been a roller coaster week. We are both so excited to be home. But home brings stress and stress creates short tempers. The cleaning and sorting process seems to be taking an eternity. I am now just starting to feel as though we have made a dent in the boxes. There is paperwork everywhere. My files are in desperate need of attention. Being in D.C. for so long means I have eight months of utility bills in one bin and the rest in my home files. Everything needs to be meshed into one again. A process that is trying on anyone's patience.
J.R. has cut way back on his meds. Withdrawal is miserable. Both for him and for me. His temper flares easily and I'll admit, he is a little scary when he gets going. I'm trying to stay patient with him as I know he can't control everything going on in his life. But that isn't always easy. With weddings coming up left and right over the next month or so I can't help but think of the advice everyone loves to give. "Don't go to bed angry." That's a load of bullshit. I personally am a huge fan of shutting my mouth, going to sleep, and waking up with a fresh start. If there is one thing I've learned in the last couple months, it's better to say nothing than to say something you'll regret.
Sitting outside for the first time since I've been home has been an interesting experience. With the pine tree missing from the corner of my apartment, I now have a clear view of the neighboring apartments. I've been out here for a little over an hour now watching my neighbors come and go. With the upcoming school year quickly approaching there are many new faces. Students are pouring back into town, both a welcomed site and an annoyance. Our quiet little town will soon once again be crowded with cars. Wal-Mart will be even more packed, the lines will be longer, and the cereal aisle will be picked over. Yes, even at twenty I'm still concerned about the cereal aisle.
It's been a roller coaster week. We are both so excited to be home. But home brings stress and stress creates short tempers. The cleaning and sorting process seems to be taking an eternity. I am now just starting to feel as though we have made a dent in the boxes. There is paperwork everywhere. My files are in desperate need of attention. Being in D.C. for so long means I have eight months of utility bills in one bin and the rest in my home files. Everything needs to be meshed into one again. A process that is trying on anyone's patience.
J.R. has cut way back on his meds. Withdrawal is miserable. Both for him and for me. His temper flares easily and I'll admit, he is a little scary when he gets going. I'm trying to stay patient with him as I know he can't control everything going on in his life. But that isn't always easy. With weddings coming up left and right over the next month or so I can't help but think of the advice everyone loves to give. "Don't go to bed angry." That's a load of bullshit. I personally am a huge fan of shutting my mouth, going to sleep, and waking up with a fresh start. If there is one thing I've learned in the last couple months, it's better to say nothing than to say something you'll regret.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Admission
Today has been a day of celebration. Yesterday I found out I have been officially admitted to University of Wisconsin Stout. I managed to sneak in just in time for fall classes. I register at the end of the month and classes start September fifth. I'm excited to finally have the chance to go back to school. Nervous, but excited.
To celebrate, I drove into the cities for a day of shopping with my friend Cheri. She lives minutes away from the Mall of America and Ikea. Being only an hour away from MOA most people think that it's odd I can count the number of times I have set foot inside on one hand. To be honest it's to big, to crowded, and much to noisy to really shop inside. I could honestly care less about shopping at the mall. Ikea on the other hand... well.... here is what we know to be a proven fact:
Josie+debit card+Ikea=DANGER
I managed to escape with minimal damage today. I bought some new shelves, a replacement picture frame, martini glasses, and three containers to sort my recycles into. All in all, not a bad day.
On the way home I realized I ordered J.R.'s replacement wedding ring over a month ago and had yet to hear anything from Shane Co. Since I was driving past the store I stopped to check things out. Apparently they tried to call me once to tell me it was in, didn't reach me, didn't leave a message, and locked the ring back in the safe never to be seen again. It took three employees forty-five minutes to locate the ring. They apologized a lot. Not a huge deal as they found the jewelry and I was able to take it home to J.R. He slipped the ring on his middle finger tonight. I think it stayed on for about five hours before he decided it was to uncomfortable to wear. I completely understand and I could really care less if he wears it or not. For whatever reason just knowing that he has a wedding band makes me happy.
To celebrate, I drove into the cities for a day of shopping with my friend Cheri. She lives minutes away from the Mall of America and Ikea. Being only an hour away from MOA most people think that it's odd I can count the number of times I have set foot inside on one hand. To be honest it's to big, to crowded, and much to noisy to really shop inside. I could honestly care less about shopping at the mall. Ikea on the other hand... well.... here is what we know to be a proven fact:
Josie+debit card+Ikea=DANGER
I managed to escape with minimal damage today. I bought some new shelves, a replacement picture frame, martini glasses, and three containers to sort my recycles into. All in all, not a bad day.
On the way home I realized I ordered J.R.'s replacement wedding ring over a month ago and had yet to hear anything from Shane Co. Since I was driving past the store I stopped to check things out. Apparently they tried to call me once to tell me it was in, didn't reach me, didn't leave a message, and locked the ring back in the safe never to be seen again. It took three employees forty-five minutes to locate the ring. They apologized a lot. Not a huge deal as they found the jewelry and I was able to take it home to J.R. He slipped the ring on his middle finger tonight. I think it stayed on for about five hours before he decided it was to uncomfortable to wear. I completely understand and I could really care less if he wears it or not. For whatever reason just knowing that he has a wedding band makes me happy.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Honeydo
Next time you are having trouble getting the husband to work on the honeydo list... try this line:
"Honey, I need the drill. Do you remember where you left it?"
I guarantee an instant jump off the couch and a panic stricken voice as he asks what hole you think you're drilling in his walls. :)
We managed to get the curtain rod hung in the bedroom. Now I'm waiting for my shelves to be installed in the laundry room. Hopefully they'll be in by tonight. At least today he has been feeling better and this has made him much more productive.
My dinner is burning on the grill so I should probably go be attentive.
"Honey, I need the drill. Do you remember where you left it?"
I guarantee an instant jump off the couch and a panic stricken voice as he asks what hole you think you're drilling in his walls. :)
We managed to get the curtain rod hung in the bedroom. Now I'm waiting for my shelves to be installed in the laundry room. Hopefully they'll be in by tonight. At least today he has been feeling better and this has made him much more productive.
My dinner is burning on the grill so I should probably go be attentive.
Monday, August 20, 2007
We Are Home!
There has been so much going on in the last week that I don't even know where to begin.
We left Walter Reed on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 around 5:30 that evening. We drove to Hagerstown, MD (about a two hour drive in rush hour) and picked up a wood lathe that J.R. bought. It took us almost two hours to unpack the trailer, load the lathe, and then repack the trailer. There was not an extra inch of space left in the Uhaul. Not the mention the back to the Xterra was also jammed full. We grabbed a quick bite to eat after all the loading was complete and finally got on the road for home around 9:45 that night.
At 6:30 am we arrived at my parents house in Michigan. After a quick bite to eat with my family and my best friend, J.R. and I crashed and went to bed. After sleeping for a few hours I woke up and did quick visits with a few people. Around 7:30 pm (eastern time) Thursday night, we once again got in the car and headed for Menomonie.
We arrived home at 5:30 (central time) Friday morning. It felt so good to pull in the driveway. I opened the door to find that out refrigerator door was open. I looked inside and all my food was missing. Nothing in the freezer. After looking around for a few minutes I found a note from my landlord. A week ago storms with winds up to 80 mph went through Menomonie and the power was out for three days. My amazing landlord remembered to grab my food and put it in a fridge with a generator. The storm also explained why the gorgeous pine tree that once stood on the edge of my apartment was blown over. After exploring the damage done to our neighborhood I went to bed. It didn't last long. At eight am there was crew complete with chainsaws right outside my bedroom window cleaning up the fallen tree. I stopped trying to sleep through the noise and rolled out of bed.
After a quick shower I left to grocery shop. It was crazy to walk into Wal-Mart grab a cart and really fill it to the top. For the first time since Christmas I was able to shop for a week at a time and not just three days. I loaded the car and left for home. I then took the groceries from the bags and put them away. No labeling with the number 24, no rearranging the fridge to make more room, no frustration. It was amazing.
Later that day J.R. unpacked the Uhaul. There are boxes all over our apartment. I have no idea where we are going to find room for everything, but it's got to all fit. I fell asleep on the couch at eight that evening. J.R. finally woke me up around ten. Since he unloaded the entire trailer alone I thought I should make him dinner. One quick dinner later and I cleaned up and went to bed for the rest of the night.
Saturday the rain started. After getting ready I jumped and the car and left for my sister-in-laws wedding shower up in Hayward. Now it's Wisconsin in the summer so of course it's construction season. It was a miserable drive. Between the rain and the detour it took me over two hours to make it up there. It was nice to see familiar faces. After the shower was over I headed home. My head had been hurting since I woke up but on the way home it got much worse. By the time I pulled in the driveway I had a full blown migraine. I curled up in my dark bedroom and waited for the it to disappear. It took all night but at least it's gone.
While I was trying to sleep, J.R. was packing for Aspen. He stayed up all night trying to find all of his stuff in boxes. He woke me up around nine the Sunday morning so that I could get ready to take him to the airport. We never made it to the airport. Just before we left he realized that he could not locate the folder with all of his college information. Neither of us have had a chance to enroll in classes yet and the cut off date it coming up fast. If he didn't have the folder he couldn't leave for Aspen. By this point every box was turned upside down and the contents were dumped out. Lack of sleep and the stress of moving home made for short tempers. Realizing that there was just to much to get done he cancelled the trip.
I spent most of Sunday unpacking clothes. I can't believe how many t-shirts J.R. received while at Walter Reed. I'm having a hard time making room for everything. I have two bags of clothes ready to go to Goodwill. Now if I can just get J.R. to add to the bags. After J.R. wakes up today I can continue on the mission to locate the floor of my bedroom. I'm almost there. Another few hours and I should have the clothes taken care of. I also tackled the bathroom right away. It took two hours just to do that! There isn't a lot of room so I really had to sort through everything. Condensing pills, tossing out expired meds, dealing with the multiples we have of everything. At least I am close to having two rooms back of my apartment.
Today is going to be spent unpacking. It is STILL raining. It hasn't stopped since Saturday morning. It doesn't rain all summer and now we're getting it all at once. Go figure. We have pools of water behind our apartment. I am so glad that we don't have the flooding that is happening just a few hours south of us. Hopefully we will stay flood free.
J.R. is still sleeping. He is trying desperately to get off the last of his meds. It makes him rather cranky when he cuts back on them so I'm trying very hard to just let him be. Hopefully he's not to sore to help unpack some today. I could really use the help.
We left Walter Reed on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 around 5:30 that evening. We drove to Hagerstown, MD (about a two hour drive in rush hour) and picked up a wood lathe that J.R. bought. It took us almost two hours to unpack the trailer, load the lathe, and then repack the trailer. There was not an extra inch of space left in the Uhaul. Not the mention the back to the Xterra was also jammed full. We grabbed a quick bite to eat after all the loading was complete and finally got on the road for home around 9:45 that night.
At 6:30 am we arrived at my parents house in Michigan. After a quick bite to eat with my family and my best friend, J.R. and I crashed and went to bed. After sleeping for a few hours I woke up and did quick visits with a few people. Around 7:30 pm (eastern time) Thursday night, we once again got in the car and headed for Menomonie.
We arrived home at 5:30 (central time) Friday morning. It felt so good to pull in the driveway. I opened the door to find that out refrigerator door was open. I looked inside and all my food was missing. Nothing in the freezer. After looking around for a few minutes I found a note from my landlord. A week ago storms with winds up to 80 mph went through Menomonie and the power was out for three days. My amazing landlord remembered to grab my food and put it in a fridge with a generator. The storm also explained why the gorgeous pine tree that once stood on the edge of my apartment was blown over. After exploring the damage done to our neighborhood I went to bed. It didn't last long. At eight am there was crew complete with chainsaws right outside my bedroom window cleaning up the fallen tree. I stopped trying to sleep through the noise and rolled out of bed.
After a quick shower I left to grocery shop. It was crazy to walk into Wal-Mart grab a cart and really fill it to the top. For the first time since Christmas I was able to shop for a week at a time and not just three days. I loaded the car and left for home. I then took the groceries from the bags and put them away. No labeling with the number 24, no rearranging the fridge to make more room, no frustration. It was amazing.
Later that day J.R. unpacked the Uhaul. There are boxes all over our apartment. I have no idea where we are going to find room for everything, but it's got to all fit. I fell asleep on the couch at eight that evening. J.R. finally woke me up around ten. Since he unloaded the entire trailer alone I thought I should make him dinner. One quick dinner later and I cleaned up and went to bed for the rest of the night.
Saturday the rain started. After getting ready I jumped and the car and left for my sister-in-laws wedding shower up in Hayward. Now it's Wisconsin in the summer so of course it's construction season. It was a miserable drive. Between the rain and the detour it took me over two hours to make it up there. It was nice to see familiar faces. After the shower was over I headed home. My head had been hurting since I woke up but on the way home it got much worse. By the time I pulled in the driveway I had a full blown migraine. I curled up in my dark bedroom and waited for the it to disappear. It took all night but at least it's gone.
While I was trying to sleep, J.R. was packing for Aspen. He stayed up all night trying to find all of his stuff in boxes. He woke me up around nine the Sunday morning so that I could get ready to take him to the airport. We never made it to the airport. Just before we left he realized that he could not locate the folder with all of his college information. Neither of us have had a chance to enroll in classes yet and the cut off date it coming up fast. If he didn't have the folder he couldn't leave for Aspen. By this point every box was turned upside down and the contents were dumped out. Lack of sleep and the stress of moving home made for short tempers. Realizing that there was just to much to get done he cancelled the trip.
I spent most of Sunday unpacking clothes. I can't believe how many t-shirts J.R. received while at Walter Reed. I'm having a hard time making room for everything. I have two bags of clothes ready to go to Goodwill. Now if I can just get J.R. to add to the bags. After J.R. wakes up today I can continue on the mission to locate the floor of my bedroom. I'm almost there. Another few hours and I should have the clothes taken care of. I also tackled the bathroom right away. It took two hours just to do that! There isn't a lot of room so I really had to sort through everything. Condensing pills, tossing out expired meds, dealing with the multiples we have of everything. At least I am close to having two rooms back of my apartment.
Today is going to be spent unpacking. It is STILL raining. It hasn't stopped since Saturday morning. It doesn't rain all summer and now we're getting it all at once. Go figure. We have pools of water behind our apartment. I am so glad that we don't have the flooding that is happening just a few hours south of us. Hopefully we will stay flood free.
J.R. is still sleeping. He is trying desperately to get off the last of his meds. It makes him rather cranky when he cuts back on them so I'm trying very hard to just let him be. Hopefully he's not to sore to help unpack some today. I could really use the help.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Almost Done
We have been out processing from the Army for the last two days. I've never seen so much paperwork. On top of trying to get all the signatures and the forms we are also packing up our room. Yesterday was nonstop from 7:45 am till 1:30 am. We got a few hours of sleep and we're right back to it today.
Even though we're packing and today is our last day on post it doesn't really feel real. It's almost like we are just going home for leave again and in a few weeks we'll be back. J.R. is wearing his ACU uniform today for the last time. It's bittersweet. We are both happy to be done with the military life. The paperwork, the red tape, all of it is exhausting. At the same time we've given so much to the military in the last two years and there have been a lot of good moments. It will be hard to walk away from this lifestyle (never thought I'd say that).
I'm dreading this afternoon. Saying goodbye is not something I like to do. I'm thinking it's a day for waterproof mascara.
My laundry is calling me. So is the shower. So much to do and so little time to do it all in.
Even though we're packing and today is our last day on post it doesn't really feel real. It's almost like we are just going home for leave again and in a few weeks we'll be back. J.R. is wearing his ACU uniform today for the last time. It's bittersweet. We are both happy to be done with the military life. The paperwork, the red tape, all of it is exhausting. At the same time we've given so much to the military in the last two years and there have been a lot of good moments. It will be hard to walk away from this lifestyle (never thought I'd say that).
I'm dreading this afternoon. Saying goodbye is not something I like to do. I'm thinking it's a day for waterproof mascara.
My laundry is calling me. So is the shower. So much to do and so little time to do it all in.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Army Starts New Psychiatric Program
Yes, the army has started a new program. You can read about it here.
They claim that this program will teach military personnel and their families "how to identify signs of possible psychiatric injuries suffered in the war on terrorism that may have gone unnoticed." I would like to point out that our military families don't need help identifying psychiatric problems. When my husband comes home and he can't remember things he did at the beginning of the day, I know something is wrong. When he has mood swings worse than a menopausal woman, I know something is wrong. When his temper flares over small things, I know something is wrong. Our military families don't need yet another program to waste our time and energy. We don't need help identifying the problems. We need help dealing with them and treating them.
If the military truly took the time to listen to their people, they would know that what we need is more therapist. We need them across the country. Start hiring now.
*****Change of Pace*****
I do not want to focus on the stupidity of our military for the whole day. As I continued to read the news I came across this article on Yahoo! The ELCA Lutheran church is now urging bishops to not punish homosexual pastors in faithful, committed relationships. I've never been so proud of my Lutheran upbringing. I'm confident that it's not my job to judge people based on who they love. I'm also pretty sure that who you love doesn't interfere with your ability to teach people about God.
They claim that this program will teach military personnel and their families "how to identify signs of possible psychiatric injuries suffered in the war on terrorism that may have gone unnoticed." I would like to point out that our military families don't need help identifying psychiatric problems. When my husband comes home and he can't remember things he did at the beginning of the day, I know something is wrong. When he has mood swings worse than a menopausal woman, I know something is wrong. When his temper flares over small things, I know something is wrong. Our military families don't need yet another program to waste our time and energy. We don't need help identifying the problems. We need help dealing with them and treating them.
If the military truly took the time to listen to their people, they would know that what we need is more therapist. We need them across the country. Start hiring now.
*****Change of Pace*****
I do not want to focus on the stupidity of our military for the whole day. As I continued to read the news I came across this article on Yahoo! The ELCA Lutheran church is now urging bishops to not punish homosexual pastors in faithful, committed relationships. I've never been so proud of my Lutheran upbringing. I'm confident that it's not my job to judge people based on who they love. I'm also pretty sure that who you love doesn't interfere with your ability to teach people about God.
I don't want to open up a debate about this topic. It is a very touchy topic and I completely understand that. If you don't agree with my point of view, I'm ok with that. All I am asking is that you can respect my feelings on the matter.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Hallelujah!!!
In order for the full effect of this blog, please hit play and then continue to read.
WE'RE GOING HOME!!!!!! J.R. received his orders and we are out of here on Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. As in five days from now. As in less than a week. I'm so excited. Technically he is still in the military until September first. However, even though his orders go through the first we are able to leave early due to the massive amount of leave days he has built up. So if you want to be technical then we are going on leave to Wisconsin until September first and after that he's officially retired. So we never have to go back to hell... I mean Walter Reed.
And even though I'm really excited about going home, I'm dreading all the paperwork that we have to do in the fourteen business hours that are left of our stay here. The out-processing paperwork is horrific. Add in that we are also taking leave time and it makes it a complete nightmare. If we survive our last few days here it truly will be a miracle.
The Uhaul was reserved today and we pick it up on Monday. We are going to have to speed pack. I'm already not looking forward to the million trips I'm going to have to make up and down the stairs. But it's the last time I have to move for a very, very long time and that makes it worth it.
*I should also note that the Hallelujah Chorus has been stuck in my head for the whole entire day. A big thanks for my high school choir teacher for making me learn both the alto and soprano part. I now have the ability to torture not only my husband but the whole entire house by singing this at the top of my lungs and in four different parts. I'm sure everybody is very appreciative of my knowledge of this piece.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Human
When I married my husband, I told him that I did not expect our marriage to be a cake walk. I promised him many happy memories as well as a few shitty ones. Good days and bad days, smiles and tears. In our first year of marriage we've had to overcome so much. Long separations, little contact, and a life changing injury. Nothing about this has been easy. I find lately that I live in a constant love-hate status with everything in my life. How easy it can be to let the positive be clouded with the negative. As Mary put it earlier, "A soldier in combat must keep moving forward. They must ignore the bug bites, the sweat, and the pain in their bodies. It is when one stops moving to scratch the bite, and to wipe the sweat out of their eyes that their mind becomes clouded and focused on the negative. You must always keep moving forward, never stopping. Then and only then can we suppress the negative and keep pushing towards the light at the end of the tunnel."
This week has definitely been a negative week. I can't help but look at everything we have been through in the past months. Thinking about it just makes me exhausted. I feel as though right now I've given everything I have in me and that I have nothing else to give. I want to keep moving forward but I'm so wiped out. I have never given myself a chance to truly come to grips with the loss of J.R.'s arm. I have been so busy taking care of him, getting him to appointments, and helping him with paperwork that I have been able to completely block out his injury in my mind. It is only now that he has become so independent that I am able to step back and just say holy shit my husband lost an arm and it's not coming back.
There have been constant reminders that we are both human. We are both not only capable of causing pain, but also feeling pain. Part of me wants to jump up and down and smile at this. Just feeling anything is a great reminder that I'm still alive and I'm still human. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the routine of daily life and just coast through it ignoring all emotions. That may be the easy way to live but how pointless.
For the mistakes I've made all I can do is apologize and try to make up for my human qualities. I can learn from them and try to prevent them in the future. But in order for me to learn I often need a little push from my husband. We have both been told that we are very stubborn people. It is both a curse and a blessing. On one hand it makes for some nasty arguments. But on the other it gives us the ability to really dig in and push when it's needed most.
This week has definitely been a negative week. I can't help but look at everything we have been through in the past months. Thinking about it just makes me exhausted. I feel as though right now I've given everything I have in me and that I have nothing else to give. I want to keep moving forward but I'm so wiped out. I have never given myself a chance to truly come to grips with the loss of J.R.'s arm. I have been so busy taking care of him, getting him to appointments, and helping him with paperwork that I have been able to completely block out his injury in my mind. It is only now that he has become so independent that I am able to step back and just say holy shit my husband lost an arm and it's not coming back.
There have been constant reminders that we are both human. We are both not only capable of causing pain, but also feeling pain. Part of me wants to jump up and down and smile at this. Just feeling anything is a great reminder that I'm still alive and I'm still human. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the routine of daily life and just coast through it ignoring all emotions. That may be the easy way to live but how pointless.
For the mistakes I've made all I can do is apologize and try to make up for my human qualities. I can learn from them and try to prevent them in the future. But in order for me to learn I often need a little push from my husband. We have both been told that we are very stubborn people. It is both a curse and a blessing. On one hand it makes for some nasty arguments. But on the other it gives us the ability to really dig in and push when it's needed most.
Monday, August 6, 2007
I'm a Medical Disaster Today
So... J.R. and I finally got our new vehicle. YAY! I love it. However, it didn't come with a tow hitch and since we are driving back to WI with all of our stuff in a Uhaul we had to install one. So, the hitch showed up and we installed it tonight. I don't recommend EVER trying to do this with your husband.
Imagine this...
Hear we are laying on our backs on the hard pavement. J.R. asked me to pull the hitch over and help him hold it up. He points out all the holes we need to line it up with and away we go. I lift the hitch up and I am trying my hardest to line it up. I couldn't see around the exhaust pipe. So here I am holding a thirty pound hitch above my head while sitting in a permanent crunch looking for the holes to line it up with. In our efforts to line everything up my arms started to get tired. We went to pull the hitch out and BAM... my thumb got pinched in between the thirty pound hitch and the inside of the rear bumper. My thumb started to just drip blood everywhere. I crawled out from under the car and ran for the house. There is a whole trail of blood across the parking lot and a pool of it from where I was trying to get into the house. One of the girls grabbed the peroxide and my hand and cleaned me out. We got the bleeding to stop, but it's a deep cut. It doesn't help that it's just to the side of my knuckle. Every time I bend my thumb it just starts bleeding again. We've got it all bandaged and splinted so I can't bend it. It's going to be a long couple of days till it starts to really heal.
J.R. kept insisting I was being a baby. Then he walked into the house and saw all the blood. He let up for a while. That is until we started watching Survivorman on Discovery (I love this show) and the idiot sliced his finger down to the bone. He keeps glaring at me going "see.. SEE." Survivorman- you are not helping my case tonight.
Imagine this...
Hear we are laying on our backs on the hard pavement. J.R. asked me to pull the hitch over and help him hold it up. He points out all the holes we need to line it up with and away we go. I lift the hitch up and I am trying my hardest to line it up. I couldn't see around the exhaust pipe. So here I am holding a thirty pound hitch above my head while sitting in a permanent crunch looking for the holes to line it up with. In our efforts to line everything up my arms started to get tired. We went to pull the hitch out and BAM... my thumb got pinched in between the thirty pound hitch and the inside of the rear bumper. My thumb started to just drip blood everywhere. I crawled out from under the car and ran for the house. There is a whole trail of blood across the parking lot and a pool of it from where I was trying to get into the house. One of the girls grabbed the peroxide and my hand and cleaned me out. We got the bleeding to stop, but it's a deep cut. It doesn't help that it's just to the side of my knuckle. Every time I bend my thumb it just starts bleeding again. We've got it all bandaged and splinted so I can't bend it. It's going to be a long couple of days till it starts to really heal.
J.R. kept insisting I was being a baby. Then he walked into the house and saw all the blood. He let up for a while. That is until we started watching Survivorman on Discovery (I love this show) and the idiot sliced his finger down to the bone. He keeps glaring at me going "see.. SEE." Survivorman- you are not helping my case tonight.
Very Sick
Oh what a day. I finally managed to wake myself up around nine am. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was. I could have slept all day today and would have been content. I got myself up and left for the hospital to get my ID card made. Luckily the person in charge of ID cards was feeling better and was able to be at work today. It took a whole five minutes and I had my new ID.
After I got that taken care of I called central appointments and somehow managed to get a one pm slot with Dr. Baxy. She took one look at my throat and went "ew." It's even more swollen than last night and there was a little bit of pus in the back. She kept asking me if I was in pain and I kept telling her no. She didn't believe me. Evidently I'm weird, but it just doesn't hurt. I was thinking that it was going to be strep. It took me by surprise when she told me she thought it was either a VERY nasty case of strep or it's mono. I've had mono. I'm not anxious to do that again. She did a culture, blood test, and gave me Zithromax. Hopefully it's strep and it will clear up in a day or two. I was also told to avoid the common areas of the house, try to use bottled water instead of community cups, and in general to try to avoid community dishes. It's amazing how fast news spreads around the house that someone is sick. Nobody really wants to be around me, which I completely understand. It just makes it really boring to be forced to sit in the room and talk to nobody face to face.
I just finished eating dinner in my room. Odd to eat a whole meal up here since we normally aren't allowed to have food in our rooms. Kind of nice not to eat with the whole house around. The rest of the night is going to be spent finding little things to do in the room. Boring.
After I got that taken care of I called central appointments and somehow managed to get a one pm slot with Dr. Baxy. She took one look at my throat and went "ew." It's even more swollen than last night and there was a little bit of pus in the back. She kept asking me if I was in pain and I kept telling her no. She didn't believe me. Evidently I'm weird, but it just doesn't hurt. I was thinking that it was going to be strep. It took me by surprise when she told me she thought it was either a VERY nasty case of strep or it's mono. I've had mono. I'm not anxious to do that again. She did a culture, blood test, and gave me Zithromax. Hopefully it's strep and it will clear up in a day or two. I was also told to avoid the common areas of the house, try to use bottled water instead of community cups, and in general to try to avoid community dishes. It's amazing how fast news spreads around the house that someone is sick. Nobody really wants to be around me, which I completely understand. It just makes it really boring to be forced to sit in the room and talk to nobody face to face.
I just finished eating dinner in my room. Odd to eat a whole meal up here since we normally aren't allowed to have food in our rooms. Kind of nice not to eat with the whole house around. The rest of the night is going to be spent finding little things to do in the room. Boring.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Lovely Throat
I just checked out my throat and wow... it's not a pretty picture. It hasn't been hurting but I couldn't shake this swollen feeling. It's spotted and swollen. Can we say strep? J.R. couldn't believe it when he looked at it. He still doesn't understand why I'm not curled up in bed whining that it hurts. I guess I just got use to sore throats when I was in high school. This is the first problem I've had since I had my tonsils out back in 2001. I guess I'm due to be hit with something.
So, tomorrow I need to get into a doctor. It can't be put off because if I'm contagious that's a huge problem. I live in a house with ten other families. I can't be responsible for spreading around a bug. Not when some of the men have really touchy immune systems. Now, here's the big problem. My military ID is still expired. I have to get it fixed first thing in the morning. If I don't, I can't get into the doctor, I can't get a prescription, and I'll just keep spreading around germs. Great.
So, tomorrow I need to get into a doctor. It can't be put off because if I'm contagious that's a huge problem. I live in a house with ten other families. I can't be responsible for spreading around a bug. Not when some of the men have really touchy immune systems. Now, here's the big problem. My military ID is still expired. I have to get it fixed first thing in the morning. If I don't, I can't get into the doctor, I can't get a prescription, and I'll just keep spreading around germs. Great.
John Voight
John Voight stopped by the Fisher House tonight. This is the second time that I have met him and both times have been very enjoyable. I was surprised when he walked in the door tonight, and even more surprised when I went to introduce myself and he remembered my name before I could spit it out. Pretty cool since our last meeting was brief and was a few months ago. At the time I was making dinner, doing laundry, and trying to have a conversation with him. Talk about multitasking. He is so easy to talk to. When he stops by it's always in the evening and usually on a weekend. It's nice to have a celebrity who stops by for the right reasons. He doesn't have a huge group of people with him taking pictures. I wish I had remembered to take a picture tonight.
Aside from our visitor tonight, it has possibly been the longest day of my life. I have never been so bored. I sat around most of the day watching a Law and Order SVU marathon on USA. Sad that I have already seen most of the episodes they aired today. I think that was the only thing I watched when J.R. was deployed.
Aside from our visitor tonight, it has possibly been the longest day of my life. I have never been so bored. I sat around most of the day watching a Law and Order SVU marathon on USA. Sad that I have already seen most of the episodes they aired today. I think that was the only thing I watched when J.R. was deployed.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
"Armless man gets 5 years for driving"
I was reading the odd news on Yahoo today when I came across this very interesting article.
I'm rather disgusted by the fact that anyone felt they had to report on this issue. If you read the article you learn that this man has no arms and only one leg. He has in fact held a valid drivers license. This means that he has been to the DMV and has taken a road test. Since he received a license they obviously deemed him fit to drive a vehicle.
Continue reading and you learn that he has drug problems, anxiety issues, panic attacks, depression, and pain management problems. His offenses listed have nothing to do with him being an amputee. "A long list of traffic violations." How many can say that they have never received a speeding ticket? I'm sure most of us can think of someone we would never ride in a car with because they are an absolute moron behind the wheel. There are thousands of people who have their licenses taken away every year. Why write a story on the amputee? Because he is missing limbs he is different from the rest of us somehow? How kind of the news to parade this man around like he is some kind of a freak.
A year ago I would have looked as this article and moved on. My how life changes in the blink of an eye.
I'm rather disgusted by the fact that anyone felt they had to report on this issue. If you read the article you learn that this man has no arms and only one leg. He has in fact held a valid drivers license. This means that he has been to the DMV and has taken a road test. Since he received a license they obviously deemed him fit to drive a vehicle.
Continue reading and you learn that he has drug problems, anxiety issues, panic attacks, depression, and pain management problems. His offenses listed have nothing to do with him being an amputee. "A long list of traffic violations." How many can say that they have never received a speeding ticket? I'm sure most of us can think of someone we would never ride in a car with because they are an absolute moron behind the wheel. There are thousands of people who have their licenses taken away every year. Why write a story on the amputee? Because he is missing limbs he is different from the rest of us somehow? How kind of the news to parade this man around like he is some kind of a freak.
A year ago I would have looked as this article and moved on. My how life changes in the blink of an eye.
Bridge Collapse
The last couple days I have spent a lot of time glued to the tv watching the Minneapolis bridge collapse. It's crazy to think of how often I've driven over that bridge and how many of my friends drive it every day. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. I hope that in the coming weeks that our government will be able to push forward and begin the rebuilding process. I don't want to listen to the blame game. What happened has happened. At this point in time it's more important to clean up and rebuild than it is to point fingers and debate fault. There will be plenty of time for that after reconstruction has been started.
Aside from watching the news it's been a rather boring day. J.R. was suppose to be at a golf clinic this morning learning how to use his golf attachment. Somehow there was miscommunication and it never happened. I'm a little bummed. I was looking forward to going out and soaking up some sunshine. Lately anything that involves being off post for a long period of time makes for a good day. Hopefully we can get out later in the week to learn. Fingers crossed that I can sneak into a free golf lesson and they don't just focus on J.R. I've always wanted to learn how to play.
We still don't have any plans for tomorrow. I'd like to spend the day packing up the room. I'm getting more and more anxious to receive our orders and head home for good. As long as everything goes as planned we should be hearing about our orders by Wednesday at the latest. It can't come fast enough.
Aside from watching the news it's been a rather boring day. J.R. was suppose to be at a golf clinic this morning learning how to use his golf attachment. Somehow there was miscommunication and it never happened. I'm a little bummed. I was looking forward to going out and soaking up some sunshine. Lately anything that involves being off post for a long period of time makes for a good day. Hopefully we can get out later in the week to learn. Fingers crossed that I can sneak into a free golf lesson and they don't just focus on J.R. I've always wanted to learn how to play.
We still don't have any plans for tomorrow. I'd like to spend the day packing up the room. I'm getting more and more anxious to receive our orders and head home for good. As long as everything goes as planned we should be hearing about our orders by Wednesday at the latest. It can't come fast enough.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Military ID
Some days I just want to strangle the employees that work in the SFAC. I went in today to get a new military ID card. Mine expired yesterday. I WANTED to renew my ID yesterday, but we couldn't get our hands on J.R.'s extended orders until the end of the work day. I went in today to have a new ID made only to be told that the person in charge of ID cards went home sick. Apparently nobody else working has the brains to press a button and take a picture. So I was not able to receive a new ID.
Now because I wasn't able to receive a new ID, I wasn't able to transfer my prescription from Walgreens to CVS and I had to drive 35 miles (which in DC takes an hour) to find the nearest Walgreens. Mary and I went exploring to find the pharmacy. Sixty miles, two hours, and two prescriptions later we returned to Walter Reed. Not the most exciting way to spend the evening but what are you going to do?
I did manage to FINALLY finish Harry Potter today. Wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I think the magic of the series has been killed by all the media attention. By the time I finished reading the book, I was so sick of hearing about it that I was glad to be done with it.
As for the remainder of the evening I will be firmly planted in front of the tv watching movies with J.R. Depending on how productive I feel I may even order some late night chinese take out. I figure why not... it is Friday night after all.
Now because I wasn't able to receive a new ID, I wasn't able to transfer my prescription from Walgreens to CVS and I had to drive 35 miles (which in DC takes an hour) to find the nearest Walgreens. Mary and I went exploring to find the pharmacy. Sixty miles, two hours, and two prescriptions later we returned to Walter Reed. Not the most exciting way to spend the evening but what are you going to do?
I did manage to FINALLY finish Harry Potter today. Wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I think the magic of the series has been killed by all the media attention. By the time I finished reading the book, I was so sick of hearing about it that I was glad to be done with it.
As for the remainder of the evening I will be firmly planted in front of the tv watching movies with J.R. Depending on how productive I feel I may even order some late night chinese take out. I figure why not... it is Friday night after all.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Must Run
It is hot and nasty outside to D.C. and smart me waited until three in the afternoon to get ready to go run. I am procrastinating on heading to the gym. I haven't had a hard workout since before we left to go home to WI. This is going to be torture but it has to be done. We head to Colorado for a "wilderness adventure" in about two weeks. I know if I don't start running again now I'm never going to survive a week of hiking, white water rafting, and rock climbing. I don't want to be the girl on the trip that can't keep up because I'm not in shape.
Earlier today we finally were able to make it into the SFAC (soldier family assistance center) to file for social security. It was one of the last things on our list of to do's and it feels good to have it crossed off. I still however have to get a new military I.D. (mine expired today), talk with tricare, apply for dental insurance, and track down a doctor who can sign off on paperwork for the extension of my orders. All of that could take a full week here at Walter Reed and I'm going to attempt to get it done in one day. How fun.
For now I really must stop procrastinating and get the run over with. At least I can look forward to a night on the town with one of the girls after I'm done running. Krystal and I are going to go see Hairspray and maybe grab dinner. We'll see what time we can both escape our husbands. With any luck it will be early this evening.
Earlier today we finally were able to make it into the SFAC (soldier family assistance center) to file for social security. It was one of the last things on our list of to do's and it feels good to have it crossed off. I still however have to get a new military I.D. (mine expired today), talk with tricare, apply for dental insurance, and track down a doctor who can sign off on paperwork for the extension of my orders. All of that could take a full week here at Walter Reed and I'm going to attempt to get it done in one day. How fun.
For now I really must stop procrastinating and get the run over with. At least I can look forward to a night on the town with one of the girls after I'm done running. Krystal and I are going to go see Hairspray and maybe grab dinner. We'll see what time we can both escape our husbands. With any luck it will be early this evening.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Hair Cut
Today has been a blast. A local salon donated their services for the morning and invited the women in the Fisher House to a day of pampering. I got a cut, color, and manicure. The highlights are a nice addition and my hair has been chopped short. It's odd to not have long hair but it will be so nice to just blow dry it and run in the morning. I'll be interested in J.R.'s reaction when he wakes up and actually looks at my hair. It may be very entertaining.
I also had a chance to get a pedicure but I had to turn that down. I killed my feet yesterday. We were invited to have lunch with Congressman Ron Kind at the capital building. I threw on a dress and my new black heals. After driving around all over downtown it became very clear that we were not going to be able to park anywhere near the Capital. We ended up seven blocks away. SEVEN. Now I understand I should have brought other shoes, but the matching purse is super little and I would have had no where to put them. So... I ran to keep up with J.R. in my three inch stilettos. So stupid. I have blisters all over my feet. I even have one on the bottom of my toe! Dumb, dumb, dumb. At least my feet looked good and lunch was fantastic. We were unfortunately very late so we did not get to spend much time with Congressman Kind. It was still wonderful to chit chat with him for a while. He is so down to earth. I'd make time for him in my schedule any day.
The rest of the day is filled with little projects. Phone calls to make, cleaning to be done. All and all it is a good day.
I also had a chance to get a pedicure but I had to turn that down. I killed my feet yesterday. We were invited to have lunch with Congressman Ron Kind at the capital building. I threw on a dress and my new black heals. After driving around all over downtown it became very clear that we were not going to be able to park anywhere near the Capital. We ended up seven blocks away. SEVEN. Now I understand I should have brought other shoes, but the matching purse is super little and I would have had no where to put them. So... I ran to keep up with J.R. in my three inch stilettos. So stupid. I have blisters all over my feet. I even have one on the bottom of my toe! Dumb, dumb, dumb. At least my feet looked good and lunch was fantastic. We were unfortunately very late so we did not get to spend much time with Congressman Kind. It was still wonderful to chit chat with him for a while. He is so down to earth. I'd make time for him in my schedule any day.
The rest of the day is filled with little projects. Phone calls to make, cleaning to be done. All and all it is a good day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
