Memorial Day

 Today is Memorial Day.

While you are enjoying time with family and friends, please take a minute to remember what today is about.  


Today is a day to remember those that have sacrificed everything in defense of our freedom.  


If it were not for their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, we would not be able to live as we do today.  


So while you are celebrating, take a minute to honor those that have given their all- for us.

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."   -Thucydides

29 plus 1

My running joke with Randy for the last (almost) 8 years of our relationship has been to tell him that eventually, he would surpass me in age.  I think the time has finally come.

3 weeks ago, I turned 30.  

I don't like it very much at all.  Every time I think about how old I am, (which isn't very often) I stick my tongue out.  Because I just don't wanna be 30.  I know- that's very grown up of me to stomp my foot and stick my tongue out.  Oh well! 

The morning of my birthday, I woke up at some point in the middle of the night and refused to look at the clock.  I was officially 30 as of 2:22 am, and I didn't want to know what time it was because that would mean that I was really and truly 30.  (I had a similar reaction when I turned 20- I woke up, saw what time it was and started crying because I realized I was no longer a teenager...)

I really am not sure why I am having such a hard time with it.  It's not like I had a bunch of goals that I wanted to accomplish by this age, or that I'm not where I thought I would be in life.   Because honestly, I never really had a plan to be in a certain place by a certain age.  I've just kinda gone with the flow of things... and where I've wound up has been pretty good for me.  

Blah.  I just don't like it. 

But eventually I will get over it.  I pretty much have to.  I'll accept getting older... eventually.

Either that, or I will just stick with being 29.... plus 1, 2, 3.....    

Base stickers may cause shortness of breath...

Last week, I ran a quick errand on my lunch break.  When I was walking back to my car, I happened to glance at my base stickers.  When I realized the date on there, I felt light headed.  

I bet you didn't know base stickers may cause shortness of breath and dizziness, among other things.


Yea, me neither.

 It's a bit unnerving to see a date that is 143 days away and realize that you don't quite know what is going to happen after that date. 

As of today, the boy's contract with the USMC is up as of October 6, 2012.  He intentionally picked that date- it will be our 5th wedding anniversary (and my cousin's wedding day!).

This is the closest we have gotten to our end of contract date and not really knew what was going to happen next.  We've always known months out what was going to happen next- when he reenlisted in 2006, he had more than 8 months left.  When he extended to deploy, he had more than a year left.  


Now we are 4-ish months out, and we know nothing.  We know what we want, but we just need to wait for the Marine Corps to make some decisions.

It is freaking me the heck out, to say the very least.

I am a planner.  And, under normal military spouse circumstances, this is a quality that definitely plays to my advantage.  But in this case, where everything as far as reenlistment and continuing on in the Marine Corps is completely out of our hands and beyond our control, I am a nervous wreck.  I know things will work out how they are supposed to, but it becomes quite frustrating when all you want is an answer- and to know what October 7th will bring.  I just have to wait and be Semper Gumby, while also having plans A-Z ready to go, just in case.  In case of what though, has yet to be decided. 

There's not a whole heck of a lot we can do about it.  Just be patient and wait, and be hopeful that someone or something out there knows what the best next step will be for us.  I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and that everything will work out exactly how it is supposed to.

Until it all works out though, I might have to carry a paper bag around with me for the next time I happen to glance at my base stickers.