Comings and Goings

We start packing out in 12 days; that’s less than 2 weeks.  Yesterday we loaded up our Sequoia because my husband needed to go back down to Florida to do the final walk-through inspection on our new house.  Water and electricity should be up and running before the weekend is over.  He’s also put in an application for a job, so he wanted to be there in person to check on that.  There are things the moving company will not pack and things we don’t want them to pack – too many broken or missing items in previous moves – so he took some of that down with him. 

So, another week alone with the kids.  They are not out of school til next Thursday, so I still have my days to myself to get ready for the move.  I’m also trying to keep a regular routine going with working out, blogging, etc., but I know that some of that will have to be put on a back burner for a couple of weeks while we are packing, cleaning, travelling, and unpacking.

The kids keep going back and forth on their feelings about moving.  In general, they are excited.  We are going to be closer to lots of family.  We aren’t going to move again (well, except down the street when our final house is built).  We’ll be in Florida, where they were all 3 born and my husband and I were raised.  They can go watch the UF Gators sports teams live just about anytime they want to. 

Last night, however, our oldest son started to back-track and say he isn’t looking forward to the move as much.  I think some of that has to do with his girl friend of a year and a half.  She is the first person he’s ever gone out with, and they’ve had each other’s friendship for the past 2 school years.  I can understand his feelings.  Our daughter and youngest son have made a few good friends but no best friends.  They are used to leaving friends behind and stay in touch with several through e-mail and Facebook now.  As with all of our moves, we try to make it as easy a transition as we can.  I know as they are getting older, that it is getting harder, though.  I am glad that this will be our last military move.  We really have been lucky to have been stationed in so many great places.  The things we’ve seen and experienced most people wish for.  But now it’s our time to pass the torch.  My husband officially retired Monday morning at 12:01 am.  We just happened to be up watching the women’s college softball world series, so I was able to congratulate him and give him a little retirement gift. 

I wasn’t there when he joined the military 27 years ago yesterday.  He served in the Army Reserves for 7 1/2 years during high school and college.  After graduating, he decided he wanted to fly for the military, and the Navy recruited him.  Lucky for me, the Army didn’t have any slots for commissioned aviator officers at the time, and he went to Pensacola for Navy flight school.  We met about a month after he arrived, and here we are today, 19 years later, with 3 wonderful children.  I am so proud of my husband;  of his 44 years, 27 1/2 have been serving his country.  He was also an Army brat his first 12, so most of his life all he’s known is the military.  Here’s to his (and our family’s) smooth adjustment to civilian life – or maybe I should be saying, “Watch out everyone; here we come!”

A Few of My Favorite Things

I love holidays because it’s mostly about family.  Even when there are presents involved (which are some of my favorite things :), I am still spending time with loved ones.  I have to admit, however, I could do without the c-c-c-c-cold!  I woke up to SNOW today…in southern coastal Virginia…in November! 

I love my family, of course.  But really, my kids are some of my favorite things.  When we were in Orlando two weeks ago, we bought them t-shirts with “Thing 1,” “Thing 2,” and “Thing 3” on them.  The kids love them.  They decided to wear them to school today – all three of them.  As I was looking out at the snow and they were leaving for school this morning, my youngest was standing in the driveway waiting for his bus in his red Thing 3 t-shirt and a pair of shorts.  Seriously.  I yelled out at him that he needed a jacket and maybe some long pants, but he insisted he was fine.  I don’t remember dropping him on his head as a baby.  I wonder if he just wanted to be sure everyone saw his shirt. 

I also love chocolate (duh!).  And I don’t need anything too fancy.  I got to taste some of the most wonderful chocolate when we lived in Paris, but I am happy with Reese’s and M&M’s. I do have to admit, though, that the best hot chocolate in the world is in Paris at Angelina Restaurant.  And right now would be a great time to have some of that hot stuff.  But I guess I’m gonna have to settle for Swiss Miss for now.  If you’re ever in Paris, it’s on Rue de Rivoli near the Louvre.  Please bring a mug back for me!

So, these are a few of my favorite things.  I could go on and on and on.  But all that talk about chocolate and the cold is pulling me to the kitchen.

Memories

Wow – 9 months of 2008 are history.  I remember when I was a kid, not being able to wait for my birthday and Easter and then summer vacation and then Halloween and Christmas.  It seemed like time went by s-l-o–w–e—r than molasses.  And now, it won’t slow down.  I recently asked my mother was it like that for her when my sisters and I were kids.  She said, yes, time did seem to go faster at that same point in her life.  It seems like after the kids were born, our lives have been on fast-forward.  I look forward to birthdays and holidays and other special events, but they come and go so quickly.  I busily prepare for them, and then they just shoot by, and I don’t feel like I’ve had enough time to enjoy them.  Sometimes I try to sit back more and drink it all in, try not to do all the cleaning and preparing that I normally do, just so I can enjoy some of the time.  But now it’s still just a memory.  I guess that’s what life’s all about though.  And I hope that we are doing a good job of leaving our kids with some good memories to take with them into their adult lives. 

I was out with a girlfriend recently who just had a baby boy 5 months ago and whose (military) husband recently deployed overseas.  They also have a 3- (almost 4) year-old daughter as well.  She had dropped her daughter off for a parents’ night out at her preschool, and we were catching up over dinner at a restaurant in the mall (Cheesecake Factory…yum yum).  I had taken my youngest two as well, as they had some gift cards they had been wanting to spend.  My friend asked my children what their first memories were, to which they responded with places they remembered living at the time, Florida, Japan, Guam…  My friend said she was afraid her daughter’s first memories were going to be of her yelling at her.  And then my daughter said, Oh yeah, one of my first memories was when I stole some of my mom’s M&Ms from her purse when she told me not to, and she was so mad at me!  I didn’t know whether to try and save my friend from more feelings of guilt or feel guilty myself.  I did a little of both. 

Sitting here thinking about it now, I don’t wish that one of my daughter’s first memories is of me getting mad at her about disobeying me, but then I know that that moment must have had an impact on her because of the relationship I have with her today.  My daughter and I are very close, very good friends.  I am still The Mom, but she knows she can come to me at anytime and talk to me about anything.  I’ve told my boys the same thing.  I’m sure they don’t tell us their every thought, but we talk – a lot.  And I love it.  When I’m out and see other moms or dads with their children, I feel blessed when I see how some kids speak to (ignore) or treat their own parents (often not very well).  We aren’t the perfect family, and I know I don’t always use my best words or tone with them, but I try, just like most parents.   And we try to emphasize that how we speak and what we say to one another is important.  Why is it that we act differently with strangers (sometimes it seems better) than with our own family?  Because there is a lot more interaction going on; that’s where the memories are being made.