Friendships Enrich our Lives...

Today, like many days, I find myself thankful for my friends…the ‘lifers’ as I call them.  We laugh together, cry together, suffer and celebrate together and in many ways we are closer than most siblings. 

You see, most of us met each other out of circumstance (‘situational’ friends as I like to say) but as time passed, memories were made, bonds were forged, experiences were shared and lifetime relationships were formed.  I love these people…with all of my heart.  When I say we share each other’s joy and pain, it isn’t just something you say…it is real.  As my hubby packs for a deployment, I weep for his departure (yep, I’m crier if you didn’t already know that)…yet at the same time I shed tears of joy because his leaving signals a friend’s husband’s homecoming and I am truly excited for their family.  While the children and I will miss J terribly and long for a simple hug, our friend and her children will finally get the hug that they’ve been craving for so long. I feel it all…all at the same time.

The best part is that not only do they realize that I am not perfect, they realize that they are not perfect, either…and yet we all love and fully support each other regardless.  We don’t pass judgment on each other and our relationships are free of expectations or entitlement.  We do what we can for each other when we can and when, for whatever reason, it isn’t feasible to be the one ‘doing’, nobody gets angry, hurt or offended over not being adequately taken care of or something equally as silly…they simply handle it themselves…whatever ‘it’ may be. We all understand that *life* happens so when we go extended periods without seeing each other or having time to catch-up, it’s okay…we just pick up where we left off when things settle down a bit. Why does this work? Well, for starters, we are all fiercely independent and I think that is a huge factor…add a deployment into the mix and our independence kicks into high gear.  As a collective, we nearly refuse to ask for help…even from each other. When I step back and view our behavior from afar, it is actually quite comical. Not rain, nor snow, nor pregnancy, surgery, small children or heat of summer will render us unable to do anything…it’s both endearing and frustrating. But in the end, we are not all here to just take care of each other, but to support each other and to understand that what you see on the surface is not necessarily the whole story…my friends are here for my whole story and I am here for theirs.

Thank you…each and every one of you…for filling my life with an overwhelming abundance of love, compassion and understanding and for allowing me to be a part of your lives…I cherish each of you every day!! 

~Jac

Thursday Coffee Group...

Coffee, sinfully rich and delicious cinnamon rolls and sweet friends. What better way is there to spend the morning?  Oh, and the 'speed cleaning' just before guests arrive has turned my house from 'lived-in' (bordering on messy) to 'neat and tidy'...gotta love that last-minute cleaning rush! <3

Random Thoughts for Wednesday...

Just some random thoughts for today…

v  Why does the jury get to ask questions in the Arias trial? Is that normal? I’m a CJ major and I don’t recall anything about the jury getting to ask questions. I would think that would considerably extend the life of a trial.

v  My Lil’ Man did not sleep well last night. He cried and fussed with bad dreams every 40 minutes or so.  Luckily they did not wake him up…but I am exhausted from constantly checking on him. Bleh. When I asked him this morning if he had any bad dreams, he said ‘no’…so I guess he doesn’t remember them.  He does keep yawning, though…so I am thinking he didn’t rest well regardless of whether he woke up or not.

v  My hubby found out yesterday that some VIP tickets that he won in a Silent Auction are good for multiple events…(i.e. they are season passes for him to go to as many events as he would like)…also, children under 12 are FREE, so we can go as a family for no additional cost.

v  Caffeine is naturally occurring in coffee beans…which brings me to the fact that coffee IS beans…so truly my morning cup (or two or three…LOL) is just a natural, energy-boosting vegetable. HeHeHe…

v  Sleepy Lil’ Man is LOVING The History Channel today. Why don’t we watch it more often?

v  Our Lil’ Lady has a pesky cough that comes and goes. It reared its ugly head again yesterday.  Last time this happened, they sent her home from school even though she had no other symptoms and made me take her to the doctor.  Makes me thankful that we have the insurance that we do…since that was the 3^rd time that they’d sent her home, requiring a doctor’s note to come back to school and NOTHING has been wrong with her. I hate that she’s had to miss school for nothing but I understand the school’s need to be cautious. Anyway, I gave her allergy meds and cough meds before school today and put a note in her backpack for her teacher advising her that we’d kept a check on her temp overnight and warning her that the allergy meds make her sleepy (just one of several reasons why we, and our doctor, prefer to use it as-needed instead of daily).

v  I am so happy to see the sunshine today. It was gloomy and overcast all day yesterday and it really, REALLY affects my mood and Lil’ Man’s mood. We may be operating in a sleepy fog today, but the sun is really helping our disposition while we muddle through the day.

v  Easter is awfully close and I haven’t even started the Easter quilt that I intended to make for use in our living room. Hmm…I think I smell a weekend project.

v  Our dog is a snot.  She avoids me all day…even when I do actually sit down and offer her the option to snuggle in my lap with a blanket…then when my hubby gets home from work, she freaks out with excitement and acts like she’s been ignored all day. Ungrateful pooch.

v  I like blogging because nobody cares about my creative punctuation. And if you do, you just don’t need to read it.

v  My Florida skin (i.e. accustomed to 100% or more humidity) gets so dry up here (Nebraska)…I sometimes wish it were feasible to fill our bathtub with lotion and just dip myself in it. LOL.

v  I fully believe in the statement: ‘Piss poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.’ However, that seems to be how things operate more often than not.

v  I love that our son likes to learn how to reassemble the things that he disassembles. I am sure that will come in handy when he starts disassembling more than his cars and toys.

~Jac

I Worry...

I worry.  It isn’t Godly of me but I do it anyway…but then again, I’m not God, I’m human.  I’m meant to be imperfect and, well, I’m perfect at that!  They always warn you that as a mother, you’ll worry about everything. They weren’t kidding. EVERY. THING.

I worry about…

…if I got the laundry done that the family needs this week.

…if my house is clean enough to not be embarrassing for Coffee Group.

…if I’ve forgotten something for lack of writing it in a calendar or adding it to my Google calendar (love that thing…it reminds me of so much.)

…bills, accounts, and how that grocery list just keeps growing this week.

…if my kids are eating a healthy enough diet.

…if my daughter will EVER learn to keep her mouth shut in school. (Okay, I know the answer to that one and it isn’t good…but I really WANT her to be a step above her mother!)

…investments, college funds and retirement.

…if the timing will ever be right for us to move out of base housing. (Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of advantages, but I want my OWN house…with some actual storage space.)

…deployments. That’s right, I worry about them long before they ever get here…then stress during them…only to worry more when he does get home. I don’t know when or if I will ever learn to relax and just enjoy the time that he IS home. Probably when he retires…and is annoying me because he is home all the time. LOL.

…military jobs. It used to be that the military was the most stable job with the most unstable lifestyle.  Well, we’ve lived in the same place for well over the standard threshold…our deployment cycle has been painfully predictable…and yet with the force reductions, jobs are a question mark and our government has found a way to put all of our service members’ pay in jeopardy. Nice. Add that to the list of worries.

…my kids. Constantly. If we are raising them well, if they will turn out to be strong, independent, compassionate and honest.

...and so many other things.  This is just what popped in my head when I sat down…perhaps I will update and add to this as more things worry me...

~Jac