Vomit Fest 2012

It seems like every year we become plagued with a stomach bug. It will make its way through the family one at a time and usually one or two of us are spared. Nope. Not this time. This thing hit with a fury that I've never seen before. It started with William. Then spread to Allison. Then to me. Then to Emma. Back to William. And then finally hit Billy. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! I really don't want to relive the events, so I'll spare you any details. But I certainly think we're good for another year or more with no stomach flu.

And don't even get me started on how they treated Billy over it. He was literally mid-puke when his Sgt tells him he has no choice but to come in for formation. He could barely walk to the bathroom much less drive to post. But he tried anyway and almost passed out. So, he came home. He was so sick he didn't even care if he got in trouble over not being there. Yeah, it was that bad. And because he missed sick call and formation, he ended up having to spend the afternoon in the ER. Four hours. Yup. FOUR HOURS!!! I love the Army sometimes. But not today.

So now my house smells like a lysol factory. Bleach in every toilet. All the bedding in the hall to be washed... (and see this gets me on another topic. My washing machine has decided it won't do big blankets. I had a comforter in there - all by itself - and the thing wouldn't spin. So I had to drag a completey soaked full size comforter from the wash room into the kids bathroom and throw it in the bathtub. I mean, ugh.) So, tonight we're all exhausted from the long night and serious house de-funking. I have plenty more to do tomorrow. But for now... I'm going to bed. It'll still be there when I wake up.

Just an update

So... what's new in the Army life? A bunch of confusion - as always. So of course, Billy passed his test and this was supposed to remove his 'flag' but of course it's been two weeks and nothing has changed. He's got to request for his leave in April so we can come home AND he's wanting to get surgery on his eyes, but neither of these will be approved if his flag is still out there. So, we're hoping that changes very soon. We've been checking it every other day and it's just frustrating. He's asked a couple people about it and they are "working on it." Yeah, well I know all about that. **having flashbacks from when his orders were wrong and had to be fixed** But basically there's been a super big pile of mess... as always. He got signed up for a driving class to get certified on Humvees. Then they find out he has no record on file for his vision. So, he has to make an appointment to the eye doctor (hence the upcoming eye surgery) and so he has to wait another month to get signed up for that class. SO... they tell him that they want him to do a bus driving class. And that was supposed to start next week. But apparently the guy who signed him up for that thought he had already been through Humvee training and because Humvee training is a prerequisite for bus driving school.... he now has to wait even LONGER! None of this is his fault at all. He's been to the eye doctor several times since he joined the army, but because someone somewhere didn't enter his information in... well, what else is new?

But in my circle... life is just going on. One of my girlfriend's husband's is coming back from deployment soon and another's is about to leave. So, that's an experience getting to watch how those two families cope. We'll be there at some point and well... i don't know. I'm just saying, it will be good to see what all that is going to be like.

Lovely

I had two separate people from two different spectrums of my life send me messages last night asking if we were alive and well. At the same time. One on facebook and one via text message. So, if there was any motivation to update my beloved blog... that was it. I took that as a message to get back in gear. But see, I have a valid reason for leaving my beloved blog alone for a couple weeks. Simply... I have had the most insane past 14 days. Let me explain...

First, merely hours after I got the news that Billy passed his PT test, I also got the phone call that my sweet Nana had passed away. My sweet Nana. It was sad news, but it was also a wonderful blessing. See, my grandmother got sick over 14 years ago. A mere mosquito bite sent her into oblivion. She went from my loving and precious grandmother to a hollow shell of a person. Her memory was wiped clean and although she recovered physically from encephalitis, she never regained her mental state. She had her moments... I mean she wasn't completely gone. She still loved us and sometimes she knew us. But as far as I see it, my grandmother was lost to that disease. So it was basically like mourning the death of a person over a span of fourteen years.

I have some awesome memories of Nana. Like spending the night at her house with my cousins and she would pull out the egg shell foam and every single blanket and pillow in the house to make us a pallet as soft as a cloud for us to sleep on. And then how she'd let us have our midnight snack of Cheerios coated with Half-n-Half cream and milk and sugar. How she'd make us dress-up clothes that we would play in for hours and hours at a time. How she taught me how to make pillows and sew them by hand. How she used to laugh with I called a thimble a "thumb stick." Oh her laugh. Her laugh was beautiful. Never fake or forced. Just always tender and lovely. Just like her. She was tender and lovely.

People used to say I was just like her and I took that as a compliment. Although I know they were referring to her particular way of doing things, not so much her loveliness. She was very particular. She liked things in order and tidy. And she would fret over things - silly things. Yes, I see myself like her sometimes. Little Edna they called me. I just had this special connection with her, I guess. I used to be so fearful of losing her like I did my grandfather - suddenly and unexpectedly. But seeing her lose a little bit of life with each passing year, living in confusion while her body remained healthy but her mind just drifted away, was in my own selfish way a blessing because I had a chance to slowly let go. However, I hate that she had to live so long with a mind she didn't understand for such a long time. Now, I don't know which is worse... leaving suddenly without a chance to hug, kiss and say goodbye to the ones you love, or letting death take control over you and dangle you by a thread over your end. Either way, death is hard and I will miss her. I will miss the grandmother from my youth. The grandmother my children never had the blessing of knowing like I did. And how sad that she never got to know them either. But she's quite at peace now. No more confusion. And I'm sure she's up in heaven holding her husband's hand as they look down on their legacy and with that, I am at peace also.

So, that's my official remark on my grandmother's passing. It sure does help being able to put into words what I've been thinking over the past couple weeks. It's time to move on...

Me (in her dress-up clothes), My brother Matt, and Nana.

This picture just makes me smile. Wasn't she lovely?

AMEN!!!

I knew there was a reason I hung those curtains. I woke up Wednesday morning determined to get those things on the window. They were the last window that needed curtains in the house and I couldn't stand it any longer. And of course we all know the significance of these curtains. So I climb up onto the ladder. Take that drill and bracket and just beat the living crap out of it. It's still wobbly as I'll get out. But it's in the wall. both brackets are attached. Both brackets are attached in a way that would make Martha Stewart cry. But whatever. I am not inviting her over any time soon. And so this morning, I look at my window as the silky brown sheers block the sun light from blinding me and I can't help but feel as though life is just really good. Billy and I had a real "come to Jesus" talk via text messages this morning at 3 am as he was sitting in his truck 14 miles away. After much much much prayer, he said he had to go. And four hours later he sends me a message saying he passed!!

Sometimes even though we aren't sure of how things are going to work out and we soldier on (no pun intended) we can see that our faith might be wobbly like those brackets. But it's faith nonetheless. Those brackets are hanging onto the wall for dear life as the weight of the curtain tries to pull it down and cause it lose its grip. But no. My curtains are staying put. And so are we. our faith is now just that much stronger!!!

To hang or not to hang...

Billy's been told his PT test is Friday. I'm just super sick about it. My house is cleaner than it's ever been because I'm so stressed out about it that all I can do is walk around picking up stuff. This test is the big one. The one that will determine his future in the military. So, I'm trying to decide if I should hang the curtains in my bedroom. If I do, then I'm saying I know he'll be fine and pass and we're staying. If I don't, then I'm saying I have no faith in him. I just know I'm staring at those curtains like there is no tomorrow. I did start to screw in the rod bracket thingy and I messed it up really bad and couldn't finish, so the bracket is just hanging there with one screw and a huge hole in the wall. I'm trying not to let that be some sort of sign. My prayer right now is that if God wants us here, he'll give Billy the means to pass this test. If not, he'll show us the way he wants us to go.