Milspouse Friday Fill-In

1.What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
I had a gentleman insist on buying breakfast and lunch far over the the voucher value for me when I was traveling with a then 2-month-old Reagan and got weathered in at the Denver airport for nearly 8 hours. He made two coffee bar runs for us. He also schlepped my bags and stroller each time they played "Change the Gate!" game. He was missing his granddaughter and was hoping there was someone willing to help his daughter when she traveled in the next few weeks. An 8-hour delay with a 2-month-old could have been brutal. It really wasn't bad at all thanks to this man. He was my constant companion and with his having a new grandbaby and being an Air Force Retiree we really did have a lot to talk about. The time actually flew by.

2.If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
Once I get the millions of do-lists shoved into a corner of my brain I start saying The Decades of the Rosary. I try to alternate them between English, Italian and Spanish.

3.Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again. Bills, parental issues, relationship issues. Stress over making the best choices for my children.

4.What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
Ghosts/Spirits. Neither were "conjured up." One appeared to me at the side of my bed to give me some strong advice about a situation. The other was my departed Father-in-Law who came to me in a dream to tell me to be diligent in my pregnancy (with Taylor) and to make sure the doctors were thorough because baby sister was going to have some problems. He also passed on the same message to my Sister-In-Law.

5.What can’t you say “no” to? Right now it is the huge bag of Tootsie Rolls

Project Valour-IT

Thankful Thursday

Thankful for:

The Nut Man. He was at the BX today. I got totally addicted to the sweet, lightly coated, roasted nuts in Italy and Germany. I was so happy to find them here in Ohio. Of course, the BX lobby is no European market, but I will take what I can get! And, be thankful for it.

Roomba. I love being able to turn that little guy on as I walk out the door and come home to a vacuumed floor. With three stories in this house, I am especially glad that I have not one, but two Roombas!

St. Peter Parish and School. We attended Mass last night to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church and school. I am very thankful my children attend such a wonderful school that is rooted in the faith.

Fall. It seems fall has finally come to Ohio to stay. The days are crisp and sunny and the leaves are stunning.

Wordless Wednesday

Missing Italia

While looking for something completely unrelated, I stumbled across some pictures on the computer and have spent most of my morning revisiting the beauty of Italy and Slovenia.

This little guy was always sitting in this window greeting us as I dropped Taylor off at Asilo in Dardago. On really cold and/or rainy days he was inside, but always in the window.











Lake Bled

The Waiting Game

All I want for Christmas is an answer! And, I want it early.

Several weeks ago we found out that husband made the command selection board list.

Yep. With more than half of our boxes yet unpacked from the most recent PCS we learned we could very well be boxing everything up after less than a year here and moving again.

It was very bittersweet.

On the one hand, I am so proud of husband. On the other hand, we are really happy here. We have a great house in a great neighborhod. Husband has a short commute to work and works with good people. We have several old friends here and have made new friends. The girls are in an amazing school. They love their teachers, the priests, their classmates and they are thriving.

In a move quite uncharacteristic, I dived into getting things unpacked and sorted even though I toyed with the idea of just leaving things packed until we knew if we were moving again.

The impetus was twofold.

First, I do not want to move the enormous amount of crap we have into yet another house. It all fits in this house and we have room to sort and purge. The likelihood of having another house this large is very slim. Second, and most importantly, this will probably shake out to be the worst move in his career.

THE. WORST.

I really thought the damage and loss on our Maxwell AFB to Fairchild AFB PCS in our second year of marriage would never be topped. I was wrong. It is so disheartening to open a box and see the utter disregard the movers had for our belongings. So, I emptied, marvelled, wept and documented.

And, now, I may actually be more ready for a PCS than ever before. So, now we wait. We wait for the Air Force to decide if we get to stay put for a while or if we get to play Russian roullette with our belongings again in the next few months.

We should have an answer just before Christmas. I want Christmas to come early.

Finally! Maybe.

I think fall might finally be here. It toyed with us a few weeks ago with a couple of crisp days and two nights of low temperatures that ALMOST required the heat. But then Mother Nature decided we needed a few more days in the high 80s. And, the air conditioning got a late season workout. Ugh!

The trees don't seem to be deterred by the fickle Mother Nature. They are absolutely stunning! I really need to get out and take some pictures.