Thanksgiving 2011

Well, the 2011 holiday season is upon us. How did we get here so quickly? I love this time of year, but it always seems to come and go so fast that I can hardly keep up! My summer and fall zoomed by so fast and now I find myself living in Kansas with some of the most wonderful people! That's what the Army does, it helps mold you into the best possible you by surrounding you with a diverse group; and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm thankful for many things, but mostly my friends and family! Our son visited from Hawaii, our daughter traveled (with our grandson) from Illinois, and my in-laws were visiting from NC for a month, yes I said a whole month! I also had a good friend travel from Colorado, and friends came from within Kansas to join us in a birthday celebration. My birthday was Black Friday this year.  I was born on Thanksgiving, so every 7 years it falls on Turkey day. Not that I necessarily celebrate birthdays for myself, but always like a reason to get together and have fun.

This Thanksgiving began like many others; 5 trips to the grocery store to be sure that I have everything and have the perfect menu. I love to cook and enjoy feeding people, it's a gift! Really! Before I could breathe it was Monday and we were picking up our son from the airport....wohoo!!! Now I can begin celebrating. Tuesday was spent laughing and getting caught up with all that he has going on in his life. We talk and text regularly, but some things just need to be told in person. Wednesday was here and was spent prepping all the food and trimmings for our meal. The day ended with our daughter and grandson arriving and then my friend from Colorado. This truly made me happy!!  The following events are typical for any family when you have a large amount of people getting together. I will leave out any names or possible relationships to prevent any further embarrasment but they are true, you can't make this stuff up:
Thanksgiving morning we had a wonderful breakfast and the morning was pretty uneventful. It was filled with laughter and the smells of all kinds of goodness. We talked about friends and family that we wished could join us, but so thankful that we were together...next year my husband will be deployed, so this was important. The rest of the day was filled with football ---Go Cowboys!(and they did)  food, desert, and adult beverages....lots of adult beverages. We then mosied over to a neighbors house who was hosting a get-together. I want to state here that I was overserved there, and I want my money back! OK, I didn't actually "pay" any money : /   but I did have a great time, so they tell me.
The next day I woke up to a yard full of plastic forks, streamers, banners, balloons, beer cans, wine & champagne bottles, boxes, and newspaper! It WAS a sight; a funny sight. Some people got together and decided that my yard needed to be "decorated" for my birthday. I will say that it truly made me feel completely welcome. I've been living in Kansas for only a month, but there are some fun and wonderful people here. Cheers to new friends and making memories!! Later on Friday a group of us went on a trail ride on horseback. It was a beautiful afternoon and the weather cooperated. It was pretty uneventful for the most part until about 2 hrs into it.....my horse (Sabre) decided that he didn't want to follow the others and go off on his own. I tried to get him back on track, but to no avail. The troopers came over to try and guide him down the steep trail....he wasn't having it-he wanted to go a different way. At this point I had gotten very nervous and decided that I would dismount and walk down while they got Sabre down the trail. After that small drama I remounted Sabre and we finished the trailride. When we got back to the stables someone (who will remain nameless) decided it was a good idea to mount a mule. Yes, I said a mule! Now this mule weighs 1,750 lbs and is 17 hands tall! This is a beast!!! I don't think I need to really tell you what happened next....feet & asses! That's what happened! This person was bucked off and landed (hard) onto the blacktop; this was followed by a visit to the emergency room. Thankfully there were no broken bones, just bruisesand broken egos. My question and answer is "Who gets on a mule.......A Jackass!!!"
Our friends from Kansas arrived for a get together that evening for birthday drinks and some social time.....of course we told the story about the jackass on the mule, only with a few drinks in us now, and it became funnier. I got to know my new friends a little better as they did me. I like to introduce myself slowly, I can be a lot to handle in one large dose ;) Some other events that happened that day (but not necessarily in this order) were: a friend cut her finger on my food processor blade (band-aid was sufficient), 2 guys were drunk by 6 (mind you I had people coming over at 7---this could go badly...lol), and I ended the evening hiding all the alcohol from the 2 drunks! Lots of profanity, I don't necessarily get all that profanity....it must have came out of the beer and they drank it! The 2 drunks decided that they would make scrambled eggs cooked in red wine...and yes! They ate it all! Disgusting I'm sure, cause it really stunk. They next morning was spent filling everyone's belly with breakfast and reminiscing about the last days. Nothing like making memories that will last forever. That's what the holidays and friendships mean to me!

A Mother's love....

This is a reflection of a few of my fondest memories of motherhood.  They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it all starts at home….

Each of us has special gifts that we are unwilling to part with. I’m talking about those gifts that our children gave us; you know the ring that has since turned green that the handsome 5 yr. old just “had” to get you for Christmas, and the paper weight that your beautiful 6 yr. old girl made you for Mother’s Day.  It’s not just the gift that fills your heart, but the emotion and innocence in which it is presented.

Being a mother is a challenging yet rewarding experience that I wouldn’t have passed up for all the riches in the world. It is the truest gift; the gift that keeps on giving! As our children grow we can see the love and tenderness that we (as parents) have shown while nurturing them, and how that love allows them to grow and love themselves as well as others.  As difficult as this challenge is, imagine raising children in a military family; that’s our life. We moved on average every 3.5 years. We moved overseas, coast to coast, and even a week before Christmas. We’ve been to places we have loved and others that we absolutely had to make the best of. Now you may wonder why we do it. We do it in support of our husbands who fight to defend our freedoms, we do it without regret, and we do it over and over again. We make a house a home and pray that our children will fit in and adjust quickly….they always do. We hope that someday these experiences will make them resilient young adults….and it has. I know that our children are better off socially, emotionally, and intellectually for just that reason.  I wouldn’t have done it any differently and my reward is their ability to share the memories of all the wonderful places we have been. Although they are out of our house and on their own, we still make room for them whenever and wherever we move. We share information with them about the location; who we’ve met, what it’s like, and when they’ll come to visit; because our home, even though the address may change, will ALWAYS be their home.

My fondest memories of our son Sean are the ones of him making me breakfast for Mother’s Day: this has been going on since he was 8 yrs. old.  That first breakfast was simple. Toast, juice, and cereal were all that he could manage back then, but this was the BEST breakfast I had up until that point.  That was 1997! Since then his culinary skills have surpassed that of the thoughtful young boy, and grown more than I had imagined.  To this day he still loves and makes a great breakfast, but I must say I miss that Mother’s Day tradition.  He makes up for it when he visits by making everyone breakfast. You can see the joy and pride in his eyes as we indulge.  Our daughter Amanda was always (and still is) very creative. She would make things from pottery, paper, and whatever she thought would make a great gift.  One year she made a door stopper from a rock. She painted it and put a flower on it; this is my most favorite gift from her…that was 1993.  She too was 8 yrs. old.  She still makes me cards and jewelry for special occasions and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While they don’t realize it at the time, kids are always touching our hearts and making it impossible to ever stop loving them….even as they leave the house and branch out. We love them differently and take pride in their achievements and accomplishments.  The take-home message I’d like you to get from this is that although everything will not always go according to plan in life and that’s ok, because in the end there’s always wine!

As we approach Mother’s Day 2011, I remember the son and daughter who grew up to be the wonderful young adults that are loving, confident, and able to put others before themselves.  I sleep soundly knowing that I had something to do with that. Amanda and Sean, YOU are my greatest gift!

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL mothers, single dads doing it alone, and mothers-to-be!  

Laughing takes the hurt away

We all have experiences from our past that define the person we are, but I don't believe in being a victim.  For me, humor has been a way to climb out of the dark times, if only for a moment, and peek at the sun. While I can be serious, I often use humor to express my feelings and I often try to be that spot of sunlight for someone else.  Humor was not abundant in my house growing up, it was a rare glimpse that this world was not always so gloomy.  That's not to say that my house was miserable, it was just always so serious.
I have had many friends over the years, many of which I still am in contact with. I cherish those relationships and have taken a lesson, a memory, or even a recipe with me where ever I go. At the age of 27 I came to meet my wisest, most loving friend Terri. I knew that she was a friend that I could go to in confidence, a friend that I could tell anything to without fear of being judged. I still talk to her today (17 years later) and she has only become more wise and loving. Terri taught me that there are two sides to every story and to balance any issue before jumping to conclusions-at that time in my life I would often jump to conclusions. I had not come to terms with things in my past-but eventually would-some 9 years later. 
I believe that God puts people on your life's path at the times when you need them most!
Maybe the best lesson I learned is that ultimately you must have a true love for yourself before you can truly begin to love anyone else....
And when you feel you are not getting what you need in life (love, affirmation etc.) you just have to give it to yourself!
Thank you Terri Lynn for your friendship, love, and wisdom!