My Aunt Judy

Those of you who are close to me know that my great Aunt Judy has been battling cancer since last year. Her diagnosis was made late in the fall and she fought it every step of the way until Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008.  I have so much I want to say about her right now, but it is overwhelming and my fingers can't move that fast. Maybe another day I'll tell you all as much about her as I can because anyone whose life she touched was blessed beyond belief, and that is worth mentioning.

 

Aunt Judy with Auston and Tres, April 21, 2007

Military Wife

This was sent to me in an email by one of the first "military wives" I had met. She welcomed me to my first post and a life for which I was very naive about. Amber' if you' and the other ladies who welcomed me to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, are reading this; Thank You! I thought by sharing this with others that it may offer a simple view of what our lives entail on a daily basis and what a strong but gentle woman it takes to be a military wife.

What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique.
But what do they have in common?

They have THIS IN COMMON!

Lots of moving---Moving.
Moving far from home.
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of Course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.
Moving curtains that won't fit.
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends.
Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.

Often waiting-Waiting, waiting;
waiting for housing;
waiting for orders;
waiting for deployment;
waiting for reunion;
waiting for phones calls;
waiting for the new curtains to arrive;
waiting for him to come home
For dinner----AGAIN!

They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.
She can balance a checkbook,
Handle the yard work,
Fix a noisy toilet,
Bury the family pet...
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move ----
all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS;
locates a house in the desert,the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home.'
She MAKES them all home.

She is fiercely IN-dependent and somewhat hasty;
Leaps into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives,churches and friendships.
She doesn't have 15 years to get to know people.
Her roots are short but flexible.
She plants annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.
They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network
and accept offersof friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.

Military Wives have a common bond.
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' -- he can't decide toquit--
he's on-call for his country 24/7,
but for the military wife, he'sthe most unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign:
TDY
PCS
OPR
ACC
BDU

And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed and the glue that
holds them together.

Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to moveto Siberia.
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge tothe flag,
and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man
Who puts duty first
Who longs to deploy
Who salutes the flag
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her
Military husband, she will remain his Military wife.

American Idol

This past weekend my sister- Sarah- and my son-Auston- and myself traveled to Kansas City to cash in on Auston's 10th birthday present from his wonderful aunt. Front row tickets and Meet & Greet passes to the American Idol concert at the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City. What an experience. The show was great, the hotel was excellent, and the company was the best. Auston's was excited before we even got to the show because we were staying in a "real" hotel, which by his definition was anything which cost more than a Best Western or a Motel 6. Our room was on the 23rd floor and we could look down onto the pool on the 7th floor. For dinner before the concert, for lack of options, we had to order room service. This topped off his day before we even got to the concert! I didn't know that chicken strips with fries, salads, and drinks for 3 people could cost so much! But it was worth seeing the look on his face when the guy wheeled in the cart with the covered dishes and flowers and miniature bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise. My sister and I realized that neither of us had ever had room service either! After we finished primping, we set out on foot to the Sprint Center to meet Sarah's friend and her family who also went.

After meeting up with her we made it past security and stood in line forever to buy t shirts and programs. Again, I could have bought a weeks worth of groceries including extra packages of cookies for the amount of money we spent. Auston wore his American Idol shirt proudly, though, and I kept telling myself we would most likely not have an experience like this together for quite some time. We found the restrooms, drinks, and our seats without any drama, but then the 20 minute wait until the start of the concert began. We watched several very interesting people pass by, talked about how surreal it was that we were so close and that we were actually going to meet the people who we watched on TV every week for what seemed like eternity. People who we voted for and helped get them to the stage which we were sitting in front of.

About seven o'clock, the lights started changing and we knew the show was starting, but not the show we had in mind. The MC for the night, came running up the aisle with a giant Pop Tart on feet and stopped right in front of us. Since we were all standing up clapping and yelling, he decided to use our chairs to stand on and do his little skit. He got and old, bald, chubby guy to dance by following step by step instructions on how to shake his booty, and then a couple of middle aged women who were sitting behind us tried to do the same but in the end, it looked like they were doing the chicken dance. The point of all of this is that we were on the jumbo-tron because the MC was standing on our chairs. Sarah caught a snap shot, and I am barely in the corner of it. Once it is downloaded, I am sure you will barely be able to make out my smile.

The concert then started with a count down from contestant number 10 to 1. It was all pretty uneventful, fun and great sounding voices, but nothing moving. Until Kristy Lee Cook sang "God Bless America" with a gigantic American Flag behind her on the stage. I stood up to show my respect for the most patriotic symbol our country has and the men and women who sacrifice every day to protect that symbol and all that it stands for. I started to feel my chest fill with pride in my husband, and then my eyes welled up thinking of all he is missing while he is gone and how much he is missed. Luckily we were in a concert and the noise level was insane because I think I added to it when I lost control and started bawling like a baby away from its mama for the first time. Being as blessed as I am, my sister and son both rallied around me and shed a tear or two as well while we all stood there with their arms around me and mine around my two children who were with me. I just stood their hoping and praying that my husband doesn't have to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country and thanking God for those who already have. I never thought I would have such an emotional experience at a concert which stemmed from the pop culture of our country. After the tears were dried and a few hugs passed around, we kept on having the best time ever.

Singing along and dancing to the songs we knew, and the ones we didn't, we'd cross our fingers each time hoping it was a well known song from the show. The performances by all of the singers were amazing, but when David Archuletta and then David Cook took the stage...I thought my ear drums were going to explode. It was insane. I figured out why people pass out, they forget to breathe among all of the yelling and screaming.

The night was topped off by going to an After show Meet & Greet. We met and got autographs and pictures with all but three of the artists. Two of them showed up late and ducked out after five minutes and David Cook hung out with his own friends and family in a different area. He was supposed to come, but when he wasn't there by 11:15 pm and Brooke White said the bus rolled out at midnight, we figured he wasn't coming. Auston got autographs from and pictures with Syesha, David A., Brooke, Michael, Carly, Jason, and Kristy Lee. We were extremely pleased with seven autographs/pics, but very, very, very disappointed in not meeting David Cook. Exhausted, we walked back to our rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for some much needed rest.

It was an awesome experience to have with my son and sister and the most fun I've had in a long time. (even though I kept thinking about Tres and Beau!)

I'll post some pictures of Auston with the American Idols as soon as I get some from my sis.