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So we sent to church today. I have to say, we don't always get to go, because someone may be ill here, and I don't want others to be sick, so we stay home. Usually if Pat were around, he and I would alternate as to who goes to church, and who stays at home. Back when I was a Sunday school teacher, well, that was a no-brainer. I went, he stayed behind. Also, there are times, when we are away camping (cant wait for warm weather), or when I get to go out (very rare) on Saturday night, and I just can't get up the energy to bother struggling with 3 kids to get them out the door the next morning.
So anyways, the boys and I went to Church this morning. Now I had not slept much last night, and I was praying that it wouldn't be one of those sermons that just lulls you in to the zone land where you are hardly even there. The Scripture is read, (Phillipians Chapter 4) and I perked right up. One of the things I say to myself often, is Phillipians 4:13..." I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me". So many times, on so many days, I just wanna crawl under a rock. I just wanna go back to bed. But I can't. I couldn't even imagine what this house would look like if I did! lol
So he starts talking about Anxiety, and stress, and how we control these things with our mind, and that anxiety is a decision we make, it is not the devil sitting on your shoulder, telling you what to do... and so on. I started wondering if someone I knew called this guy up to tell him that I was under extreme stress and anxiety and that I am on medication for it... but I didn't hear my name mentioned... maybe it was an anonymous tip... ! I expected to zone out at church today, and instead, I got the total opposite result ! And I just felt like he was talking directly to ME, and nobody else. How do they do that???!!! Yes, it has happened to be before, but it has been a really long time since I thought that the pastor's message was just for me. I have been through so much these past few years, Church was put on the very back burner, heck- it was so far distant, lets just say that the burner I had put Church on, was at our old Vacation Home in New Hampshire! LOL it just was not on the top of my list. I had to get through all my other struggles going on.
And Yes, I am still struggling, and with less family members. Half of my family is now gone, they have died. I am not talking about my Husband, who is alive and well, serving over in Korea- not by much of a choice. I miss him dearly, and so do the kids. Every single day is a battle, a struggle with the house, the kids, the dogs, the cat and my 1 fish (people love the fish story, ha ha). I just get through the days. This minister today really shocked me, I couldn't believe it... I still am shocked!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
San Antonio
Being in the Military, means that you will be moving. It doesn't matter whether or not you want to, you are going to eventually move, somewhere. And The Air Force, decided to let my Husband know, after accepting his assignment to Korea, that they cannot accomodate him career-wise in Massachusetts once his tour of duty was up in Korea. His rank, and his career field, there were no jobs available around the time he was due to return to Mass. So, he was told that he needed to pick another base. So, I, being the loving, thoughtful, considerate wife that I am, abruptly said "Hawaii!!" And I heard, the instant, "um... no". So I went back to my slouching shoulders in the chair. We were told to choose another base (stateside CONUS) which means "the lower 48" (what they say in Alaska, lol).
The Air Force personnell office told my husband that the only place they could accomodate him, would be at Randolph AFB, San Antonio TX. I was like, You're kidding, right?
You see, we have lived in San Antonio before. For 4 1/2 yrs, we were stationed at the other Air Force base there- at Lackland AFB (where they go for Basic Training). Have you ever been to San Antonio? This place is HUGE! You can drive on the highway for over an hour, and STILL be IN San Antonio! That city is about the size of Half the state of Massachusetts! But man, is it warm there in the Summer. A little too warm, for this Bostonian. In fact, many of my coworkers (I worked part time at Wal-Mart and had a blast!) down there used to tease me and call me "Boston" all the time.. and I tried soooo hard to disguise my accent... and I refused to say things like "fixin" and "Ya'll" because, not that I hated it, but it is simply not what is said back at home. Nope- we say things like "Wicked" and "Packie" and things like that. For instance, "we used to have wicked fun on Sundays making our road trip to New Hampshire on Packie runs" (packie is a liquor store). The "packies" back then (in the 80's) were not open on Sundays. They are now though.
So- getting back to San Antonio- I made wonderful friends down there, (Hi guys!!) and we found a great church (again, Hi Guys!! lol) and I miss all of that, plus my scrapbooking stores (Hi guys!). But, I basically melted from May to oh, about October... too hot for this Northern girl. I hated it. The winters? LOVED them! I never, ever wore a winter coat down there! But it wasn't the same at Christmas time, I had a hard time. I was brought up in New England, so it is right to freeze your butt off and have a cold, hopefully white Christmas. It's what I'm used to! And being in Texas, and having it be like- oh, 70-ish on Christmas day, felt strange, and out of place.
So here's the Air Force, telling us, that yes, we are going back to San Antonio. We are now at the point where we thought we were done moving with the Air Force, Pat has been in for 24 yrs. So we thought we were done with all that. See what happens when you think??!! However- since Pat has left for Korea, as I stated in my first blog, the Air Force changed the regulations on retirement from the military. So, we wait and wait, and then we wait, to see if Pat does pass that test (we find out next week) and if he does, how much longer in service will he have? Because, as it stands now- he will be forced to retire within 6 months of returning from Korea. And this Boston girl is NOT moving for 6 months, anywhere! Especially with 3 boys, 2 dogs, a cat and a fish. So we wait and wait. I will let you know! Meanwhile, life goes on... day by day.
I have brought you up to speed on our current situation, and I will blog about daily incidents (legal ones, hopefully, ha ha)and I am sure you will chuckle at my life. Most of my friends do it right to my face, so I am certain you will join the crowd!! That's ok, I like to make people smile even if it is at my expense...
The Air Force personnell office told my husband that the only place they could accomodate him, would be at Randolph AFB, San Antonio TX. I was like, You're kidding, right?
You see, we have lived in San Antonio before. For 4 1/2 yrs, we were stationed at the other Air Force base there- at Lackland AFB (where they go for Basic Training). Have you ever been to San Antonio? This place is HUGE! You can drive on the highway for over an hour, and STILL be IN San Antonio! That city is about the size of Half the state of Massachusetts! But man, is it warm there in the Summer. A little too warm, for this Bostonian. In fact, many of my coworkers (I worked part time at Wal-Mart and had a blast!) down there used to tease me and call me "Boston" all the time.. and I tried soooo hard to disguise my accent... and I refused to say things like "fixin" and "Ya'll" because, not that I hated it, but it is simply not what is said back at home. Nope- we say things like "Wicked" and "Packie" and things like that. For instance, "we used to have wicked fun on Sundays making our road trip to New Hampshire on Packie runs" (packie is a liquor store). The "packies" back then (in the 80's) were not open on Sundays. They are now though.
So- getting back to San Antonio- I made wonderful friends down there, (Hi guys!!) and we found a great church (again, Hi Guys!! lol) and I miss all of that, plus my scrapbooking stores (Hi guys!). But, I basically melted from May to oh, about October... too hot for this Northern girl. I hated it. The winters? LOVED them! I never, ever wore a winter coat down there! But it wasn't the same at Christmas time, I had a hard time. I was brought up in New England, so it is right to freeze your butt off and have a cold, hopefully white Christmas. It's what I'm used to! And being in Texas, and having it be like- oh, 70-ish on Christmas day, felt strange, and out of place.
So here's the Air Force, telling us, that yes, we are going back to San Antonio. We are now at the point where we thought we were done moving with the Air Force, Pat has been in for 24 yrs. So we thought we were done with all that. See what happens when you think??!! However- since Pat has left for Korea, as I stated in my first blog, the Air Force changed the regulations on retirement from the military. So, we wait and wait, and then we wait, to see if Pat does pass that test (we find out next week) and if he does, how much longer in service will he have? Because, as it stands now- he will be forced to retire within 6 months of returning from Korea. And this Boston girl is NOT moving for 6 months, anywhere! Especially with 3 boys, 2 dogs, a cat and a fish. So we wait and wait. I will let you know! Meanwhile, life goes on... day by day.
I have brought you up to speed on our current situation, and I will blog about daily incidents (legal ones, hopefully, ha ha)and I am sure you will chuckle at my life. Most of my friends do it right to my face, so I am certain you will join the crowd!! That's ok, I like to make people smile even if it is at my expense...
Never in my life would I imagine that I would be here, typing on this blog. But, to no avail, here I am ! The reason why I have started a blog, is because I happened upon someone else's Blog earlier today, and she totally inspired me. She has 8 children under the age of 12, and it seems like she even speaks in full sentences and everything!
She is a stay at home mom, like myself, however she has twice as many children as I do. And she has this blog, I read some of it, and I thought to myself, "Wow. I wish I were more like her, with her positive, God Loving attitude" . So, I started a blog!
My Husband is Active Duty Air Force. He has been in for 24 years this month. We have been married for almost 15 yrs. He is currently serving over in Korea, for a year. It stinks, and there is nothing we can do about it. I remain "state side" with our 3 boys, 2 dogs, 1 cat and a fish. We call the fish, "fishie". Yup- 1 fish, in a 30 gallon tank. We used to have about 15 of them, and they started dying. I didn't want the fish tank, hubby did. It came from a friend. I told Hubby that he would have to clean it. And we have had it for quite a while now, he has yet to clean it. I have a good friend, who is a very handy guy for maintenance stuff around the house. He will come over and clean it for me, for the fee of a beer or 2. Deal ! So I don't clean the tank. Poor Fishie. I think he's lonely. But enough about him...
Pat, (Hubby) was told last year that he was up for a re-assignment. This time, it was to Korea. He had 2 choices, and about 3 days to make up his mind. Either take the assignment, or retire from the Air Force. He came home, we talked about it, and he thought about how bad the economy was, he thought about how hard it would be for him to get a job right then and there, and he wasn't done taking classes at night to acquire his Bachelor's degree. So he decided, that it would be best for him to take the assignment to Korea. I prayed and prayed that it would get cancelled. It did not get cancelled. He left 3 November 2009.
He is due back this coming November, if all goes well. But here's the thing. Usually, as the story of my life goes, something happens. And, of course, something did. The Air Force has decided to change their regulations on retirement, effective 1 January 2010. With this new regulation, Hubby will be forced to retire April of 2011. Which is 6 months, (give or take) after his tour of duty is supposed to be over in Korea. In the meantime, he has taken a test to see if he qualifies to make the next rank. He would become a Senior Master Sergeant. He was told by (whomever) that he stands a pretty good chance of getting this rank, and going to Korea will enhance his possibilities. If he were to become a SMSgt, his retirement pay would also increase, once he has "time on the stripe". Which means, he has to become a Senior Master Sergeant and remain active duty for (I think) 3 years, then he will be able to collect the pension of a SMSgt. But now, they changed the regulations, so he does not believe he has enough time left before the Air Force will force him to retire. See , at the age of 45, they want to bring in the young whipper-snappers that can do the job of the older, higher ranking troops. Atleast, that is my opinion... for what it's worth.
So, we wait. We wait to see if Pat has passed that test. He tells me that next Thursday, is the date of which he finds out if he made that rank or not. So we will see what happens.
Next time I blog, I shall write how San Antonio comes in to play with all of this- I need to go deal with my kids for the time being! Take care...
She is a stay at home mom, like myself, however she has twice as many children as I do. And she has this blog, I read some of it, and I thought to myself, "Wow. I wish I were more like her, with her positive, God Loving attitude" . So, I started a blog!
My Husband is Active Duty Air Force. He has been in for 24 years this month. We have been married for almost 15 yrs. He is currently serving over in Korea, for a year. It stinks, and there is nothing we can do about it. I remain "state side" with our 3 boys, 2 dogs, 1 cat and a fish. We call the fish, "fishie". Yup- 1 fish, in a 30 gallon tank. We used to have about 15 of them, and they started dying. I didn't want the fish tank, hubby did. It came from a friend. I told Hubby that he would have to clean it. And we have had it for quite a while now, he has yet to clean it. I have a good friend, who is a very handy guy for maintenance stuff around the house. He will come over and clean it for me, for the fee of a beer or 2. Deal ! So I don't clean the tank. Poor Fishie. I think he's lonely. But enough about him...
Pat, (Hubby) was told last year that he was up for a re-assignment. This time, it was to Korea. He had 2 choices, and about 3 days to make up his mind. Either take the assignment, or retire from the Air Force. He came home, we talked about it, and he thought about how bad the economy was, he thought about how hard it would be for him to get a job right then and there, and he wasn't done taking classes at night to acquire his Bachelor's degree. So he decided, that it would be best for him to take the assignment to Korea. I prayed and prayed that it would get cancelled. It did not get cancelled. He left 3 November 2009.
He is due back this coming November, if all goes well. But here's the thing. Usually, as the story of my life goes, something happens. And, of course, something did. The Air Force has decided to change their regulations on retirement, effective 1 January 2010. With this new regulation, Hubby will be forced to retire April of 2011. Which is 6 months, (give or take) after his tour of duty is supposed to be over in Korea. In the meantime, he has taken a test to see if he qualifies to make the next rank. He would become a Senior Master Sergeant. He was told by (whomever) that he stands a pretty good chance of getting this rank, and going to Korea will enhance his possibilities. If he were to become a SMSgt, his retirement pay would also increase, once he has "time on the stripe". Which means, he has to become a Senior Master Sergeant and remain active duty for (I think) 3 years, then he will be able to collect the pension of a SMSgt. But now, they changed the regulations, so he does not believe he has enough time left before the Air Force will force him to retire. See , at the age of 45, they want to bring in the young whipper-snappers that can do the job of the older, higher ranking troops. Atleast, that is my opinion... for what it's worth.
So, we wait. We wait to see if Pat has passed that test. He tells me that next Thursday, is the date of which he finds out if he made that rank or not. So we will see what happens.
Next time I blog, I shall write how San Antonio comes in to play with all of this- I need to go deal with my kids for the time being! Take care...
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