It’s Good Friday today, which makes this Friday even better than most. This weekend used to be a lot of fun when the kids were small. We loved hiding the eggs and the baskets all over the place. Now that they’re older there isn’t as much magic. Nonetheless, I look forward to having Goalielocks home for another weekend. I wish Jake and Melly were coming home, but their schedule won’t allow it.
I have to work tomorrow, which is a total buzzkill. Sunday we’ll be celebrating Easter with Melly’s family. We’re quite blessed that our son is marrying into such a loving and fun family. We’ll be heading to church in the morning following by a nice post church lunch. Melly’s parents have quickly become good friends and confidants of ours. More than that, they love my boy so completely it makes my heart burst.
Our first Easter with Melly and Family
It’s been a Good Friday at work too. Despite being slow, I’ve been quite productive. Additionally, I found a few shows on Prime that I quite enjoy. The first one was The Other, which is funny and both well-written and acted. The second one was Sisters. There were only six episodes of that one. I’m hoping more episodes will come out soon. Now I’m watching Jane Seymour in Harry Wild. The verdict is still out on this.
What makes you laugh?
I have a mercurial sense of humor. I love Monty Python, the Office, Arrested Development, and Fawlty Towers. That’s just a few examples, but I love to laugh and I love comedies.
Today’s prompt is all about your favorite people. This is an easy question to answer. My favorite people to be around are my family. This includes folks who are family by blood as well as our chosen family. I’d also include my puppies in there as well even though they’re not technically “people.” Life is made rich by the people we choose to create memories with.
At the top of Mount OgdenMy Folks and I at Gulfstream Beach
Now that my kids are older, it’s weird not having two of my favorite people around all the time. I’m happy they’re doing well on their own as they should, but still miss them all the same. It is nice to be able to spend time with just my spouse after two decades of busyness. It’s almost like a second honeymoon. Although since his injury, the Mayor is now home for good. There was no sense in keeping him on the West Coast when we couldn’t play hockey.
The Fam at our ancestral church in NorwayMy Bestie and I in Boston
It’s weird having our weeknights back after more than a decade of daily hockey practice. We get to do things like make dinner, eat dinner at the table, and even watch TV. I may even bake some cookies or bread this evening. I’m dying to try my new mixer. I couldn’t bake over the weekend while we swapped out the stovetop.
Just a quick update on the Mayor. They rolled him back into the OR about 15 minutes ago. As expected, he was quite nervous about going under general anesthesia. I also am quite nervous about him going under general. Everyone at the surgical center has been amazing, professional and kind. He, naturally, was a big hit with the nurses. I’ll try to post another update once the surgery is over.
It’s a working Saturday in our house today. Well, at least I’m working. I don’t think you’d count the Mayor watching the junior game or the hubby scrolling endlessly through Twitter working. A skin is keeping me company, while Athena and Arrow hold down the fort in the family room. Fortunately, it’s been a productive working Saturday so far. It’s not bursting with leads, but it’s not slow either. The puppies, with Athena now joining Anakin, are doing a great job of keeping me company while I work.
I decided to work to add to my production, but there are plenty of things I could be doing around the house. Our loft upstairs looks like a bomb went off in it. To be fair, a bomb named Goalielocks did go off in it. We just added a spin bike, so it would be nice to have it organized and look good. Additionally, the upstairs hallway looks like a donation room for Goodwill. I definitely need to go through everything upstairs. There’s a lot of stuff that we can donate, throw away or put away. I’d also like to get all my shopping and errands done this weekend, but the hubby’s prodigious volunteer status is really cramping my style. Hopefully, his boss will pay him before the month is out.
And now for your shingles update because I’m apparently eighty-five. Fortunately, the rash hasn’t spread any further. It is, however, mighty uncomfortable. In fact, it is both itchy and painful despite looking like it’s healing. The shoulder patch feels like it’s still there in its full glory, but looks like it’s almost gone. Truly, it is an odd and uncomfortable feeling. Moreover, my stomach is not loving all the medicines I’m having to take to eradicate the rash. I can’t wait until I can stop taking the anti-virals and antibiotics. The steroid cream, however, is doing its job nicely without killing my tummy.
Well, there hasn’t been much change from yesterday. Well, except I’m now taking eight pills plus using a steroid cream to keep this thing at bay. Naturally, I’m still miserable with my patches of itchiness/hell and my husband is still an unpaid volunteer. Hopefully, I’ll start to see a change in the skin irritation rather soon. I’d really like to go back to my regular workouts and wear shirts. I’ve resorted to wearing a loose hoodie over my sports bra to stay comfortable. Or at least, try to stay comfortable.
I can’t say that I’m feeling great either. I’m not sleeping well, so I’m super fatigued. Unfortunately, I think the fatigue is magnifying my discomfort. The patches are quite painful and itchy today, which sucks. I feel better today than yesterday. Truthfully, the Mayor saved the day yesterday when he reminded my hubby to pick up my script. My hubby forgot to pick it up on his way home but forgot. Since we’re down to one vehicle at the moment that would have meant I would have had to wait to get my script filled until this evening. As it happened, the rink canceled the Mayor’s practice, so we would have been able to pick it up yesterday evening. Since he had no practice, the Mayor also made dinner. He really saved my evening.
Actually, I lied there has been one change since yesterday. I haven’t received a call from Herz’s vehicle recovery department. Yay for the small victories in life. This may be a byproduct of the flurry of tweets and Facebook messages I sent them yesterday. Unfortunately, I still have not received my closed contract or receipt for the rental. Nor have I heard back from Hertz about either item. Hopefully, the lack of a call this morning forebodes the resolution of my rental car debacle. At this point, I don’t know what’s more painful the shingles or the Hertz rental experience. Either way, stay tuned for an update.
I woke up with a new patch on my back, so now they thinks it’s shingles, maybe…. There not 100% sure what it is, although I think we all agree it’s precipitated by stress and an overexcited immune system. Consequently, I’ll be adding an antiviral to the mix of antibiotics and steroid cream. Adulting is so much fun. Needless to say, I’m quite cranky.
The rental car debacle and my hubby’s apparently unpaid, volunteer job clearly aren’t helping the situation. Hertz called me again asking why I haven’t returned their car yet. Do these folks even read notes? Hertz had to have a CRM that is sued across the company. I can’t fathom how so much incompetence can impact one rental. Hertz has never screwed up a rental for me previously, but I guess when they do, they do it big.
At this point, I’m hoping I don’t have to go to the media on the wayward rental. Also, hoping my spouse gets paid sometime this year. This volunteering shit isn’t going to work. Obviously, my system is not handling the stress well and is absolutely flaring. Needless, to say I’m in need of serious vacation, sauna time and a moment to recharge myself. So anyway, yeah two patches and it’s shingles, maybe.
I finally started packing! The Mayor and I are quite excited about our trip to the North. Fortunately, I found my jacket last night out in the garage. In Goalielocks’ haste to clean, he decided (I guess) that my jacket and nice mitten from Stockholm should be donated. I guess I’ll have to go through the donation bags when I get back from Chicago to make sure he’s not getting rid of anything else I need. My clothes have all been washed and the boots have been selected. I decided to not bring winter boots since the weather’s going to be mild. Consequently, I’m bringing the cute boots I took to Scandinavia in 2018.
So in between packing and work, I’ve been trying to update my rental reservation to reflect my gold club membership with Hertz. Their online support told me to try updating it in their app. Spoiler alert, their app does not work. Consequently, I ended up calling customer care. After being on hold for several minutes, the agent canceled my reservation and created a new one (allegedly.). I say allegedly because it is yet to reflect in my account, nor can the online Hertz agent see the new reservation. As Charlie Sheen would say, I’m winning! As this goes to press, I’m waiting to hear back from Hertz as to whether I need to create a new reservation or not. And now I’m back on the phone with Hertz. I’m clearly bumfuzzled.
Today’s bloganuary prompt is what chore do you find most challenging to do? The answer is getting issues like reservations fixed via phone calls. I work on the phone all day. Consequently, I don’t want to spend my spare time on the phone. To me, it’s a bit sinful when a consumer can’t fix their issue online without having to call the company multiple times. It should never take more than one call to fix an issue. Anyway, to punctuate my bad experience today, they can locate the new reservation, but it’s all jacked up. At this point, they’re skating on thin ice. Good news! They’re no longer on thin ice. They fixed my reservation and it’s now going to cost me a third of the original price. And now I’m back to packing.
Today’s accountability tracker:
Workout: Week six Sweat Beginner HIIT full body workout. Ran one and a half miles, and walked two. Day twelve of the Everyday Yoga Shop/Practyce 21-day yoga challenge.
Bumfuzzled, what a word! Am I right? Webster’s dictionary defines bumfuzzled as being in a state of bewilderment. This great word and prompt from my fellow blogger fits my current state. For the past months, I’ve been trying to make a correction to my vehicle’s title. Per the lienholder, I made an appointment with the DMV. After visiting the seven layers of hell that is the Florida DMV, the DMV told my hubby that only the lienholder could file for a correction. Well, isn’t that special? Consequently, I returned it to my lienholder, who told me that the dealer must update it. Tell me your incompetent without telling me your incompetent perfectly describes my lienholder’s response. Anyway, stay tuned.
Outside of the bullshit mentioned above, I’ve been trying to get ready for our Chicago trip. In fact, I’ve made such a large effort that the suitcase is now out of the closet. The most difficult task, I fear, will be locating our winter jackets. I believe they’re upstairs in the Mayor’s closet, but that belief is probably on par with the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. Naturally, the next task will be to locate my mittens. Unfortunately, I keep getting distracted by work, so my packing is moving forward at a snail’s pace. In fact, I’ll probably enlist the Mayor’s help to locate our winter jackets. After all, I’m relatively sure they’re in the vicinity of his room.
As you can tell, I’ve spent my Wednesday bumfuzzled, distracted, and boggled. Nonetheless, I’ve already got my run done for the day. Each run has gotten progressively easier as I’ve gotten over my cold. Later, I’m going to take a walk on my break to get my mileage up to four. I decided I’m going to walk the same mileage that I run. My goal is to cover at least 3.1 miles per day by some combination of walking/jogging and running. After work, I’m going to finish Day 11 of the yoga challenge. I’ve really enjoyed the yoga challenge thus far. The challenge brings a nice variety to my personal practice. I love getting back into yoga. Today’s bloganuary prompt is what makes you feel successful. Sticking to the goals I’ve set for life, including my fitness goals, is what makes me feel successful.
Deployment diaries – PTSD: It was just over a year ago that we said our final goodbyes to Jake in the parking lot of his local In-N-Out Burger. I can, however, feel the emotions as if it was yesterday. Understandably, I cried as we drove out of the parking lot. While saying goodbye, I tried not to cry. After all, I didn’t want my soon-to-be-deployed son worrying about his mom. He already had enough to worry about.
I can’t say that it’s ever easy to leave him, but last year it was a million times harder. There was a finality to it that comes with the great unknown of what his deployment would bring. We’ve all watched the news, and read the stories and one can’t help but worry that something similar will befall their loved one. When we left him, we left not knowing when he’d be leaving. All of those details had to remain unknown until the very last minute.
Now that he’s home and safe, the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. Nevertheless, I can’t help but reflect upon the stress of his extended deployment and the weight comes back. Suddenly world events became an insurmountable source of stress. I found myself worrying to the extreme or angry that the press ignored missiles that were launched his way. It’s an odd feeling to be both angry and worried. Moreover, it’s not an existence that one can sustain without losing their kind. I found myself having to unplug.
As we settle into the post-deployment space, I worry about him and his colleagues assimilating back into regular life. After living with a heightened sense of alarm for greater than 10 months, I can’t imagine how going back to normal must feel. In their post-deployment meetings, they did two through the stages of assimilation, which is good. Nevertheless, the specter of PTSD for anyone deployed is always present. Jake and I have talked about working through the stages and burying one’s mental and emotional health during these transitions. Fortunately, my boy has the best commanders and shop in the business. They have taken care of him better than I could have ever hoped for; for which I’m forever grateful. For now, I’ll relish having him stateside. I love it!
I wrote my deployment diaries throughout the entirety of Jake’s deployment, but ultimately only published a few of them. After all, I think the ravings of a worried mother would have eventually gotten redundant for you all. Nonetheless, writing daily whether I published them or not brought me peace. Initially, I had expected that Jake would return in time for graduation. Unfortunately, given world events that was not the case.
Finally, this summer we had hints that he’d be returning stateside. Naturally, I held my breath because I didn’t want to get too excited in case he got extended again. After all, his and now our schedule is at the mercy of the military. And then the text, we’d been waiting for finally came, he was about to take off on his return flight home. Crazily, he had to wait until this point because until the plane is rolling down the runway, the military could change their mind and make them stay.
Like the stalker mom I am, I naturally found his flight and followed it throughout the night and the next day. I may have had a slight heart attack as his plane hit a radar dead zone in the middle of the Atlantic and fell off the screen. Fortunately, his plane was not in the dead zone for long and his plane re-emerged from the dead zone, I breathed a long sigh of relief.
Unfortunately for Jake, the journey home took several days with several stops. When he finally made it home, we were overseas. Oh, the irony. Fortunately, our trip was quick. Nevertheless, I was able to fill his new apartment with groceries from the Bahamas thanks to Shipt. His friends and Sgt helped him move in. Thankfully, his girlfriend was able to get there the Monday after he returned, which was awesome. I definitely didn’t want him alone.
Finally, about a week after he returned the boys and I were able to fly out and see him. Honestly, I thought my heart was going to burst from anticipation. It was a long day of flying, but we finally got to our Airbnb at around 11:30. On the ride from the airport, we had ordered pizza. It turns out it was the worst Papa John’s pizza any of us had ever had. Nevertheless, none of that really mattered to any of us as we were all back together.
When he first pulled up, we went out to greet both him and Melly, I think I hugged Jake for a good solid ten minutes. Or at least until his younger brothers started making fun of me. Some day when they have kids they’ll understand the emotional investment and the need for a ten-minute hug. As hugs go, I’d say it was the best ever. There’s no better hug than one from your child that just returned safely from deployment. During the course of that world record-setting hug, I could feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. No longer did I have to carry the stress of him being in constant peril in an uncertain world.
To all our friends and family that supported us throughout his deployment, we love you and thank you dearly. Jake loved all the beautiful cards, care packages, and goodies he received while being down range. He surely felt the love. His deployment was not without its scary moments, but he also had great command and a squadron that took care of him down range. He was also able to have some fun adventures that he’ll always relish. The one thing he won’t miss is the ridiculous temperatures and humidity of the Persian Gulf. Lastly, my heart is with all the military mothers that came before me who, unlike me, didn’t have the technology to communicate with their children regularly. I can’t imagine their pain. And this will close out my deployment diaries for now.
