All week I’ve been fighting the urge to text my boy over and over again. One I know he’s super busy. Two I know he can’t have his phone with him while he’s working. And lastly, I don’t want to be inappropriately overbearing. Nonetheless, it’s super hard. I know he’ll reach out when he can, but I miss him and I worry. Oh the horrors of radio silence during deployment.
I decided to keep an electronic diary of my thoughts during deployment. By the time this is published, he will be back home.
Saying goodbye to our eldest is never easy, but this last time it was particularly hard. This time it would be the last time I got to hug him before he left on his first deployment. To say that hug contained a lot of emotion and love would be a gross understatement. While he was excited for this new adventure, the mom in me couldn’t help but be anxious and worried sick. Naturally, I tried my best to hide this from him. After all, I didn’t want him feeding off my anxiety. Nor did I want him worrying about his mom.
Perhaps the hardest part of all of this is not knowing the details. He’s limited in what he can share with for obvious reasons, but it makes it hard when you don’t know the when and where. At the moment, we’re just waiting for the shoe to drop. Obviously, it’s been a bit nerve wracking.
We’re wheels up on our way to Utah and I couldn’t be more excited. For the ten months, our oldest was deployed overseas and is finally home!!!!! I can’t tell you how hard it was as a mother to have a kid down range. I can only think of the Military moms and wife’s that came before me when the technology took keep us connected didn’t exist. My heart would have been in my throat daily if I had to wait for a letter via post. Technology, as sucky as it can be, was an absolute god send during his deployment. Anyway, I’m super excited to be spending the next week plus out West with my boys.
The hardest thing about writing a blog is overcoming writer’s block. I had a working title and topic, but I’m not sure Google and SEO gods like words like fuckery. To be honest, the use is of the word is completely appropriate when discussing Facebook’s sheer and utter incompetence.
Since our oldest joined the service, I’ve had friend requests from countless fake accounts spoofing military leaders. I’ve reported each one and Facebook in all it’s awesomeness has done nothing. Rather they knowingly allow the spoof accounts to pray on service members and their families. Meanwhile the real accounts have been verified by the same entity that refuses to shut down the obviously fake accounts. Great job Facebook.
I shared the post from the hockey parent dumb ass on my blog last night. Unsurprisingly, his account is also fake. Apparently, this keyboard hero, who makes fun of officials for being afraid to take the ice, is afraid to make these comments from his real account. What a loser. Naturally, Facebook or the moderators of the forum should shutdown this fake troll account. Yet neither have decided to act on this despite the fact the troll acknowledged he setup a fake account. Anyway, Facebook has jumped the shark Reddit is significantly more interesting.
Anyway, the writer’s block has cleared. My two mile run was arduous this morning. I don’t know why it’s not getting any easier, but it’s super frustrating. Tomorrow morning I will be doing the BBG arms and ab workout. I’m planning to do yoga in the evening to help my muscles recover. I need to get back into the rhythm of practicing yoga daily. By the end of AEP, my yoga schedule will be back on track.
Well, today was a day spent in tech hell. It started early in my work day before I even logged into my phone when Comcast went down. Thankfully, we have both AT&T and Comcast, so I could switch the system over to the AT&T wifi. Unfortunately, this usually smooth procedure did not go smoothly this morning. Finally after fifteen minutes of trying, I was finally able to get everything up and running.
Needless to say, the rest of my day followed suit. Even after I followed the “have you tried turning it on and off” move, my system was still giving me fits all day. This was made worse by a severe storm that temporarily knocked out power and my wifi. In fact, the cell service and both internet providers were down during the storm.
Naturally, the Mayor decided to ride the bus in this weather instead of riding home with Goalielocks. Consequently, the bus dropped him off at the bus stop in the middle of the severe storm. Clearly, he couldn’t walk home in that weather and I had no car.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach Goalielocks or the Hubby to have someone pick him up. This all coincided with the service interruptions. Fortunately, our friend Hanh was able to pick him up and grt him home safely. Thank God for Hanh! She really saved the Mayor from being in an unsafe situation today.
Tonight the Mayor’s down at Ice Den watching his coaches play in their season opener for FAU. These kids love their coaches! I love it because Coach Israel and Coach Matias hold these kids accountable and helping instill healthy life long habits. They coach the kids holistically and it is awesome. I’m excited to see how the Mayor develops as a player and person over this next season. As for my tech hell, Comcast is still down. Fortunately, our Roku runs on the AT&T wifi. Lastly, our sweet Maya came home tonight. We are so heartbroken.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I’m reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel.
*I ran a mile and a half and walked a mile this evening. It felt great to run again even if it sucked
*Seven days until I’ll have all my boys in one place!
*We’re tracking the Tropics here in Florida. Fortunately, it looks like none of these waves will be impacting Florida. As for autumn in Florida, the only thing that changes is the season. The temperatures, meanwhile, stay steamy.
*Tonight I made sheet pan chicken fajitas via Hello Fresh. This recipe was easy to make and super tasty.
*The word of the day is bourgeoisie. When I see that word, I’m compelled to re-read Orwell’s Animal Farm.
*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a. I put on his harness every morning. Fortunately, we had no run-ins with the toads, lizards or grasshoppers today.
Well, I’m fading quickly after slamming some Benadryl to end the allergic reaction that has mysteriously started. In fact, I really have no clue what has cause the hives/rash on my hand. It looks a bit like poison ivy (aka mango,) but I haven’t touched any mangoes in years. Nonetheless, I’ll probably be in bed before 9:00.
An early bedtime wouldn’t be the worst thing for me. After all Goalielocks and I left the house before dawn, so we’d get to practice on time. Naturally, he left the car on E, which led to an unplanned trip to Wawa. The drive itself wasn’t terrible. I just don’t appreciate the super early wake up call on a Saturday. Fortunately the great company, courtesy of my fellow hockey moms, made up somewhat for the early wake up call.
After practice, I tried to take several naps. As they say, best laid plans sometimes go sidewise. Before attempting my first nap, I did log into make a few follow up calls for work. Afterward, my first failed nap attempt, I ran 2.5 miles. I was hoping the run would walk me up, but even at 1:00 pm I was fading quickly.
I finally started to fall asleep when my hubby called twice and my older son called. Clearly, a nap was not going to happen today. Jake’s car was struck while he was grocery shopping this afternoon, so he was calling for advice. I told him all the things he should do immediately. Consequently, we hung up so he could call the cops and get all the information he needed.
Thankfully, the lady that drove into his car stuck around and did the right thing. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but worry about him. It sucks to be so far away from your kid when something like this happens. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about because he handled it perfectly. By the time, he left the parking lot State Farm had already called to tell him they were covering the repairs and his rental car. And now I’m off to bed because I’m fading quickly.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I’m now reading Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier.
*I ran 2.5 miles and walked a mile. It went quite well although I nearly took a tumble trying to grab my water.
*Drove to Kendall at the crack of dawn for hockey practice with Goalielocks.
*Tonight we’re enjoying ice cream and watching 30 Rock. To be honest, the dalliance in ice cream making is starting to become a hobby.
*Jake was able to have a nice lunch with Jon and Brandi before they headed for Yellowstone. I’m so jealous.
*For dinner, the hubby made vodka sauce pasta.
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*Today’s word of the day is curvaceous. After eating too much on vacation, I’m more curvaceous than I’d like.
*I took my puppies including sweet Anakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness
This weekend I broke a record. For the first time since I’ve had my Prius, I went through a tank of gas in one day! Needless to say to it was quite the busy weekend. Our weekend started with a trip to Miami for Goalielocks’ hockey practice Saturday morning. It’s always awesome leaving the house before 6:30 am on a Saturday.
Practice was good and ended quickly. Since his game wasn’t until 4:00 pm, we headed back home to relax. I wasn’t feeling fabulous , so I chilled on the couch until it was time to go. To be fair, I also booked a hotel and packed a bag for the evening since Goalielocks and I would be staying in Miami that night.
The game Saturday afternoon was not fabulous. Apparently, the other team added some players from their junior team to the U16AA team we played Saturday. Yeah, it totally made a difference. Goalielocks was mighty busy all game long. The end result was ugly, but I was proud that he never gave up. I did, however, have a proud mom moment as we drove to the rink and the Mayor played some great music!
Post-game Goalielocks took a shower at the rink (a first) and got ready for the hoe-down. He was volunteering with some teammates at the Soroptimist International of Homestead’s annual fundraiser the Blue Jean Ball. This event coincides with the Homestead Rodeo. Naturally, my country boy was loving the theme as the music.
While the boys worked, I hung out with my fellow hockey moms. It was fun to watch the boys work the popcorn and hot dog stand. Every time a patron would ask if the hotdogs were done, one would respond “I don’t know.” Needless to say, they kept us entertained throughout the night. Of course the live music didn’t hurt either. By the time we left the event, hit up the local MacDonald’s and made it back to the hotel, it was already 1:00 am.
My plan was to wake up and make the Mayor’s 8:40 am game in Pompano. However, since we had such a long date and got to bed so late, I decided to let Goalielocks sleep in. Unfortunately, it meant I had to miss all the drama in the Mayor’s first game. Apparently, a mom lost it and had to be kicked out. I can’t wait to see the video of this glorious blunder.
I let Goalielocks sleep until 10:30 that way we could pack up, pick up coffee and head to the next game with time to spare. We made it to the rink with plenty of time to spew. Unfortunately, this means nothing when it comes to picking out the optimal viewing location. Simply put this rink has no good places to watch the game.
It wasn’t the best hockey game I’ve ever watched, but I simply love watching my boys play. Truly, it’s is awesome to watch them working hard with their team and playing the game they love. Of course, I loved watching him score a beautiful goal.
When I see my Mayor play, I have no doubt that he loves the game and his teammates. In fact, we’ve been really lucky this year. Both boys have a great group of parents and kids. It makes for an awesome season.
Our weekend ended with yummy Korean pork sandwiches at our dear friends house. I was especially happy since my girlfriend Hanh and her beautiful baby are back from Tampa! Sweet Ava has grown so much and is still so cute. It was a wonderful evening with our extended family! In the end, I broke a record by driving more than 350 miles in a day.
Meanwhile in San Antonio, Jake has headed to the field for Beast week. This is one of the airman’s favorite parts of basic training. I look forward of hearing his impressions of the week. We may even get a phone call from him on Friday after they return from the field! Only 10 days left until we will see our airman again!
Lastly, I’d ask that you keep my family in your prayers tonight. My uncle Craig lost his battle with lung cancer this morning. We are devastated. I’d also ask for prayers for our family friends that are potentially facing some major health issues. Thanks!
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It’s test day here in sunny, but chilly for us South Florida. When I woke up this morning, exhausted from the weekend on the road, I was trying to think of every valid reason why I shouldn’t run or workout today. Truly, I was exhausted and couldn’t imagine the thought of pounding the pavement for two miles.
Fortunately, coffee solved my motivation problem and I quickly changed my mind. After all, the weather was undeniably perfect for a run. While the weather conditions were perfect, my run was not. My time was improved over last week and the first mile felt pretty good. I ended up chopping a minute off of last week’s time. It may have something to do with the great Metallica riffs I was enjoying.
Unfortunately, I still have 2.5 minutes to chop off my time.The one drawback of the run was me. Sadly, I have some soreness in my knees after yesterday’s dash through DTW (Detroit airport.) Apparently, when you return a rental car, you are also supposed to return the keys. Of course, I didn’t discover the keys in my purse until I got to my gate A12.
I called Hertz, who instructed me to give the keys to the shuttle driver. That was all I needed. I left my stuff with my Mayor and booked it back to the ground transportation area. I only had about 20 minutes before they started boarding. Honestly, it felt great to run after a couple of rest days.
In the end, I made it to the shuttle, back through security and back to my gate in less than 20 minutes. The only snafu was having to get patted down by security since my back was now so sweaty. Clearly, I apologized to the TSA officer for having to deal with me and my sweatiness. She replied that it was okay and that she’s seen much worse. So much for picking up a pre-flight Starbucks. It kind of felt like I was in a movie.
In the end, I knew I was taking a calculated risk in running today. After all, we ended out trip in Michigan with some White Castle sliders on Eight Mile Road. I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. It’s absolute insanity to eat White Castle before hopping on a flight.
Thankfully, the Mayor and I are accustomed to the burgers, so I felt the risk was minimal. However, running a significant distance the morning after could be categorized as either brave or stupid. Spoiler alert, I survived the run with no intestinal issues.
Needless to say there’s no place like home. My skin is thrilled to be back in a place with humidity. Meanwhile, I’m ready to continue with the solid workout routine I’ve created. I’ll devote probably a couple posts to our weekend in Detroit because it was that awesome. I had aspirations of posting everyday, but the schedule and my energy level suggested differently.
So final test results for week 3: 16:51 for 1.5 mile run, 15 pushups and 28 sit-ups! Clearly, I have room for improvement. Next week, I should hit the sit-up number. The run, however, is going to take a few more weeks. Lastly, please keep our airman in your prayers!! It’s test day for him as well and this week is critical!
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WOT 5 is here and I can’t believe if. On one hand, I can’t believe it’s going so fast. On the other hand, I can’t believe it’s going so slow. This week is the last full week of PT before Jake’s final PT test in week 6. Needless to say, this week is critical. As they complete this week, they will also be preparing for the written tests that are administered in WOT 6.
In WOT 5, the airmen are learning a lot including the Air Force’s mission. They’re learning about the laws that govern armed conflict. Additionally, this week they’re learning how to prepare, cope and recover from combat. Moreover, they’re continue to learn about their role as airman and how they are support the mission. It is well known that BMT is very tough physically, but there is a lot of knowledge the airmen trainees must take in and process before graduating.
Week of training five also brings the official “dress blues” photo. I can’t wait to see how he looks in his uniform. Clearly, I’ve already picked out a couple of spots where I can proudly display this photo. We’ll also have an opportunity to buy a disk of the photos taken from WOT 0 to WOT 6 at graduation. Hopefully, we can preview the photos before we have to purchase it.
Today was tough. I found myself missing him quite a bit. Unfortunately, I woke up with a horrible tension headache that left me feeling daffy for most of the day. Thank god I went back to my yoga practice in October. My Wednesday class is all about loosening how tight muscles and improving mobility. My teacher Christine is amazing and I’ve gotten some great tricks from her. Consequently, I used my therapy balls to release my neck muscles. It worked amazingly!
Clearly, today was an emotional day. One of those days that just smacks you in the fsa day for no reason. At any rate, I’m anxious to see and hear from Jake again. He doesn’t have a lot of time to call or write. Although, he should be able to call us during WOT 6.
And now have three more WOTs until graduation week. Twenty two days before we’ll see him in the airmen’s run; twenty three days until he graduates. Unsurprisingly, we’re counting down the days! Lastly, I’d ask to keep Jake in your prayers as he goes into the most critical phase of Basic Training. Please pray that he continues to be physically, mentally and emotionally strong as well prepared for his exams. Thank you for all your love and support. It is so appreciated!
Previous Training Weeks:
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4
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Gotta be honest, I’ve been slacking on the blog these past few days. It’s just I’ve been exhausted these past couple of days with little to share. Friday was productive for me, but left me exhausted. I completed a BBG AB workout, went to yoga and enjoyed a restorative sauna session. Needless to say, it left me exhausted. And I was in bed with my Virginia Woolf novel by 9:30.
Goalielocks has practice scheduled for most of Saturday, but it was a bit touch and go if we’d take him since he hurt his foot/ankle playing football. In the end, we decided to take him, so his trainer could evaluate the injury. The injury location is weird. He’s actually more comfortable in skates playing hockey than walking.
After his practice, the trainer was able to take a look at it. Fortunately, his Trainer felt it was likely a sprain, but wanted us to rule out a fracture to the navicular bone in his foot. Since the Vikings were playing at 4:35 pm, my scheme was to take him post game right before the urgent care closes.
Unfortunately, the Vikings effort was anemic and Goalielocks was soon despondent. Consequently, we headed to urgent care during the beginning of the third quarter. By some miracle of god, there was no wait at the clinic. We were in and out with the x-rays and hands. Happily, the x-rays were negative for fracture. His diagnosis was sprain. Goalielocks was not happy when he was told to be non-weight bearing for 3 days.
That’s right folks the scooter is back- at least, temporarily. He isn’t quite the seasoned scooter driver that I was, but he’s learning. Additionally, he insists that he will not use the scooter or crutches at school. Tomorrow morning should be fun!
After a busy day yesterday, we’ve been slacking at home enjoying the pictures of my family’s vacation on the south seas. We did get most the laundry done and I did go to yoga, so the day wasn’t a complete wash. Tonight we had chilli and I was really regretting my decision to go gluten free. I’m not sure it’s possible, but I may have been lusting for a baguette. Thankfully, neither of us had the energy to drive and buy one. In the end, the bison chili was perfectly satisfying without the baguette. Someone who hasn’t been slacking is Jake. Today he starts WOT5 for Jake. Three more weeks til graduation!
Previous training weeks:
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