Yellow Ribbon

            On Friday, March 23, my husband’s military unit and their families had to meet at a Mariott Hotel in Atlanta for our Yellow Ribbon group meeting.  Yellow Ribbon, for those of you not in the military that may not know, is a meeting that military members and their families attend after they have been deployed from the country.  This particular meeting was scheduled a bit later than we needed.  This was our “30 day post deployment” meeting.  Most all of the soldiers in our unit were home before Christmas this past year, so it was more like a 90-day meeting.  The Yellow Ribbon is designed to bring the unit closer together, to counsel those families that may need it, and also serves as a drill for the soldiers.  In these classes during yellow ribbon, the soldiers are given information that will help them transition back into their normal lives they left behind during their year-long deployment.  This also helps the families understand what is going on with their soldier now that they have returned.  For some families, a deployment feels like the end of the world.  The soldier packs up and leaves for an extremely long period of time.  During the time they are gone, many things change in their families’ lives; children grow older and miss the soldier very much, and spouses are left alone, missing them very much.  While the soldier is gone, the spouse must carry on with their daily activities.  This is a very difficult time and so the spouse and children need as much support as they can get.  The Yellow Ribbon Program serves as a source of information to the soldier and the family.  This program not only helps after a deployment, but it also is required before the deployment as well.  I remember going to one before my husband left for Iraq.  I did not engage myself very much because I was very emotional at the time.  I attended the first program only because it was mandatory. The others that I have been involved in have been a bit more informative, and I have been more engaged.  I met the other wives during the Yellow Ribbon meetings, and we all supported each other during the time our soldiers were gone. 

            This past weekend, I was able to attend the Yellow Ribbon and really enjoyed myself, mostly.  I had the day off from work and got to stay in a nice hotel—free of charge.  I was able to see the wives and the soldiers.  Many of them I hadn’t seen since right before Christmas.  It was great to see them and catch up with things.  The not-so-fun part of this meeting was the many PowerPoint sessions that seem to go on forever.  At the end of the day on Friday, many of the soldiers and families met at a restaurant and were able to hang out and relax.  The next day, it was back to the meetings.  They catered in lunch for us, so hanging out on Saturday wasn’t so bad.  I will say, though, that by Saturday afternoon, we were ready to get out of there.  We all had a good time, and we get to meet up again in a month to have our “60 day” meeting.

            After leaving the hotel on Saturday afternoon, my husband and I had tickets to attend an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performance.  We enjoyed it immensely, but we were both ready to get home when it was over and climb into our own beds for a good night sleep.  Wow.  What a busy weekend and the best part was that I actually had one more day to relax before going back to work.     

Work is Fun

This is the best time of the year, in my opinion.  Although I have seasonal allergies, I just love springtime.  I take all of my many medicines and brave the outdoors.  The weather is just so crisp in the mornings and somewhat breezy and cool in the evenings that I just can’t help but love this season.  This is the time that I can’t wait to spend my weekends in my garden.

I usually plant tomato and cucumber plants every year right around the end of March.  I have two raised garden beds that have to be prepared before I can plant my crops.

Over the weekend I began weed-pulling.  I started out just raking through the gardens, but I soon realized that there were some huge roots that had taken over my garden from last year.  Those pesky weeds had grown all the way through both of my beds and had to be cut out.  I thought that my gardening would only take me a few hours.  It turned into a whole day event.

I pulled and shoveled and pulled some more until every last weed and grass root was gone (and every last muscle in my body hurts).  I ended up spending three hours alone on one of my gardens.  Who knew that weed-pulling would take so much time and effort? 

Before too long it was 5:00 in the evening, so I headed into the house to shower for dinner.  It was a good thing I decided to go out for dinner because I surely didn’t feel like cooking.

Even though I spent a great deal of time on my garden, my yard work was still not finished.  I noticed that I had an abundance of little ant hills all over my yard.  My neighbor told me that in order to get rid of two ant hills at one time, all I had to do was scoop up one mound and dump it on top of the other.  The two different ant colonies would fight each other until death.  I wonder if that actually works.  I will have to try that this coming weekend.

Another task I would like to complete would be cutting my front bushes.  My poor overgrown bushes need to be pruned.  I thought about letting my son help me with that task, but the last time he cut my bushes, they were uneven and way too short.  I guess that job will have to wait until next weekend.

I still have a few other jobs that need to be done around my house.  I have to spread all of the bark over all of my flower beds.  First, I’ll need to replace all of the weed block paper that I put on my garden beds a few years ago.  I have noticed that weeds are starting to grown up around all of my plants, so looks like I’ll be adding that step in the process as well.

Oh my goodness.  Did I actually say I LIKED this time of the year?  Now that I think about it, I just added more work to my day.  Gee whiz.  What was I thinking?

Like, Really?

              I usually write my blogs based on my weekends, but the weekend before our spring break was extremely boring.  I guess that is a good thing since I can’t remember the last time I actually sat on my sofa and watched a movie with my family (on a Saturday night).  I am forever saying that there isn’t enough time in a day to get things done around my house or to finish running errands.  This weekend, I rested.  Imagine the concept of resting and relaxing on a weekend; it’s the best thing in the world.

            So, as I was perusing the blogs on Blogger, I noticed that Ms. Lindberg had written a few.  I was, like, laughing myself silly when I read the blog about the vocal fry.  It was, like, the funniest thing I’ve heard lately (notice the use of the word “like” inserted in my last two sentences).  Apparently, females that use this word or other “vocal fries,” are considered immature or stupid.  I will have to, like, disagree with them…(lol).  I read the whole article, and I am glad to know that just because you change a word for emphasis that you really aren't considered “stupid.”

            I also had a chance to read an additional blog that Ms. Lindberg posted about her spring break so far.  She mentioned a few things that I thought about but never said out loud.  For instance, I remember a few weeks ago hearing about a student that was stoned.  I couldn’t believe that someone would actually be so high on something that we could smell the odor in the air around him.  The other students were talking about how he smelled and acted during class.  Can you believe the nerve of some people?  That was downright disrespectful and disgusting.  Why did he bother showing up for class in that way?  I am not even the teacher, and I was disappointed.

            Another topic that she mentioned was about a quiet student on the back row.  I am wondering to which student she is referring.  Most of the students in my class are quite talkative.  In fact, during one of our study sessions, we played a game of Grammar Jeopardy, and many of the quiet ones were lively and very competitive.  I had the pleasure of meeting one of my classmates outside of school: he wouldn’t be one of those I would consider “quiet.”  He had been on one of the other teams.  It was very funny that the first thing he mentioned to me was that particular game.  I guess he didn’t much like losing to a bunch of girls with the name "The Chicks." 

            I really enjoyed reading about her opinions of the class and especially the part about her looking forward to the next eight weeks with us.  I have a newfound respect for my English teacher.  I started this class thinking that I wouldn’t learn that much from an English class; I am fairly confident in the subject.  I now have to say that I am learning something new in every class every week.  I have a new appreciation for the English language and all of its nuances, and I can’t wait to get to class to see what we’ll do next.

Why do we capitalize I? The Hot Word | Hot & Trending Words Daily Blog at Dictionary.com

Why do we capitalize I? The Hot Word Hot & Trending Words Daily Blog at Dictionary.com

Time With Family

     We never know how much time we have left with our parents.  I try to spend time with mine as much as possible.  It had been quite a while since I went to visit them, so I decided to spend the weekend at their house.

     My husband and I headed out on Friday afternoon on our way to Hampton, GA.  My youngest son decided he wanted to go; we were off, headed for the inevitable Atlanta traffic.

     We showed up around 7 PM, greeted with lots of hugs and kisses.  It always made me feel good to see my parents so happy.  As we all piled into my car, we were off once again to have dinner out, because it was my husband's birthday. 

     After dinner at a local pizza restaurant, we headed back home again. We got back to their house, changed into our comfortable night clothes, and decided to sit down to watch a family movie.

     The next day came, and my sister stopped by to visit all of us.  It was really good to see her again.  It had been a while since I’d seen her, too.  She had lost some weight and was so excited to talk about it.  She decided that we should all go out for lunch.  I needed to get ready, so they all fussed at me to get dressed.  They teased me, because it usually takes me an hour to get ready.  Today, it only took me twenty minutes; this was a new record for me.

     Our lunch took a while, because we had to wait for our table.  We finally ordered and got our food rather quickly, all except for my dad.  He wasn’t feeling well, so he only order something to drink.

     After lunch, we headed out to do some grocery shopping for our dinner foods, and then we headed back to the house.  When we finally arrived back at the house, we all sat around and chit-chatted for a while.  It was good to just sit around and chat with my parents.  Although we didn’t talk about anything important, we were there together.  Time like that is very special, and no one knows just how long we ever have on this earth.

     On Sunday morning, we got up and headed home before lunchtime.  We were on our way home, when I thought about my weekend trip.  It sure was good to see my family.  I love them so much.     

Indian Cultural Shock

                As I was traveling through an old neighborhood that I used to live in, I caught a glimpse of some houses that were in need of repair or needed to be torn down.  What once was a very elegant subdivision, has turned into shambles.  There were only a few of my old neighbors still left there.  One of the few that still remained was an Indian family.  They used to have some old Indian rituals in their backyard, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

This particular evening, as I was traveling through, I saw my friend Carl.  At first glance I never would have recognized him.  He was dressed from head to toe in one of his tribal costumes.  He was wearing a full suit, made out of some sort of feathery material.  It was mostly all yellow, with some varying patches attached to it.  I just had to stop and see him one more time. 

As I approached him, I noticed something very strange.  He had painted his face and was yelling out some noises that I could barely understand.  When he finally stopped yelling, he could see me standing there in front of him.  At first, neither of us knew what to say.  The last time I saw him he was totally against his family’s religion. This time, he was completely covered in the garb of his family. 

After what seemed like ages, he smiled at me and I smiled back.  I decided to give him a hug.  He greeted me warmly with a return hug.  He began to explain to me why he had decided to join his family instead of continuing to be against it.            

We talked for hours and finally decided it was time for me to go.  I climbed back into my car and headed home.  I realized that I had a memory from the past that I will never forget.   

Weak in the Knees

     Have you ever had a nagging pain that just wouldn't go away?  Well, I have been experiencing pain in my right knee for several months now.  I went to see my doctor, and he said I needed to go see a physical therapist.  So, off to therapy I went.

     During my first session, I had to talk to the physical therapist about my pain level, where the pain was located, and how often I was feeling the pain.  I explained to him that this was not happening everyday but only when I exercised.  I told him that I wanted to exercise more so that I could stay in shape, but after one workout session, I was in pain for days.  He formulated a plan especially for my condition and started me on it immediately.

     At first, I only had to do some leg raises to begin to strengthen my thigh muscles.  Then, I was doing scissor-leg raises to warm up my outer thigh muscles.  Next, he put me on a squat machine (this thing about killed my thighs). He set the timer for four minutes—seemed a lot longer to me.  After my squats, I was asked to balance on a soft beam, one foot in front of the other, until the timer sounded.  Afterwards, I was asked to balance on the same beam, but this time, using only one foot—talk about hard.  Then I was told to sit on a table.  The therapist was going to help the pain and discomfort in my knee by hooking up electrodes to the muscles surrounding my knee.  I thought this was going to be painful, but I found out that it wasn’t so bad.  I watched the muscles popping on my leg.  It was a really strange sensation.  These electrodes were also attached to an area of my leg that made my calf muscles and my toes twitch.  It had a tingling sensation.  After fifteen minutes of this, the therapist removed the electrodes, and I was free to go.  I had to go back the next day and do it all over again…boy was I sore!  The one good thing from this is that I am no longer in pain. YAY!