Thanksgiving 2006
I have to say, this Thanksgiving was much better than Thanksgiving 2004. In 2004, the babies and I spent the holiday alone. It was one of the most depressing days of my entire life. Of course, I cooked just like I would if husband had been home, but it was really hard for the three of us to find the silver lining that day. The bright spot was after we'd eaten. I turned on the news and found out that President Bush had flown into Iraq and eaten with the troops. Of course, everyone on the left immediately attacked him for it, saying it was a publicity stunt, even taking issue over a turkey he held. For me though, it truly lifted my spirits. Our President leaving his family and spending the holiday with our troops spoke volumes. Regardless of whether you support Bush's policies or not, there is no doubt in my mind that he deeply cares about those in our Armed Forces. In 2004, he not only lifted the spirits of those he visited, but the families left behind and for that, I'll forever be grateful.
This Thanksgiving, I really wanted to go home. I wanted to spend Thanksgiving with my family back home. I wanted to sleep that really hard, deep sleep. The kind of sleep you get when you're not the only adult in the house and need to keep an eye and ear out for odd noises or little ones who might need you in the middle of the night. I wanted to cook a big meal with another adult - to talk and laugh while cooking all day. I wanted my babies to be showered with attention and affection, I wanted to see them get spoiled some...I wanted to see everyone eat so much that the only aftermath acceptable was to find a comfortable spot and snore for a bit. Most of all, I just didn't want the babies and I to be alone again.
None of that was possible though. Mother was wrapped around the axle about some things having to do with step-father starting at the beginning of November. Now, step-father is a good man, he really is. Sometimes that is his biggest downfall, he's too good. However, he's extremely unorganized. Often, he's not dependable. For instance, he'll say he's going to run to his office and pick up a file and be back in half an hour. Three hours later he'll show up - having also stopped by the dollar store or somewhere else on a whim and have three bags of stuff and none of it was needed. Nothing done maliciously of course, it's just his unorganized, spur of the moment way. He's been the same way for the 25 years or so I've known him. You either accept him for who he is or you wear yourself out being disappointed, pissed off, disgusted etc. Guess which avenue my Mother takes? Yep, 25 years of bitching, being mad as hell, saying she's had enough and so on. I've heard this same crap since I was ten/eleven years old. And of course, the holidays are upon us and the shit has to hit the fan again.
As much as I wanted to go home, there was just no way I was going to make that two day drive and be put straight in the middle of her latest drama. She was doing a good enough job of trying to put me in the middle with me four states away. I grew up in the middle of this mess and as an adult, my ability to handle bullshit and drama is about zero. Life's too short. I decided being alone was better than putting the babies and I on Dysfunctional Family Crazy Train lol, and staying home would be less stressful than going. Lonely? Yes. Stressful? No. And to me, lonely is better and will win out each and every time.
Since the babies and I were going to stay home and I was going to cook a big meal, I asked our next door neighbor if he and his wife would like to come eat with us. He said he'd talk to his wife and let me know. He wasn't sure what their plans were. Last Sunday, she stopped by and said her daughter would be in town for Thanksgiving and we were more than welcome to come eat with them. We agreed on who would cook what and planned for us to come over around noon on Thanksgiving.
I made daughter's favorite, deviled eggs and I also made a green bean casserole. Our neighbor made ham and a few other things. We all ate enough to feed a small Army. It was great food and great company. It sure beat the heck out of the babies and I eating here alone, that's for sure. They are always so sweet to our children and we're so fortunate to have such wonderful neighbors.
So, although it wasn't as special and wonderful a day as it would have been if husband had been home, it was a good day compared to 2004. I was truly thankful to be able to spend the day with them and I know our babies were too.
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New Template
WHAT a nightmare. I started out with a three column template - which is what I really wanted. I'd found several blogrolls I wanted to join, and wanted a column on the left to display those separate from my favorite links.
Sunday I spent the entire day working on the three column template. Now, the code was ugly behind the scenes, but I don't know CSS very well and this template was done completely in CSS. About the time CSS was really changing the face of web design is about the time I stopped working. I'm about two years behind and apparently CSS has come a long way since then.
Anyhow, the code was ugly, but I thought it was my ignorance. After spending all of Sunday and Sunday night working on it, then part of Monday - by Monday night I was ready to test it in blogger preview. What a disaster...I learned a very valuable lesson...test early in blogger preview before devoting days to it.
Monday night I trashed the three column template and found a two column that I could use with the logo I'd originally made for the three column template. The original template that I'm using now can be found at
Free Blogger Templates. The template I chose is
Autumn Rain. As you can see, I changed quite a bit around, but kept the general layout. The code behind the scenes is pretty clean and easy to understand. The only problem I had when I put it in preview on blogger was the text on my right sidebar was smaller once it was published than it had been in the preview. Not sure why that is - but figure it might have something to do with blogger's bar at the top of the page....only thing I could think of that is different between the preview and the final product once published. Anyhow, there are some nice looking templates on
Free Blogger Templates and I'd highly recommend them.
If you're looking for a new template, here are some sites with free templates. These are sites I ran across during my search that I bookmarked because I thought they had a good selection, they had a template I was considering or the templates they had were unique compared to most designs I'd ran across. Hope you enjoy!
Free Blogger TemplatesNoipo.org's Blogger TemplatesGecko and Fly Blogger Templates (Classic)
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New Template Search...
For two days I've been searching for a new template. My goodness, I didn't think it was going to be so hard to find one I liked.
I have found some great sites that offer free templates though. As soon as I get my blog updated with a new template, I'll post links to all the free template sites that I now have bookmarked.
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Confession Time:
Hello.
My name is Shannon and when I was an early teen, I, too, succumbed to the pressure of using spray paint in a less than law abiding way.
Here is my story.
When I was fifteen, I already had my muscle car sitting in the driveway. I had the keys too. I was allowed to crank it up and let it run for twenty or thirty minutes every week. NOT drive it mind you, just crank it up...
Note to parents: No matter how responsible your child is, NEVER leave keys to a car (especially a car they LOVE) with a teenager before they get their license. The pressure, the pull - it's just too great for impressionable minds heh heh.
Mother worked full time, so when she wasn't home, that car would just beg me to get in it and not just sit there, but DRIVE.
EMBRACE THE FREEDOM it would scream...
We lived on a VERY steep hill....practically straight up. Mother had backed the car up the drive and put it at the very top. Her reasoning was, the daughter was only 15 and there was NO WAY she could back the car up that driveway and get it in the exact same position. If the car moved, she'd know. If the yard was used to turn around, it'd leave tire marks, she'd know. The only way to get it in that position was to back it up that monster of a driveway.
She didn't count on two things. One, that daughter was conniving when it came to being in the car. She planned. She marked where the back tires sat with chalk to make sure the tires were put back into the exact same place. Two, daughter was a natural driver and could back that car up Everest if necessary. The car was taken out on several joy rides with the Mother none the wiser. That is, until one day an APB was put out on the car. The car that should not have moved having been backed up a driveway that no teen could replicate.
Confession time:
That day, a friend of mine and I got a wild hair and thought it would be fun to get in my car with a can of black spray paint. We'd drive across town and spray paint our initials on two stop signs near a friend's house. At no time during the drive did my friend or I have a moment of clarity and change our minds. Never mind that it was NOON and broad daylight. Never mind that I had already purchased a personalized tag for my old muscle car that only had THREE letters (my initials) and EASY to write down lol. Never mind that I was only 15, only had a permit and wasn't suppose to be driving without a licensed adult in the car. Nope, we thought this was going to be so funny...we laughed all the way there and all the way back to my house after the deed was done. We laughed until my Mother drove up unexpectedly - several hours before she was to get off work. My mother NEVER called in sick, she never left early from work. EVER. I knew when I heard her car pulling up the drive that my life, as I had known it, was O-VER.
Seems that someone witnessed our painting escapade and called the police. The police in turn put out a bulletin to all patrolmen to be on the lookout for a black Trans-Am, with such and such license plate, registered in my Mother's name...yes, Mother's name was broadcast all over town where every policeman and hick with a scanner could hear.
Our mechanic and family friend knew the car, the tag and, of course, Mother. He had heard the radio call over his scanner in his shop and called Mother at work to tell her the police were looking for her car. I can still imagine my Mother's head exploding as she heard the news...
(shudder) To make matters worse, my step-father was the city prosecutor at the time. Of course I had no idea what this was or what it meant at the time. However, I soon found out (thanks to my screaming, ranting Mother) that my little escapade was a HUGE embarrassment for my Mother who had to go to shoulder rubbing dinners and such with the WHOLE TOWN knowing her daughter vandalized CITY PROPERTY!!!!!
I didn't realize at the time that since my step-father was city prosecutor and friends with the police chief, that he just made a phone call and took care of it. Although Mother wanted me and my buddy to have to sit in a cell for a few hours, step-father's even tempered, calm demeanor said that wasn't necessary. He'd assured the police chief that we'd clean up the stop signs and have it done before we were to be in his office the following morning. The police chief would then take the floor and scare the royal crap out of us...
That evening, my friend's Mom took us to Wal-Mart where we bought several bottles of fingernail polish remover, two plastic scrub brushes and a bucket. She then took us back to the scene of the crime, where we had to take turns standing on each other's shoulders to reach the signs and be able to put enough elbow grease behind the brush to get our painted initials off the signs. One sign was really tall - and on a slope. I can firmly attest to the fact it was much easier to paint the sign than it was to clean it off. My friend and I never thought when we were learning to "climb" in cheerleading to build pyramids that it'd come in handy one day and help get our rears out of trouble lol. Being able to stand on shoulders came in handy that night - let me tell you.
The next morning we were in the Chief's office, apologizing for what we'd done and promising we would NEVER do anything like that again. He said he was keeping our names and if at any point between that day and our 18th birthdays, our names crossed his desk again, not only would we be in trouble for whatever we'd done, he'd also make sure that we were prosecuted for destruction of city property too. And, just to assure that I NEVER EVER thought of doing anything stupid again, he said if I got in trouble again before I turned sixteen, he'd personally see to it that I was not allowed to get my license when I did turn sixteen and instead, have to wait until I was 18. THAT. RIGHT. THERE. was enough to scare me straight...I was living, breathing, eating and sleeping Trans-Am and dreaming of finally getting to drive. I was counting down the months, days and hours until I could get my license. Not be able to get my license until 18??! Oh, life would end for me if that were to happen. END I tell you!
We were escorted out of his office while step-father stayed behind with the door closed. I can only imagine the laughs they had - and probably had a bet on how long into the meeting it would be until the Chief could make us cry heh heh. Next time I call home, I'll have to ask step-father what was discussed behind that closed door lol. After all these years, I'd really like to know.
Needless to say, I NEVER EVER got into any kind of trouble again.
And, it's probably the main reason why my heart broke when I saw those two scared young'uns on my porch fighting tears and trying to do anything possible to fix their lapse in judgment. I could empathize. I'd been right where they are some 20 (or so) years ago. My experience was enough to scare me straight and leave no questions as to the fact I was just not cut out for a life of crime lol. Hopefully their experience will be very similar.
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Spray Painting Bandits: Update
Instead of rewriting everything, I'm going to copy and paste two emails I sent out last night to husband and cc'd to my Dad and my Father-in-Law. The emails are about the latest and greatest regarding the spray painting bandits.
Email One: Vandalized FenceThe police officer called this evening. He said that one of the boys had confessed to a teacher. It turns out that this teacher had been a victim of the spray painting bandits also. He asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I didn't really want them to end up in juvenile hall and he said they didn't have a juvenile facility here in our small town. That usually, once they get in front of the judge, they get a curfew (oh big punishment ha!) and ordered to pay restitution, but in his experience, the victims rarely see a dime. This morning, we'd already discussed my view - when they got caught, they should have to go back and help the owners of the property they vandalized fix it.
The police officer said he'd already talked to a few other property owners and they just wanted an apology on their front porch. I told him that'd be fine with me, but I'd also expect them to pick up a paint brush and help me fix my fence. He said that sounded like a great idea to him. I told him I thought it would be good for them to not only have to face the people that they decided to vandalize by apologizing, but also spend some time getting to know their "victims" while they helped repair what they'd messed up.
The police officer said one of the boys has not confessed, but he's sure he will since he'd spent the night with the kid that has confessed the night all this went on. And, they are sure the properties are all linked since every home was spray painted with the same colors - red and black. He said he was off tomorrow and Thursday, but Friday he'd get to work on tying up any loose ends to get the boogers out to the properties. He'd not talked to the parents yet, but would be. He was leaving an email for the assistant chief who was working tomorrow, so he would know where they stand on the investigation and what the "victims" preferred to do with the two turds.
I told him I'd planned to paint my fence tomorrow because of the vulgar language, but I'd hold off a few days to see if these two would end up helping clean up their mess. He said he'd give me a call on Friday and let me know what was going on...
All in all, I'm really impressed with our police. They got here so quick AND they were really fast giving me an update on what was going on with the investigation. It's not like this was a HUGE crime spree or anything lol, but they are still spending time on it and treating it seriously. I've never heard of any police department being this quick and keeping the people informed so well. Just another thing I'm really impressed with in our small town....I sent that email about 7 pm. By 8pm, there had been some major developments lol. Around 9:30 pm, I sent the following email.
Email Two: Update IIOk, here's the latest in the fence saga ha! Are you ready?
The babies stayed up late tonight because (name edited) daughter was working on her multiplication tables and I was helping her by quizzing her. Then (name edited) son had a book he wanted me to read and it was 8 before I knew what happened.
I got the babies to bed and sat down to read this political article online...I'd been waiting all evening to read it and darn if the minute I sat down with my coffee, Dakota, the German Shepherd, didn't go nuts at the front door. He likes to lay in front of the door and watch the folks across the street come home in the evenings. I'd heard the car doors and assumed it was them. When he went crazy though and I saw the hair on his back standing up, I knew something was up. Two seconds later, the doorbell was ringing. I usually don't answer the door after dark - especially after 8 at night, but I thought it might be the police or something...
So, I get the dogs out and open the door and step out on the porch. I have two young men on my porch that look to be 12-13ish, two Moms on the porch and two Dads standing down on the front walk next to the steps. Mom 1 says, "Are you Shannon?"
I confirm that I am and she says these two young men have something to tell me. I said OK -
Young man 1 says, "Ma'am, we're the ones who spray painted your fence. We just wanted to come by and tell you how very sorry we are and we want to paint and fix your fence for you."
Young man 2 stood silently. I thought at first he looked really mad - like, "How DARE I have to apologize to this hick..."
So, I tell them I really appreciate them coming by and I would love for them to help me fix the fence. Mom 2 says, "It sure is nice to meet you, I'm just sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."
I looked at these two pitiful young boys...I now see that Young Man 2 doesn't have anger on his face, he's trying to find every ounce of strength so as not to cry on this stranger's front porch. Big ol' tears are welling up in his eyes. I know, I'm a softy, but it broke my heart. So they had a lapse in judgment and painted our fence...it's not like they busted the windows out of my car or spray painted the house, the garage or my car...
I told the Mom that God works in mysterious ways - and maybe this is just how he decided to lend a hand at us all meeting. All the adults laughed - the boys were so scared they didn't move nor did they make a sound.
I told them the fence needed painting anyway, that my husband was going to paint it, but we just ran out of time this summer and never got around to it. Mom 1 or Dad 1 (can't remember) said the boys would be glad to paint my entire fence for me. I told them noooo, that wouldn't be necessary. I looked at these two young guys and said, I'll tell you what...if, come this summer, you two want to make some extra spending money, come see me and I'll pay you to paint my fence. How does that sound? Both shook there heads and didn't say a word. I mentioned that I'd had a spray painting mishap as a kid...and ended up in the police chief's office and since my step-dad had been city prosecutor, had embarrassed my family on top of it. These two just looked so pitiful, it broke my heart. I told them I know it feels awful right now, but I promise in twenty years you'll all laugh about it. Ya'll just come by and help me fix it - it's not the crime of the century...we'll fix it, don't worry.
The Moms asked what time on Saturday would be good for them to come by. I asked if 10:00 was ok...Dad 1 said they needed to be working earlier than that. Mom 1 said, "Well, we don't want to make her get up early on a Saturday." I told them I was usually up by 6 anyway, so it was whatever time they wanted to come by. Eight a.m. was decided on. The two boys said again that they were really sorry and I again told them not to worry, we'll fix it on Saturday...it's ok. I told the Moms and Dads I'd have a pot of coffee ready for them and they laughed and said thanks, they'll need it.
And with that, they left.
With parents today, I have to say these parents truly impressed the hell out of me. A lot of parents would have told the police to PROVE their boys did it - or would have agreed to apologize maybe, but not have THEIR children painting! Oh the horror. Not these folks, their spray painting bandits were going to get to work early on Saturday and fix everything they vandalized. And from the looks on their faces, life at home wasn't going to be ANY fun either. I think they are doing a good thing. And if the looks on their faces are any indication, I'd bet this will be the last time either of these young men have a run in with the law ;).
I'm really pleased with the way all this turned out and thrilled that I'll have some help fixing the fence this weekend :). So there's the updates...I'll get some photos of the fence - before and afters - and email them out this weekend.So there you have it.
I'm so impressed with our police department and the officers who look out for us. My hat's off to the parents of the spray painting bandits for not only making these young men take responsibility for their actions, but also making them take steps to try to repair what they vandalized. These parents are handling this just like I would have and from what I see from society, there just aren't too many of us raising our children these days - much less teaching them how to be responsible, productive citizens. These two young fellas have no idea how lucky they truly are to have such great parents. I am sure their lives aren't great right now, but they'll look back on this one day and be thankful their parents cared enough to teach them a good lesson on taking responsibility for one's own actions.
And yep, I totally turned into a sap when these two young guys were apologizing. I just couldn't help but feel for them. They are at that awkward age where they aren't little kids anymore where they could cry and release some stress no matter who is looking. Yet, they aren't teenagers with hormones and attitude kicking in to keep the tears at bay either. It just broke my heart looking into the eyes of these two scared young men. Yes, they were wrong and YES I was upset about my fence...but if you could have seen them... Well, I just couldn't help but to tell them it was ok - we'd fix the fence and all would be fine. Oh yeah, I'm a real hard-ass lol. If this had been 17 or 18 year old seniors - I probably would have let them paint my entire fence. These two young'uns though...what can I say? I caved lol. That's ok though...hopefully this small bump in their road today will help them dodge big potholes later on. After meeting them and their parents, I have a feeling that will be the case and I really can't ask for anything more.
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What a Morning Part II
And yes, of COURSE it involves the police.
Only this time, I wasn't speeding and I called them to my house....
I was coming home from taking the babies to school. As I got close to my house, I noticed this red stuff on my fence. At first I thought it was yarn or something hanging on it and as I got closer, my heart sank. It wasn't yarn...it was red spray paint - and black spray paint.
It says and I quote, "SUCK IT" some spray painted lines and "FUCK."
I didn't know whether to be angry or cry...or both.
See, that fence means a lot to me. When husband first deployed to Iraq in 2004, I needed something to do. Husband and a buddy had promised to build me a fence, but ended up deploying to Iraq instead. With dogs, I really needed a fence. So, before he left, I got online and found some fence plans. I read up on how to set posts and the best way to attach rails and pickets. I looked at the yard and decided where the fence needed to go and contacted the city to see if I needed a permit. Husband had said there was NO WAY I could build a fence myself. No way I could dig the post holes etc. Well, tell me I can't and guess what? I will.
He left and I gave myself a week to cry and toss myself one helluva pity party. After that, I drove down to the local lumber store with my plans in hand. The gentleman who owned the store took pity on me and helped me figure up how much lumber I needed. I bought enough to do the back stretch first (which now has wordy durds painted on it). I didn't want to waste money if it did turn out I couldn't put in a fence. Well, I took my time and before I knew it, I was sending husband photos of the posts, then the rails, then the pickets once they were up...
I was so proud to be able to show him that fence...I put so much hard work into it and ignored a WHOLE LOT of pain while I did it just because I refused to quit. I'd drop daughter off at school in the morning and not even go into the house when we got back home. Instead, little guy and I were out in the backyard at 8 in the morning working on that fence. I'd stop to feed babies and would work until it was too cold in the evening to keep going. I was trying to get that fence up before the really cold weather arrived and it was a race against time. I did it though...and had a beautiful, custom built picket fence. There's not another one in town that even remotely resembles my fence.
So, the fact that I BUILT that fence and the fact that someone's snot nosed BRAT felt the need to spray paint four letter words on it just JERKS my chain. That's ok though...this weekend I'll be watching for them. They haven't been caught according to the police. However, rumor says these were sixth or seventh graders.
I have to hand it to our local police department. I called right after 8 this morning to see if I could get a policeman to come take a report. I figured it'd be late this morning or early afternoon before anyone stopped by. So, I called my Dad and was telling him about it when the doorbell rang. They were here in less than ten minutes, no lie. Really impressed me.
Anyhow, we walk around the house and start down the sidewalk. I tell him I noticed it this morning after I dropped my babies off at school, so I guess it happened last night sometime. He said, "Actually, it happened over the weekend. When I came on shift Monday morning at 6, the officer who had worked the night shift drove me around town showing me all the places that had been vandalized and your fence was one of 'em."
I was stunned. I guess my mind was a million miles away yesterday...I drove by the fence TWICE and neither I, nor my babies, noticed the spray paint. The policeman said he'd assumed a report had been made and I told him that I'd not spoken with anyone about it because I just noticed it.
So, the report has been filed. I guess tomorrow, instead of going and getting my hair cut, I'll be out painting our fence. Damn.
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No Surprise....
I've been seeing the accent quiz all over the blogosphere this week. I knew what mine would say if it was accurate...
And of course it was accurate heh heh:
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it. |
| The Northeast | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The Midland | |
| The Inland North | |
| The West | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
What American accent do you have?
Take More Quizzes |
I readily admit that I have a thick southern accent when husband is gone. Yes, moreso than when he's home. Why? Well, because I talk to my parents a heck of a lot more when husband is gone and in doing so, my southern accent gets - well, worse lol, for lack of a better term.
Whether I'm at Wal-Mart or on post, I get the same question over and over, "WHERE are you from?"
My standard reply usually gets a laugh: "Well, I was born in Georgia and raised in Alabama, so I guess you could say I'm double southern."
One of these days, I'm going to say, "I'm from New Jersey. Why?" and see what kind of reaction I get LMAO!
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Thank you Mr. Postman...
Two weeks ago, I wrote about my
run in with the law. I'd mentioned that as one policeman turned around to come get me, there was another one sitting at the bottom of the bridge. I thought surely, they didn't think I was gonna run. It was really odd for two of 'em to be in the same place in our small town.
I had some running around to do this morning and when I got home I was going to do some chores before sitting down to check my email. While taking out the trash and picking up some branches in the yard, our postman walked up. He's such a nice gentleman - retired Army, brother in the Army who does secret squirrel stuff, always asks about my husband etc. I was glad to see him since the last six months or so we've had a new postman. I haven't had the chance to ask how his family is doing and find out if his brother finally retired as planned or decided to stay in.
I wave and say good morning and the first thing he asks is, "Did you get a ticket the other morning?"
I laughed and said, "Oh gosh, did you see me get pulled over half a block from my house? How embarrassing!"
He says no, he'd been in the other police car sitting at the bottom of the bridge. The policeman is a friend of his and they were talking about hunting. He said that when I passed them, he mentioned to his friend that we were real nice folks. Mr. Policeman said, "Oh, you know them?"
Our postman said yeah, we live on such and such street. He told him we are an Army family and my husband is currently deployed to Iraq again.
Mr. Policeman said, "So they're nice people?"
He told him we were great people, hard working and just super nice...
Mr. Policeman then radioed the Mr. Policeman behind me - and asked him to cut me loose.
I told our postman I sure did appreciate it and the long morning that had led up to my lead foot through town. He's always so nice to husband and I, and super sweet to our babies. He talks to them and gives them candy during the summer when we're outside. He had a good laugh about poor little guy doing all he could to try to hold it until we got home.
As it turns out, it wasn't luck that I didn't get a ticket. It was because our postman was talking hunting and said some really nice things about our family. Who would have thunk it? I figured the policeman must be a Dad and might have found himself in a similar predicament - or I looked so rough after no sleep he felt sorry for me ha!
So, I thanked Mr. T., our postman, and told him how much I appreciated it. That I was being extra careful not to speed since my mid-life crisis car does anything but blend in ;). He agreed that it wasn't a subdued car ha!, and told me about his 69 Mustang, Mach 1 that he'd owned years and years ago.
As always, it was a pleasure to talk to him.
It truly is too damn cold during the winters and too damn hot during the summers here, but nicer folks in a nicer town you just won't find anywhere else in America. I'm so fortunate to live in such a great place - especially when husband is still active duty, we're so far from family and the babies and I spend so much time alone. Where you live and the folks who live there can and often do make a big difference in how well you handle long separations. We're so lucky to have found such a good place to live and raise our family...
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