Snow Day

Last night I was informed that we were on a two hour delay for reporting to work today.  So when I woke up (I got to sleep in by the way) at 0630 I was laughing at how slow the Marine Corps really is sometimes.  There was not a single flake on the ground!  So I go about my morning routine getting ready.  Shave, start the coffee, shower.  While I was getting dressed I moved over to open the blinds.  No, not because I'm an exhibitionist, but because by this time it's light out.  Besides, I live on the fourth floor!  Anyways, to my surprise when I opened the blinds was one of the heaviest snowfalls that I can remember in a long time.  0730 rolls around and it's time to leave.  It took the normal 45 minutes to drive all 8 miles to work as usual.  Minutes before we get there my friend TK gets a text telling him our report time was just changed to 1000.  Having just under two hours to kill we decided to head over and chill out in the PX parking lot.  I thought it'd be funny parking in the general's parking spot, so I did.  While we're there waiting we received further word that the base was going to shut down due to the winter storm that was "dumping" snow on us.  So we start heading back to the hotel, again just 8 miles away.  By this point I had long smashed my large cup of coffee I usually drink in the mornings out here.  Without giving another thought I push north towards the main gate.  About a mile down the road (30 minutes later) I really had to go to the bathroom.  I could not just go on the side of the road.  Once we finally made it off base I couldn't stop somewhere in town because I was in cammies.  It got to the point I had to empty a half full water bottle that was in the back seat just in case I needed to use it.  It was so bad that for the last few minutes of the ride I told TK that there was no talking and that I needed complete concentration or I was going to wet myself.  Being the good friend he is he kept finding things that would make me laugh, making me almost let go.  It took us two hours to get back to the hotel.  Two hours!  Just so I don't keep in suspense any longer, I did indeed make it back to my room in time.

All said and done we received a few inches of snow today.  Keep in mind that here in coastal North Carolina, I think that equates to somewhere around a few feet.  It's amazing how such a little amount of snow shut down an entire Marine Corps base!  Not that I'm complaining.  In fact, I already have a two hour delay tomorrow morning.  Trust me though, I will take it easy on the coffee.

Upcoming Birthdays

Tonight on the phone Reagan told me, "Dad, it stinks you're going to miss everyone's birthday...well, except your own."
I totally agree kiddo.

Missing My Girls

Tonight I was sitting in my hotel room flipping through the channels when a show about the Secret Service came on.  I learned something I didn't know.  The Secret Service was first established after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901.  I always thought they were formed after Lincoln was shot.  The show went on to talk about the failures of the Secret Service and how the death of President Kennedy could have been mitigated by security precautions that were ignored.  It also talked about the reaction and training that the agents go through in order to react to numerous different situations.  It talked about the reaction time of agents when President Reagan was shot.  All in all a pretty interesting show with a lot of insights into the Secret Service, which very much so is a secret service.

I don't ramble on about a television show without reason.  I bring it up because all three of my girls were already on my mind prior to the show even coming on.  I had been looking at the new pictures of us together and pondering the relationships I have with each of them.  Each relationship unique and very different from one another.  I've oftentimes talked about the changes in the relationships I've had with my daughters before and after deployments.  I've said many times over that dealing with a lot of what I have seen is pale in comparison to my own children wanting nothing to do with me when I got home.  It's difficult to get over that.  It is a constant process in which months stretch into years before the uniqueness of the new relationship overshadows the physical and emotional gaps caused by deployments.

I will give an example.  McKinley from birth was very much so a Daddy's Girl.  She was the baby that let me feed her and rock her.  She almost always favored me over Heidi.  I cherished every single minute of it.  If any of the girls had me wrapped around their finger it was her.  Reagan, my Brutus, was the exact opposite.  The only reason I didn't sell that kid was because she made me laugh.  I would get so frustrated with how much disliked me.  Heidi and I only had Kennedy during the first deployment.  She was a baby then.  From experience I knew to expect changes before I got home from my second deployment.  Expecting doesn't always mean you are prepared though.  I remember it as if it were yesterday how all three of them came running down those concrete steps to rush into my arms.  I remember fighting back tears of joy being able to hold them again.  I can still hear the words of McK as she's hugging me she says, "Daddy, I missed you."  All was great for a while.  After a couple of weeks of being home I noticed how McK didn't really favor me any longer.  I no longer had my Daddy's Girl.  She didn't want a whole lot to do with me.  Still to this day she doesn't really like me a whole lot most of time.  Brutus on the other hand is my little buddy.  I noticed an immediate change in her.  All of a sudden she liked me.

I will not talk about my relationship with Kennedy tonight.  This will be our third separation.  She is growing up before my eyes and I cannot do anything to slow it down.  Overnight it seems she is morphing from my first born child into a young lady.  It hurts that I will not be there for her over the next year.

Some of you reading this may think that all children go through these phases.  I completely agree.  I also know deployments change the relationships for months/years after being reunited.  Heidi and I have talked many hours about this and how it's affected our family.  For me it is constantly on my mind and causes great anxiety.  Sitting alone in a quiet hotel room 700 miles from them doesn't help much.

I feel as though I'm starting to ramble on the keyboard as it's been a long day and I'm starting to fade.

Please, if you take anything away from this post tonight, take these two things:
1. If you're blessed enough to be able to go kiss your sleeping children before you climb into bed, do so.  Thank the Lord that He picked YOU to be their parent.  And tomorrow and the day after that don't forget to do the same.
2. I love my daughters more than I can put into words.  K-K, Brutus, and Pester...see you in my dreams tonight.

Anthrax Shots Hurt!

Just so you know, in case you ever become a goat or sheep herder or join the military, the anthrax series of vaccinations hurt!  Yesterday I got stuck with the longest needle I’ve ever seen.  The guy in front of me was bleeding after he got stuck.  The subsequent injection was thankfully uneventful.  I didn’t think it was too bad until I rolled over on my left shoulder in the early morning hours.  It was painful enough that it woke me up.  It got me thinking about all the vaccinations I’ve had over the years to ensure that I am protected against some pretty nasty diseases, whether in the form of Mother Nature or biological weapons.

Adenovirus, Anthrax, Hepatitis A & B, Influenza, H1N1 Influenza, Meningitis Conjugate, Measles Mumps and Rubella, Pneumococcal, Polio, Tetanus/Diphtheria, Typhoid, Varicella, and Yellow Fever.  My personal favorite was Smallpox.  It’s given by a fork-like needle and you’re poked several times on your upper shoulder.  After a few days the area blisters up.  You cannot scratch or pick at it or it’ll spread and blister again, thus repeating the process.  After the blister scabs up and falls off you’re left with a nice little scar.  Pretty good stuff.

Just never really thought about all of the stuff I’m injected with on a fairly regular basis.

I found out for sure today where I’m going to end up while I am deployed in Afghanistan.  I will ultimately end up at FOB Dwyer in southern Helmand Province.  I was also pretty happy to find that a couple of my buddies will be going with me.  I cannot explain how important it is to have friends with you while you’re deployed.  You share the good times, as well as the bad.  (I probably don’t have to further explain what a bad time in a combat zone would entail.)  I’m glad TK is going.  It’d be a short list for those that I would want to go into harm’s way with, and he’s close to the top.  He’s a good friend, a good confidant, and a good Marine.  I know we’ll do a good job taking care of each other and in the meantime make some good memories doing so.

Since I started this blog yesterday I’ve felt the need to put my deeper thoughts in writing.  Both days I’ve written I just cannot bring myself to do so.  I have a lot on my mind, a lot I want to say, if not to everyone else, but to myself.  Thus far you’ve only been privy to some of my random thoughts.  Stand by and hang in there.  All in due time.  For now this is my side of the story.

My Side of the Story

My wife is a phenomenal writer.  In case you do not know this, she is a published poet...twice.  She has a knack for making sense of the English language in ways that I'm not really envious of.  I read and speak the language.  I'd like to think I have pretty advanced skills at both.  When it comes to English Heidi has a certain geekness that is extremely easy to make fun of.  A little over two months ago she told me that she was going to start blogging her thoughts and feelings she's having in regards to my mobilization and subsequent deployment to Afghanistan.  Being the ever supportive husband that I am, I encouraged her in her new endeavor.  Little did I know she's on her way to blogging stardom.

As Heidi began blogging I kept hearing from several of her fans how much they appreciated reading her posts.  I am sorry to say that I did not know what they were enjoying because I had not yet made the time to find out what it was all about.  Tonight on the phone Heidi made mention of how many people had read her blog and I felt it had gone on long enough.  I am worn out, not because I did anything today, just from waking earlier than most humans should.  I finally read Heidi's entire blog.

I must admit, she almost had me a few times.  I am not easily moved to tears.  Over the last decade I've learned to harden my heart when it comes to shedding tears.  It has a certain time and a place.  It's not a macho Marine thing...it's an Aaron thing.  I'd tell you more about it, but it's sort of just my thing.

I don't think it would be fair for Heidi to tell her story without attempting to share mine.  She has unknowingly inspired me.  From here on out I will to write about my side of the story.  Please do not hold me to the same writing standards as my published poet, English teacher wife.  My grammar or punctuation my not always be the best.  I could care less what a participial phrase is.  I will simply attempt to tell you about my days as they go by.

I will start with the most exciting part of my day.  It's not every day that a gunnery sergeant is chewed out by a sergeant major.  Certainly hasn't happened to this guy.  That is till today.  Not for anything I did or said.  To me the details leading up to the one sided discussion are rather humorous, but not important.  What is important is that apparently my arms are longer than I thought.  When I packed to come out here to Camp Lejeune I packed the cammie blouse that was small-long in size.  In retrospect I should've grabbed the small-xlongs.  It never ceases to amaze me how silly the Marine Corps can be.  What made the whole thing even better was that the sergeant major felt that the best place to this was in the hallway with everyone from just somewhere around a half dozen lance corporals to a few junior officers and staff NCOs.  My buddy, another gunny, was a mere two feet away stifling giggles with his back turned to me.  I have yet to hear the end of it today how I was locked on by the battalion sergeant major.  Guess you had to be there.

An hour and a half into this, I need to wrap it up.  I have droned on without saying a whole lot.  I have been interrupted I don't know how many times by my old buddy TK.  He likes to knock on the door of my hotel room and run back to his before I open mine.  I am beyond exhausted and I have to get up before most humans are supposed to be awake.

For now, that's my side of the story.