Numbers

Numbers lay upon numbers
Too many numbers to see
Millions of dollar in numbers
More than just 1, 2, 3

Crunching numbers continues
It aches inside the brain
Another report to complete
Eyes burning from the strain

Numbers are a necessity
It's all in a single day's pay
Come Monday, come more numbers
But thank God it's Friday today!

Letters from Air Force "1"

I received my first letter from Air Force "1" last week and it was so great to hear from her. I'm so happy that my sweet niece has found something she believes in and has committed to. This girl, this rebel without a clue (sometimes), this buck the system because life isn't supposed to be this way strong willed young lady. This "I don't like rules and being told what to do" girl is now expressing frustration with other girls in her group who are not following proper procedure. To hear Air Force "1" talk about her frustrations and how she is overcoming them is truly awe inspiring. I remember when she called Sister Y and I was there and we listened to her on speaker phone. It is indescribable the level of enthusiasm and excitement contained in the voice of Air Force "1", while she is at boot camp, for goodness sakes! She sounds so amped, so positive, and her quality leadership skills sprinkled everything she talked about!

Prior to Air Force "1" departing for basic training, she expressed concern about being brain washed and losing her identity, and I can only imagine that she had heard her fair share of horror stories of basic training. But after reading her letters and hearing her voice, I firmly believe she has tapped into the deep well of who she truly is. Those young adult years are so challenging and I'm so grateful that both she and Mr. P have found their purpose while serving our country.

Like Mr. P, Air Force "1" was a little lost and fumbling her way through life as many 19 and 20 year olds do. But in such a short time, five or six weeks now, she is more expressive about what she's learning, what she's doing, and what she's overcoming, than I think she has ever been about anything! She graduates basic training soon and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I can't wait to hear what Sister Y feels the very first time she sees Air Force "1" and spends time with her. I remember what I felt when I saw Mr. P at his basic training/AIT graduation after 5 months. He was a man now, dedicated and committed to a purpose that brought him great happiness. I so wish I was able to attend with the rest of the family, but I'll be there in spirit, for sure!

I'm so thankful to my niece for her commitment to our safety and freedom as she serves our country. I'm so proud of her, but more importantly, I'm more happy for her than my own words can express!

Who Moved My Cheese?

When my boss left for his new employment adventure, he gave each of my co-workers, and me, a book called "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

This book is AMAZING! It is the story of two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two little people, Hem and Haw, and tells the story of their methods of as well as their hesitancies toward finding new cheese when their cheese is no longer in its designated location in the maze. There were several several sentences in the book that caught my attention.

"What you are afraid of is never as bad as you
imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that
actually exists."

"When you change what you believe,
you change what you do."

"If you do not change, you may become
extinct."

Wow! I don't want to become extinct!! I better get with the program and become more flexible! Each character provides insight into our habits of adapting to change. I found that I have been all four characters at various times in my life. I have been able to sniff out the changes forthcoming and scurry into action, when I was living in the present moment and ready to embrance any new change. I've hemmed and hawed about taking the next step when I knew in my gut a step needed to be taken, but I was unwilling to do so at that moment because I was ruled by fear. I've also remained steadfast and refused to accept change as I hid under my blanket of denial, until I was ready to crawl out of my protective covering and read the "handwriting on the wall". I was able to readily identify where my attitudes about change and my behavioral approaches to change needed some...well...

changing! For me, the book really hit a major point in that I must be more aware of the subtle changes going on around me at any given time, and take appropriate action based on those subtle changes...versus...reacting to change as if a brick hit me upside the head. When I react to change versus acting with change, it's as if I'm frozen in a complete state of shock, which ultimately delays my ability to accept whatever change has occurred. If you haven't read this book, it is a must read in today's times. It was written in 1998, but with so many changes facing each and every one of us, and those we care about, one can never get enough insight on how to deal with the inevitable...CHANGE.

Mr. MP and the UFC

Yesterday was Mr. P's 20th birthday and he started his special day with "combatives". I asked him what that was as I envision American Gladiator. He said "you watch UFC right?" With excitement, I respond "yes I do". He said "it's like the UFC". He gives me a little detail and then tells me he put a guy in a guillotine choke hold and the guy tapped out 45 seconds into the first round (they participate in 3-three minute rounds). OMG this is more exciting than his presidential detail! A guillotine choke? One of my favorite UFC moves to watch! He talked about how he was held in a "triangle" while the other guy was in "full mount" but he was able to contain him in his "guard" and shrimp his way out of the full mount. Shrimping is an Army description, he said, and it's acting like a shrimp and getting out of the hold. Then he went into various kinds of choke hold descriptions. This choke does something to the nerves and that choke cuts off blood flow from the carotid arteries and so on. That's TMI, so I change the subject.

"You don't punch each other, do you?". My gosh, I'm his mother. A guillotine choke is one thing, but punching each other? What about his repaired broken nose? What if he got seriously hurt? "No, that's level 2...that's when you use strike force" he said. He wouldn't want to participate in strike force, would he? "Well that doesn't seem like something you would want to do, right?" No need to guess what his response was. "Yeah - it'd be kinda fun". Of course!

I asked him if he has ever tapped out and he said no. I can hear it now. "Entering the Octagon is Mr. MP "Broken Nose P******" (his last name sort of rhymes with nose...sort of).

The conversation was absolutely fascinating, and I think to myself, what would the conversation have been like had I not gotten into watching UFC fights? Knowing my son, he would have become frustrated trying to explain positions and what it looks like and how its done and what the desired outcome is. And future conversations about his combative training probably would have fallen by the wayside.

I firmly believe there is no such thing as a coincidence and so it would seem, Fight Nights serve a greater purpose for me than family fun! It also serves as a teaching mechanism for me so that I can better understand the events my son undergoes in his physical training as an Army MP. And it helps make for one helluva conversation!!

Sometimes You Feel Like A Klutz...Sometimes You Don't

I am klutz! There is no doubt about it. This isn't new news to me. Nor is it new news to anyone who knows me. I've been a klutz my whole life and I accept that. When I was younger, I had hoped I would grow out of it, like a teenager growing out of their awkward gangly stage. But now that I'm older, I've come to terms with my klutziness and I fully embrace it...and all the injuries it creates.

When I was a freshmen in high school, I was wearing my brand new "swabbys" - a really cool pair of high waisted blue jeans with wide legs...and...my new clogs! Wow - I was feeling super groovy that day! The bell rang and I was talking with friends and then realized with a shock that my bus would be leaving shortly.

I wanted to make sure I got to the bus quickly because it was always crowded and if late, I would be stuck sitting with people in a "three in a seat" situation. As a freshman I was not particularly comfortable in my own skin, and sitting up front in the same seat with two other people was easier to deal with instead of making my way to the back of the bus and sitting with the jocks and the stoners. I was pretty much a geek, but in a fun to be around geeky kind of way. :)

Okay, back to the story. I'm quickly walking to the bus and then realize I need to run. So run I did. Clomp! Clomp! Those clogs made so much noise! All of a sudden I biffed it - HUGE! I went down hard! Imagine the sight. Papers and pee-chees, and my clogs, flying everywhere. I'm layed out flat as a pancake on the cement as my peers walk by me headed to their cars...or their bus. Did anyone see me fall? I certainly hope not. That would be so humiliating! I pretend I don't see anyone smiling (and laughing). I don't want a big scene to occur should anyone care to ask if I'm okay, so I spring off the pavement like I'm performing an arobatic dismount off a trampoline. I quickly put myself back together and gather my pee-chees and papers...and clogs...and as I'm literally dusting myself off, I see a large ripped hole in the knee area of my brand new swabbys! I can't believe it! Man, this is the pits!! My swabbys? With a hole? Keep in mind, it's not the 80s yet, where everything was acid washed, shredded and holy. And by holy, I'm referring to holes in the knee area. If you weren't sporting those ripped knee holes in the 80s, you were fashion citation waiting to happen! But in the mid-70s, a hole in my swabbys was not cool at all!!

Okay...so much for then. Now it's time for...

Yesterday.

Ms. Independent came home to visit and we went to the swimming pool at my apt complex after I got off work. I'm a little heavier than I want to be right now, so I'm trying to keep my head held high as I walk proudly in my winter white skin and very tight bathing suit. There are people at the pool (ugh), however, I continue holding my head up high as I quickly claim a chaise lounge chair and begin to sit down and relax. Then I realize I need a little table between our lounge chairs. I get up and pick one up and then my worst nightmare of klutziness began. I rounded the chair too close, was feeling a little dizzy - just a little, and hooked my two toes on the chair leg, which extended far beyond true need. I lost my balance, and the table and I entered into the slow motion disaster of falling. The table hit my lounge chair as my toes were jamming into the chair legs. Then the legs of the table completely disconnected and now a table top and two sets of disconnected legs are falling along with me. One of the leg ends jabbed me in the ribs after it poked me in my upper arm. My upper thigh fell into the blunt end of the lounge chair armrest and quite possibly served as a buffer to what could have been worse. And all the while, the glass table top is nearing the cement. I desperately try to save it from breaking and position my foot between the falling table top and the cement.

It's over. The glass didn't break and I didn't fall directly onto the cement. But my toes are throbbing. My rib is throbbing. My arm is throbbing. And I'm shaking from the event. Oh yeah - and then there's the "did anyone see me" issue frantically racing about my brain.

If this happened in Vegas...it would've stayed in Vegas. But it happened at the pool where I live. Did anyone ask if I was okay? No. It's like high school all over again. Were any of my acquaintances there? No, I really don't know anyone at the complex, but I could at a later time. And once again, I've made one heck of an impression, huh?

It hit 95 degrees today. I thought about a swim after work. Then I thought about yesterday's events and elected to take a cold bath. It seemed to be the better choice. The pool can wait until I find my balance again.

Thank You!

He came into the Home Office a couple of hours ago, dressed in Army ACUs, asking where he could find one of the head honchos at the Corporate Office. My co-worker assisted him with directions on how to find the Big Cheese at the nearby office. As she gave him the information, I watched him from my office doorway as I tried to glean more information about him from the unit patch on his left arm. As luck would have it, age and the need for new glasses would inhibit me from deciphering any detail on his patch. But I swear it looked like the same patch my son, Mr. MP, wears. I know my eyes were playing tricks on me, because my son is stationed on the East Coast. I haven't talked to Mr. MP in a few days and I miss him so much. If I looked twice, I might have actually thought the man in the office was my son himself!

The gentleman thanked my co-worker for her assistance at which point I was headed to the photocopier and ended his sentence with my own..."No, thank you! Thank you for everything you do for the rest of us." He smiled and acknowledged my thanks and left the office.

Then a half hour or so ago, I was running errands at lunch and saw a large group of military personnel in Army ACU's having lunch at an outside eating area of our restaurants. As my hometown only has a nearby Air Force base...seeing such a large group of 15-20 people in Army ACUs is quite surprising.

I wanted to shout out "Thanks - you guys rock!" as I was driving by, but it wasn't safe to do so. Driving, yelling, giving a thumbs up, and making eye contact with them while maintaining control of the vehicle would have far too dangerous for others!

So as I eat my lunch and write this...I want to thank you. All of you.

I thank you, the men and women who serve your country in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. Thank you for your willingness to sacrifice whatever is necessary to protect us and the freedoms we enjoy.

One of the Blue Star Moms recently told me she had spoken with some veterans of past wars, who told her the thanks she gave them was the first they had ever been given. No one had ever thanked them in the past. That seems incomprehensible to me.

I don't know who will read this, if anyone. But I must say this.

Thank you for your military service, past and present.

Thank you for the sacrifices you have endured as you spent months and quite possibly years away from your loved ones.

Thank you for the sacrifices you are preparing to make as you await deployment.

Thank you for the daily sacrifices that you as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, and friends have endured and will continue to endure as a family member of a fallen soldier.

Thank you, whoever you may be, for keeping a watchful eye over my son, my daughter-in-law, and my niece who presently serve our country. Thank you for befriending them and keeping them safe in their new surroundings.

And to everyone...thank you for supporting our men and women in the armed services.

You are all in my prayers.

Family Holidays

Oh my...our family holidays have changed dramatically. Our once traditional Easter feast of ham, mashed potatoes, and all the goodies were replaced with non-traditional fixin's this year as we celebrated Easter in full 4th of July style. Cheeseburgers, potato salad, cole slaw and all the burger trimmings. We colored our eggs during the afternoon...not the day before...but the day of. It was hilariously fun!

Our previous Easter holidays together were spent sitting around yik yakking with each other before, during, and after Easter dinner with the occasional whining and nagging thrown in for good fortune. Typically, the whining and nagging involved parents telling children to do the dishes. But not this year! Everyone that arrived early participated in chat time. Dinner and a show was scheduled for 4pm sharp.

What is usually a feast fit for a king, spread out on the dining room table and other surfaces nearby, with serving dishes filled to the brim, was instead a paper plate, plastic fork and knife, buffet style burger line. After we all dressed our burgers and loaded our plates to capacity with everything else, we began jockeying for seating positions in front of Mom and Dad's big screen TV.

It was FIGHT NIGHT!

UFC 81 "Breaking Point" was on deck and ready! (This fight took place in Feb, 2008...but next week...we are renting a fight on pay-per-view and will see a LIVE FIGHT! A first for me!!!)

Let me give you a little insight into Fight Night. Mom rents the DVDs on Netflix, in order of course. She has a very methodical and orderly mindset...and for those who know me well...know that I am the textbook definition of "the apple does not fall far from the tree" when it comes to structure and organization and all things that can often be described as anal retentive, but that's another story for another time.

The Buy In! During our very first fight night, Sister Y and I staged our betting. $1 a fight for preliminary and main card fights...and $5 for the main event. You want to play? You got to pay! To keep all things fair, Sister Y and I alternate who picks first. After prelim fights are over, we flip a coin as to who picks first for the big money, high buy in (LOL) main event. This week I won the flip of the coin! I was ecstatic! I was certain I had a good shot at a main event win and a chance to take the pot of $10. I think we have had three fight nights, and I was coming into the main event with a 1-1 win record.

Everyone else mirrored the betting style developed by the "sisters". Rodeo Drive J bets her boyfriend, NavyX, and now that Ms. Independent's boyfriend, The Shamrock, has joined our fight nights, she too has participated in the betting. But this night...Easter Sunday...Fight Night 81, The Shamrock had to work so Ms. Independent bet her uncle, Montana Man.

The other important item to note is the fight newbies (everyone other than mom and dad and maybe NavyX) do not have any clue as to who anyone is...not yet. Therefore, our betting is conducted immediately upon seeing the fighters...prior to the "tale of the tape". We bet based on picture and name alone. Then after bets are placed, someone usually groans about getting the guy who's making his UFC debut and the groaner is usually me. :)

The money is on the table...let's FIGHT!

The main event before the MAIN EVENT: Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar.



Brock Lesnar came over from the WWE (wrestling - ugh!). This man was a BEAST! The picture does not clearly define how his neck muscles began at the top of his head and extended clear down to his arms. He was a triangular muscle - one big MUSCLE. I didn't get the choice for this one and Sister Y went with Brock Lesnar and I went with former heavyweight UFC champion Frank Mir, with a sigh. He was cute for sure! But not quite the mammoth of a man that Brock is. It was Lesnar's UFC debut...but look at him. Did the fact that it was his debut really matter? In the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) and the UFC, no it did not! Not when you are THAT big!

The fight is on!

We're in the first minute of the fight and Lesnar is pounding Mir. Mir is no longer defending. OMG - the refs are going to call the fight, and then it happened. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...I never ever would have believed it.

Frank Mir put him in a kneebar and it was over! Lesnar tapped out! I won! I couldn't believe it! Dad, Montana Man, and I were yelling with excitement...erupting in thunderous clapter! If I remember correctly, Montana Man jumped out of his chair like an F-16 pilot ejecting from the cockpit before the plane goes down. I think NavyX may have had Frank Mir as well...but at the point Frank Mir won by submission, there is no telling who was yelling and who was swearing! The fight was so unbelievable...over in a minute thirty...it was complete craziness!

The music plays. Each fighter comes out. And now...

Ihhhhhhhhtttttt's Time!

The Main Event:



The Interim Heavyweight Championship Bout!

Tim "The Maniac" Sylvia vs Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira!

In my opinion, Tim Sylvia was winning each round. In others' opinions, Nogueira was winning, including the announcers. Obviously they saw something or a bunch of somethings that I didn't see. His MMA abilities were far less than Sylvia's, but whatever.

It didn't matter in the end. The third round...Sylvia makes a costly mistake. He leaves his neck and head exposed while in a take down move, wrestling on the floor, and Nogueira puts him in a guillotine choke... and a minute twenty eight in the third round...my guy taps out. :( I couldn't believe it. Sylvia looked to be a winner for sure.

But that's the UFC - you never know who is going to win. It's so amazing! Nothing is guaranteed!

And even better than Fight Night, was the reality of how we are changing as a family. We are changing our need for traditional and somewhat repetative holiday foods (the "repetative" is my opinion only). And we are changing how we celebrate our holidays.

I am so grateful for my family whom I love with all my heart. Thank you God. Thank you for giving me my family.

The Spare Room

I have a spare room. For the first time in 21 years.

At first I envisioned my daughter's former bedroom as a guest bedroom, with a queen bed, large TV and other remaining items that she didn't want to take with her to her new home. That would work out really well when Mr. and Mrs. P come to visit or my BFF visits from Louisiana.

Then it rapidly molded into a spare bedroom, one with a twin bed and toys...perfect for when my granddaughter JoLee gets older and wants to spend the night with Gramma.

And in a total of 9 days, it became the spare room...one for my favorite hobby - scrapbooking, but also one that will serve as an office for my laptop, printer, and file cabinet.

At present, it is several 2 x 4 tables at varying height levels, with a chair from the living room thrown in for comfort, okay - storage really, and a nicely scented candle. The walk in closet is so stuffed you can't walk in at all. But this room is a work in progress...and I intend to let it take shape slowly as the natural vibe of the room defines itself. Just as I am doing.

What once was...no longer is. But I do look forward to what it will become.

Feeling Peacocky!

Sister Y and I were on an adventure to find peacocks...and we found them everywhere. It was as if we were transported immediately to a local zoo. There were 20 or more peacocks near this old house, and it was at that time I discovered peacocks can fly...peacocks can climb into trees...and peacocks can climb onto a roof of a house or storage barn.

We were fortunate enough to see a male courting nearby females as he dispayed his plumage of brilliant train feathers, prancing about in full circle. And the sounds they made as they "called out" to one another in courtship. Fascinating!

Such beauty, this feathery flying creatures.

A Road Less Traveled

I am a creature of habit.

I take the same roads to the same places to do the same things...most of the time.

Yesterday, however, I went for a drive with Sister Y in search of peacocks, yes...peacocks, which involved traveling down a road I had never been on in the ten years I've lived here. I typically do not undergo this type of "exploration" at 5 pm on a Monday after a long day at work. And if something of a mini-road trip were to occur, on any given day, I overload myself and my ability to chill out with the need for a plan: where we are going, when will we be coming home, and if we don't find what we are looking for...what will we do then?

But this time...this trip...I discovered that most of my habitual behaviors are entirely ego based in order to feel more comfortable and secure with the unknown, and if I just remove my self-placed obstacles, I can truly relax, find peace, and enjoy being in the moment.

I took a journey down a road less traveled. I discovered more about myself during this spontaneous three hour trip, than I ever have during any pre-planned itinerary driven adventure.

I am blessed with abundant opportunities to travel a path I've never explored, to take the road to the left or right, when going straight becomes too common. I am now aware that these opportunities should not be taken for granted. They should be acted upon.

The Next Chapter...

She packed her boxes and began to cry

Tears streaming down her face

She said she was scared, she didn't know why

Yet excited to begin life in her new place

She looked at her boyfriend, her smile so wide

And together they loaded up her things

So new to each other as they take the next step

In a "life together" and all that it means

The last in line, the youngest of three

18 years so fast, but look at how she's grown

She hugs her tightly, and kisses her goodbye

With a sigh, she watches her daughter leave home

Not 24 hours later, the telephone rings

Her daughter's words choked by the soft sound of tears

"I didn't know it would be his hard" she explains

Mommy's little girl, now a woman, facing her own fears

She is comforted by the soothing words spoken

Words of wisdom shared with her from Mom

"It is perfectly normal to be sad for awhile"

"It gets much easier as time moves on"

"Remember this, we are mother & daughter forever

No matter where you live or where you call home"

"While you are starting a brand new chapter

I, too, am beginning the next chapter of my own"

She tells her daughter she will figure it out

"Take each day as it comes and you will see"

They end the call and as she hangs up the phone

"Thank you, God, for helping me let her leave"

Ft Bragg and Family Time

I put the thought out there, during my time of desperate yearning for a coastal trip, and as it always happens...thought becomes reality. I went to my favorite getaway and to my usual spot, but this time I made the trip with my parents and my sister - no kids allowed! It was the first time we all had gone to Ft. Bragg together.

My sister played with her new Nikon camera that is comparable to something a photography pro uses as he/she perches in a tree outside a celebrity's house. Me? I had my little Sony Cybershot that to this day has some pretty cool features I have yet to master. At various points I just gave up taking pictures and let Sister Y do all the work. 2,800 plus pictures later...I just copied her camera card. No one needs to know who really took the picture, do they? (Just kidding Sister Y.)


(photograph taken by ME! LOL)

The first day there was windier than it has ever been during my previous visits. Between the sand pelting you in the face, neck, head, and back and the wind blowing so hard you thought you were going to be swallowed up into the sky like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, there were many moments of hysterical laughter and silent observation of Mother Nature's beauty. When we weren't outside trying to stand up straight in the wind, or capture the "perfect shot", we were inside playing cards and hanging out.

Some great moments of our mini-vacation...

• The Gambling - We hit all the indian casinos on the way there...and two on the way back (repeats). We didn't take any of our big winnings home...but I was pretty excited when I hit for 404 pennies on a 25 cent pull. Mom, Dad and Sister Y were on a hot streak - winning up to $60 total on nickels and pennies - each of them. Sister Y said "the mojo changed" when I walked up and she started losing. I walked away and she hit for $19. Go figure. It wasn't Las Vegas - but it was a lot of fun anyhow!
• The Cliff House - A beautiful restaurant that looks like a little hole in the wall that is situated next to a trailer park. But when you walk in and descend several flights of dining tiers and sit at full length windows overlooking Noyo Harbor, it is simply breathtaking. We laughed so hard during dinner, I'm certain we disturbed other diners. But Mom's steak and lobster dinner, and its price, made for some entertaining jokes that had us laughing hysterically, right through dinner and into the parking lot when all was said and done.
• Pt Cabrillo Lighthouse - I had hoped that we would see deer as I have in prior trips. We were just about ready to leave (I was complaining of being tired and hungry - not much has changed since I was a child on vacation) when five or six deer came to the grassy area to feed. We sat for what seemed like an hour observing these beautiful animals. Then as we were driving back to main parking area, we spotted several more deer. The pictures are amazing!
• Ft Bragg - The hotel, the ocean, the coastal craggy cliffsides, the waves, the smell of salt in the air...what else is there to say?
• The Trip Home - I hadn't ever seen the "Elk Crossing" sign and joked with Sister Y about how we need to take a picture and email it to her husband, Montana Man, who was working out of town. With that said, I spotted elk on the side of the road. We pulled over...quickly...and captured 23 elk on film, oops...on digital card? Whatever. Then outside one of the smaller cities on the way home, we spotted a peacock on the side of the road. Sister Y was behind the wheel and the screeching tires and crunching gravel sent the peacock into hiding. It was the most beautiful turquoise blue I have ever seen. We are planning a trip to the peacock hiding areas soon for pictures!

But one of the greatest moments happened at Pt Cabrillo lighthouse. It is a half mile walk from the gift shop and main parking lot to the actual lighthouse. The sign says it is a road that can be traveled, and yes it is paved. But when you approach the small road, another sign indicates the road is for handicap vehicles only. "Pedestrians only - no vehicles allowed" Honestly - it was extremely confusing. Dad, Sister Y and I walk down there...only to find a large parking lot, and cars that do not have handicap placards. What? Others have driven down here and we walked a half mile, all downhill but still...we faced an uphill climb the entire way back. All of a sudden here comes Mom driving her truck down the road. When she parks and gets out she says something about it being the off season and if anyone asks why she drove down there she will say she made a mistake and won't ever do it again. Then she said "I say try it - why not". The three of us that were facing the uphill battle thanked her in the end as Sister Y and I rode in the back of the truck (like the old days) to return to my car in the main parking area. We were truly grateful for the ride!

During this trip I was reminded of many things:

• There is nothing to fear if you make an honest mistake!
• Order what you want from the menu - just to say you did it!
• Celebrate the small victories in life and be satisfied with what you won!
• Time spent with family fills the heart in many ways!

It's Official - The Nest Is Empty!

Yep - The nest is empty! Not in a manner of all my financial eggs fell out of the "nest egg"...there weren't any of "those" eggs in there to begin with. Nope - this is the "all the eggs have hatched and the baby chicks have flown the coop" situation!

I had just returned from Ft Bragg moments before the big news was delivered. Although I had suspected a momentous announcement of sorts would be forthcoming, I must admit I didn't expect it THIS SOON. My baby girl, my youngest child, my only daughter moved out of my home and into her boyfriend's home April 1st. The emotional state of it all...on both sides of the female fence...was fraught with highs and lows of extreme happiness and melancholy. As she packed her life into boxes and prepared to move into a life that is "unknown", she cried, I cried, and we both wondered what tomorrow would look like.

After she left, I stood in her nearly empty bedroom. I took a deep breath and drank in the moment of being alone...alone with my thoughts, my plans, my life. I think the "empty nest" gig is going to work out better than I thought it would. I look forward to see what tomorrow will bring in the next chapter of my life.