Military Friend......or Family

Oh, family. The word can mean any- and everything, and is wont to change at the sip of a drink.  What you consider family today, may not be who you have tomorrow.

On Monday I flew to Germany with my Abs, to spend a planned a month long vacation with my MIL  - I'm sure you haven't forgotten those stories.  < I should have known better.>

The flight was um......well......full of screaming children.  I was able to test my reflexes with the child who kicked my chair repeatedly and scared the crap out of me.  The man next to me held his screaming child, and got up, and down, and up, and down, to try and soothe him.

After arriving in Frankfurt, and being greeted by my husband's Uncle (who speaks little to no English), we were on our way.  We spent the next few days with my husband's Aunt and Uncle.  One night, after I had put my Abs to bed, and grew tired of rot wein & German tv, I went to grab a beer with my husband's cousin who graciously offered to rescue me from the personal hell I was living. I worked on my German with him, and he worked on his English with me (he is a fan of the double-negative). When I came home that night my MIL went bat-sh$#-crazy on me.  No really.  In a foreign country, Germany to be exact, where she speaks the language, my MIL flung the door open on me to begin screaming at the top of her lungs to GET OUT. That the month long European vacation that we had meticulously planned, was now going to consist of me renting my own car & going my own way with Abs, and she would now be touring Europe via the train system. She spewed lies upon hurt upon anger upon displaced-trust onto me in mere moments. 


All of this was completely out-of-the-blue, and totally unprovoked. Also, it was all within earshot of Abs. 

I was devastated.  I didn't know what to do, so I called Gunner.  Then I called my mom.  Next.......I called my friend Abbey.  My friend Abbey who moved here to Germany in January of this year.  My friend Abbey who was stationed at Fort Hood with me.  My friend Abbey who has three kids, a mother-in-law visiting, and a husband who recently had surgery and is out of commission.  Oh yeah, THAT Abbey.

I called her at 2:30 in the morning crying.  Sobbing would probably be more exact--I couldn't talk or breathe. In between my sobs and trying to explain how I was going to be kicked out because my MIL was drunk and ridiculous, and how I was going to be left on the side of the road in a country where I didn't speak the language and with a daughter who didn't understand all of the anger coming from her Oma, Abbey didn't bat an eye at 2:30 in the morning. Instead I heard her calmly asking me if she needed to be there in the morning to pick me up and if we wanted to stay at her house for a while.

You know that person, where youareinacrappysituation and youcantbelievethisishappeningtoyou and youdontknowwhatelsetodo, and you call said person and suddenly everything will be okay. That is my Abbey.

She came and picked me up the next morning - a three-hour drive for her - and scooped me and Abs off of the side of the road where we were had been kicked out to the curb, literally. We stopped and ate some lunch, and off we drove to her house. We laughed about dying ducks, lumber, and other ridiculously silly stuff.

As I write this, I am sitting in her living room with her. We have eaten dinner, had some Mexican Martini's, eaten too many Happy Hippos, and are planning my next move. Abs came to me tonight and told me that she is having an amazing time here. She has seemingly forgotten about the drama for last night, and is happily settling into this "new" family that the Military helped to create.

Summer Vacation--Random Thoughts

I survived my first year teaching 4th grade.  They are so different from second graders, but they were a lot of fun!

Retirement is okay.  Of course he's retired, and I am working like crazy.  Gunner is back in school for the summer sessions, and he's about 2 years away from being done.  Whew.  Who knows where we will go after that!

I'm still battling Jr's school/school district.  I think that they have lost sight of the big picture, which is to help him, not just disagree with everything I say because I am me.

The smartest thing we ever did was rent a house with a pool.  We spend hours out there every day.  I have mastered naps on the raft.

I am counting down the days to Europe!  I cannot wait to see my friend Abbey who is stationed there now.  Nothing is planned for the trip other than our tickets are bought, and we are going.  I'm hoping to cram in as much as I can with Abs for the entire month.  Any suggestions on what I can't miss?

I completed a triathlon last weekend and I got first place!

I think I need to start a blog on my training for the Death Race 2013.  I need to start training for it now, and am looking for wood to chop and stumps to remove.  I still need to order my axe and my backpack, and walk around with a ton of weight in the back--yes, this is for fun.  Nothing like a challenge to keep me training and on my toes!

Em got her braces off, and now it's time to get the next child in braces.  Now I know how my parents felt having children so spaced out--you pay for the same thing for a longer period of time because the next child needs it, then the next, then the next....

The VA?  It sucks.  Gunner is still working on disability and all that good stuff.  He is about to have a cat scan done on his spleen to make sure it has healed from his motorcycle accident.  Once he gets the all clear, he is going to train with me.  :)  I'll try to go easy on him.

I miss the summer PCS season.

Army Wives--Do you think Claudie Joy will make it?  What about the whole leaving his wife because she worked at the Hump Bar for that SPC?  That line is pretty ridiculous.  Why not focus on more positive things?  I guess it doesn't make for good television though.

Are you still out there?

I could tell you stories about Jr or Abs or Em.  They are still ongoing and keep me on my toes.

I could tell you about retirement and how I thought it would suck, but the fact that there is not another deployment looming over us, is actually a relief.

I could tell you about how it is impossible for veterans to find jobs after 22+ years in the Army.

I could tell you millions of stories about my students who even had the nerve to ask me if I was alive during the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  (My overabundance of boys rose to the occasion and set the record straight.)

I wish I could tell you what was happening with Junior's school, or all I have learned about IEP's, 504's, or a multitude of other things.

How I registered for the Spartan Death Race, even though the website with the details is entitled youmaydie.com or that I have a Spartan mud race and a triathlon this month.  (I did place 1st in my last tri that I did.)  Maybe you would want to hear how I am addicted to crossfit and seem to be guzzling the crossfit koolaid.  Trust me, if you come to Hood, let me know, I'll hook you up.

Or maybe I could tell you how I am just 4 classes and a thesis away from another Master's degree.

Instead I will leave you with.......

My sweet boy, the only one who will let me take his picture, will be 6 soon.  How did it happen?

I am taking Abs on a trip to Europe for a month--please start praying for the Europeans that she will come in contact with, now.

Em is headed to Spain for  two different trips, with my mom.

Gunner will be plugging away in school.

I will be teaching 4th grade again next year, although sometimes I think I might need a few years off to recover....

Plus...someone ate all the cheese puffs in the house.  Not a good thing.