Grandmas are the sweetness of life......

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

I know we all have the best grandmother in the world.  My grandmothers Julia and Louise were two of the best.  I accredit this to their maturity (both were older when they had my parents).  They had lived through the Depression and each knew heartache. I spent a lot of time with both as they were my main caregivers growing up.  I loved being sick because it meant a day with them.

My grandmother Julia Margaret grew up in a modest upbringing.  It was mixed with farmers and rich aunts.  At one time she worked as a school cafeteria worker, an occupation both of my grandmothers held.  Grandma Julia recorded her life from her Freshman year in high school until her death in 1985.  Those journals gave me much insight to who my grandmother was.  I was 12 when she died and I only remember the happy go lucky Grandmother.  I've laughed and cried with her in those journals.  In 12 years she taught me much but 26 years later she's still teaching me.  I guess I've become reminicent because in a month my cousin will marry his love and Grandma's family will be there to celebrate.  It's a good time to remember her.

What my Grandmother Julia has taught me....

• The fine art of washing dishes.  Yes, there is a skill to it and it requires a lot of laughter.  My grandfather always wondered what we were laughing about at the kitchen sink.
• Nothing beats cold sheets on a hot summer night
• How to make a proper shoe fly sandwich and that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich tastes better when you cut it into triangles.
• How to play Chinese checkers and the peg game (the one you play when you go to Cracker Barrel)
• How to play the organ.  She always had a small electric organ in the attic.
• She's the first person who ever gave me a cup of coffee.  I still have the cups she served me in.
• That the extra crust from making a pie is the best part with a little butter and cinnamon.
• Adventure was everywhere whether it be the laundry mat or a walk to the creek. She had a great imagination.
• Hard work and laughter go hand in hand.  I never remember her taking anything too serious.
• Laughter and a sense of humor look beautiful on a person.
• Blood does not make family.  I have 2 cousins that were step cousins but I've never thought of them like that.  Grandma told me one time that she didn't care, they were her grand kids and she would never refer to them as her step grandchildren, her grandchildren they were.  I hope they have always felt that way.
• Complaining is unattractive.  She NEVER complained.  She didn't feel well the 2 months leading up to her death.  The only way we ever knew this was when we read her diary after she died and she mentioned not feeling well.  She died 2 days after my 12 birthday unexpectedly of a bad heart.
• I'm sure there are a million other things I've learned from her.......

I miss her, I didn't realize how much.  The one thing I do have is my mother, who every day reminds me more and more of my grandmother. I'm glad my boys have her. I know I'll be a good grandmother because I had good role models.  I know Grandma has been watching me for the last 26 years, I hope she's proud.





I've never been good at Math....

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition


Talking to a friend who has started a Facebook page insisting that Math is fun and talking to my boys about their Math got me to reminiscing about Math......

I hate Math.  I have hated it since I was a kid.  The first real math teacher I had was Mr. Hanlon, he was a good teacher and later my track coach, which would prove useful.  My second Math teacher was Mr. DuBois and he was my favorite Math teacher.  He was also a personal family friend which also proved useful because he had more patience with me than most teachers.  Soon after the boys' high school basketball county tournament in January Mr. DuBois was fired.  He was fired because of a record of wins and losses but I ended up with the biggest loss.  In the middle of the school year, the only person that made Math make sense was gone.

The years moved on and Math was still stupid to me.  Most of this was because I just didn't get it.  Then my Junior year, Algebra 2 class and I was lost....but then......but then, there was this cute kid sitting next to me.  "Do you understand this?" I asked.  "Yeah, it's easy," that's all it took.  Starting then we met before school several times a week for him to calmly tutor me in the fine art of Math.  I soon found that I still didn't understand Math but my tutor was cute so I didn't mind Math so much!

The next time I found myself in a Math class was Trigonometry my Senior year and guess what?  No...I was still very confused.  In the early days of the class I was trying desperately to grasp the hows and whys of this class.  The teacher was also my basketball coach so he knew that if I was going to play on the team I had to pass this class.  So I began to ask him questions during class one day.  The next thing I know he tells me in front of the whole class to stop asking so many 'stupid questions'.  I was done with Math.  I slammed my book shut and said, "Fine!  So long as I'm in this class I will not study for another test or quiz and I won't do the homework.  If you have given up on me than so have I!"  I earned a one way trip to the Principal's office.  Now the good thing was that I worked in the office during my study hall so we were pals.  The short version is by semesters end I was out of that class, I passed with a D, and this started a long life of mouthing off.  I should have gotten a foreign language credit from Math.

Don't get me wrong, I have a fondness for Math.....I got a husband out of it! 1+1=3

Talking about the Big D and I don't mean Dallas.....

Anyone can see the adversity in a difficult situation, but it takes a stronger person to see the opportunity.........Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.

The cat is out of the bag.  When you start posting things about Anthrax shots, people, mostly other military wives know what that means.  Cue the music, it's deployment time.

I am bound and determined to find 100 positive things to name about deployments.  I'm not sick or twisted, it's just that I think we don't need another post about how bad it is, we get it.  This is my 6th rodeo.  I wish Chris would add up all the days he has been gone.  Anyway, I don't need pity, I need your understanding, your encouragement, and your prayers, and most of all I need your humor to get me thru this.  So here we go, I may need some help....Chris Drummond, where are you?  Angie Drake, I know you got some ideas!  Let's get started.....

1. Independence
2. The t.v.remote all to yourself
3. Free food from sympathetic neighbors
4. Free alcoholic drinks from sympathetic neighbors, where are you Lakes?
5. Chick-movies every night.
6. A profound sense of accomplishment
7. Free excuse when you forget to do something or don't want to do something.
8. Solitude (I know some don't like the solitude or too much of it but I enjoy staying up late, my husband is the time keeper in my house.)
9. 'My spouse is deployed' opens up a secret vault of free or discounted services.
10. Better Christmas and birthday presents due to the guilt of the deployed spouse not being there.
11. What better way to reconnect with your spouse by not taking for granted a 3 minute phone call or a quick email waiting for you every morning.  More is said in those quick moments than hours on a couch.
12. Less Laundry
13. Less dish washing
14. You're thee adult of the house, and you are always right!
15. Less farting or burping....
16. A great appreciation for your spouse.
17. A renewed sense of pride
18. Discovering new things about yourself that you didn't know before.
19. You get to eat out more, at least I do!  I use it as an excuse.
20. Great time to get in shape to surprise spouse.
21. Time to work on hobbies.
22. Shopping without the hassle of explaining to spouse!  I'm talking about the new outfit, or shoes kind of budget, not the new house or car type of shopping.
23. Many businesses offer free products or meals to the families of deployed members.
24. Free camps for the children of deployed members
25. It's a good way to find out who your friends are!
26. The sleep number bed can be set at 45 on BOTH sides!
27. I can now stay up burning the midnight oil without someone asking me if I'm coming to bed.
28. More hot water
29. First point of order, clean out the closet....he doesn't need all that space.
30. Eating in front of the t.v. is now acceptable.
31. Everyone around you expects less from you.
32. No more of the toilet seat being left up.
33. I now have the choice of not one but two sinks in the bathroom.
34. Movie marathons will be happening again.
35. Time to get organized!
36. The DVR is all mine!
37. I can finally maybe win at least one board game in this house.
38. Although my Wii partner won't be around, I will have more time to practice.
39. No obligatory office functions.
40. Skypping again!
41. All pictures of him will now be of him in a uniform, need I say more.
42. I'll be reintroducing chocolate chip pancakes.
43. Conquering my fears.
44. Time to learn a new hobby.
45. Shopping is therapeutic.
46. More frequent coffee dates with my girlfriends.
47. I get to see my boys be proud of their father.
48. I get to witness my boys telling their father they love him.
49. NOTHING gets taken for granted.
50. We always learn something new after he's been to new places.
51. Unique souvenirs.
52. We are in a special class of people who don't get to live this life.
53. Care packages from sympathetic friends....
54. We'll be forced to be a team here at home.
55. These kinds of things do bring us CLOSER.
56. Spiritual growth.
57. New goals to accomplish.
58. New skills learned.
59. The opportunity to read the Bible all the way thru, this is the year.
60. Soul searching.
61. Time to finally write.
62. All the covers to myself.
63. An excuse to drink a good glass of wine each night.
64. The likelihood of more people coming to visit to keep me company.
65. Spring Break in Texas!
66. The dog all to myself, maybe he'll actually realize I do ALOT for him.
67. Less gas used.
68. Smaller grocery bill, I may have said this once but it's worth mentioning again.
69. A good excuse for regular manicures.
70. Perfect time to try new recipes.
71. No late night phone calls from work.
72. No uniforms to iron.
73. No reason to make liver and onions.
74. No one to comment on my late night snacking.
75. One last family vacation before he leaves.
76. I get the boys all to myself.
77. I finally get to wear all his comfy sweatshirts.
78. I get to set the thermostat.
79. A chance to try new hairdos before he gets back.
80. I pick the ice cream flavor now.
81. Good content for an outstanding and moving video slide show.
82. Since he'll be deployed when he gets promoted, it means I don't have to pay for a party for a bunch of people I don't even know.
83. No size 14 shoes laying around for me to trip on.
84. More time to blog, search Pinterest and chat on Facebook.
85. He gets to see parts of this world most of us can only imagine.
86. Maybe read a good book.....maybe.
87. I get to pick the movies.
88. A good excuse to call someone I haven't talked to for awhile.
89. I now have three vehicles to choose from....one being the Jeep....uh make that two.
90. Makes for great Christmas letter content.
91. Will singlehandly save the U.S. Postal System.
92. Tax free income and extra pay!
93. It could be worse, it's only 6 months, others have it worse.
94. I've done this before.
95. Non elaborate meals are back on the menu.....grilled cheese sandwiches, corn dogs, cereal, chips and salsa and cereal may be on the menu.
96. No need to get all dolled up.
97. The lessons my kids will learn will be invaluable.
98. An opportunity to answer God's prodding to start a Bible Study for military spouses.
99..............Life goes one, whether he's here or not....it'll be different but it's temporary and I can deal with that.
100. Homecoming; I feel sorry for the person who has never tasted the sweetness of the homecoming of a loved one.

I'm not a fool, I know there are plenty of things that I'll miss and he'll miss while he is gone.  Dwelling on them will not help either of us.  I know God only chooses the strong to endure such separations so I count myself as one of His chosen.  We'll be fine.  It's a temporary inconvenience and keeping that in mind will help me get through the next 194 days....or so.  I have promised myself to be wiser, stronger, bolder, smarter, more confident.......I'm gonna do it better this time, not because I want to but because it's better than the alternative.  I have three guys here at home that are relying on me and younger wives watching to see how I'll respond.  It doesn't mean I'm not scared, it doesn't mean there won't be times when I'm not lonely or down but I've decided to make the best of it, to let go and let God hold on to me.  Let the journey begin.....