My husband came home one day last week and told me that he had just heard that a Sgt Major he knew had lost both of his legs in an IED accident in Afganistan just before Christmas. The next day, he called me from work and told me that a Sgt who had been on his provisional security detail team during his last deployment to Iraq, was killed in Afganistan that day. This same Sgt was on site when the Sgt Major I mentioned was injured, and was credited with saving his life. Right now, my husband is in New Jersey, at the wake of the young Sgt, and will attend his funeral tomorrow. Next week, he will go to Bethesda and visit the Sgt Major.
So much of what is in the news seems surreal, until you can put a face to a name of one of the fallen. Sgt Hrbeck and his wife were married at our unit ball in 2007. They were with us at the restaurant the evening that I blogged about on Feb 11 of 2007. They were friends with the couple I wrote about on March 7 of the following year. My husband thought highly of this young Marine, and his passing hit my husband hard. In reading the memorial site published in Sgt Hrbeck's memory, it is plain to see that he was a fun loving, hard charging Marine. And a true hero. In their grief, I hope his family will find comfort knowing that he died doing what he loved, and that his life, though short, was a gift to all who knew him.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New Year, New Post
I did not realize that I haven't posted a single entry since September. My life is so boring and routine, that there has been nothing to write about. NOT!
On October 17th, I re-joined Weight Watchers. By December 17th, I had lost 20 lbs. I am more than happy about this, because that puts me just a little below the weight I was when I lost 20 lbs in the spring/summer of 2008, having gained 17 lbs back between fall and winter of the same year! I am doing the Firm workouts consistently, and determined to reach my goal ( 13lbs to go) by this summer. How nice it would be to not have to keep my towel right by the side of the pool so that I could drop it and pick it up before anyone can see those parts of me which need some work!
Speaking of the pool, we had a fire in the yard in November. One afternoon Jack had put the previous evening's ashes from the woodburning stove in a cardboard box, then put them in one of the trash cans. I went to pick Molly and her friends up at the shopping center a mile away, and when I got home, the trashcan was melted to the ground, there was a huge hole in the one next to it, and the leaves between the fence and the pool had caught fire. When the fire was put out, two of our bushes were toast, about 1/2 of the pool fence was melted, as well as part of the pool cover, which also damaged a small section of the liner. There was a small melted mark on the bumper of the van that was parked in the driveway, and the headlight is bubbled from the heat. I can't even complain about the damage that was done, because it could have been so much worse: if the fire had started at night, the van would probably have burned, catching the garage on fire (including Tim's Jeep). As it was, we didn't have anything damaged that can't be replaced (thanks to homeowner's insurance!), and no one was hurt. I am waiting for the pool guy to come and write up an estimate for the insurance company. We will likely get a new pool liner and hopefully, a better pool cover, when all is said and done.
After all of the testing Timmy had done, besides the dyspraxia, (which the school psych does not believe contributes to his school difficulties), they have determined that he has a processing disorder in math and written expression. My frustration with their "conclusion" is that he has a couple of years' worth of documentation to substantiate that, but only after more testing, have they decided he qualifies for special ed services. I have a meeting with his teachers and the special ed rep on Thursday to approve and implement his IEP. I do hope that this won't be another long process when he starts high school, but I am glad it is official.
We are waiting on the military Top Level School Selection list. If my husband is selected, he is hoping to get school at Quantico, which would make life a whole lot easier for him, at least for the year he's in school. He would hope to get a follow on job at Quantico, too, which could keep us here for at least another 3 years, after which he might consider retirement. It is the nature of the military that it seems like there is always a list we are waiting for - school, PCS orders, promotion, etc. Keeps things interesting!
On October 17th, I re-joined Weight Watchers. By December 17th, I had lost 20 lbs. I am more than happy about this, because that puts me just a little below the weight I was when I lost 20 lbs in the spring/summer of 2008, having gained 17 lbs back between fall and winter of the same year! I am doing the Firm workouts consistently, and determined to reach my goal ( 13lbs to go) by this summer. How nice it would be to not have to keep my towel right by the side of the pool so that I could drop it and pick it up before anyone can see those parts of me which need some work!
Speaking of the pool, we had a fire in the yard in November. One afternoon Jack had put the previous evening's ashes from the woodburning stove in a cardboard box, then put them in one of the trash cans. I went to pick Molly and her friends up at the shopping center a mile away, and when I got home, the trashcan was melted to the ground, there was a huge hole in the one next to it, and the leaves between the fence and the pool had caught fire. When the fire was put out, two of our bushes were toast, about 1/2 of the pool fence was melted, as well as part of the pool cover, which also damaged a small section of the liner. There was a small melted mark on the bumper of the van that was parked in the driveway, and the headlight is bubbled from the heat. I can't even complain about the damage that was done, because it could have been so much worse: if the fire had started at night, the van would probably have burned, catching the garage on fire (including Tim's Jeep). As it was, we didn't have anything damaged that can't be replaced (thanks to homeowner's insurance!), and no one was hurt. I am waiting for the pool guy to come and write up an estimate for the insurance company. We will likely get a new pool liner and hopefully, a better pool cover, when all is said and done.
After all of the testing Timmy had done, besides the dyspraxia, (which the school psych does not believe contributes to his school difficulties), they have determined that he has a processing disorder in math and written expression. My frustration with their "conclusion" is that he has a couple of years' worth of documentation to substantiate that, but only after more testing, have they decided he qualifies for special ed services. I have a meeting with his teachers and the special ed rep on Thursday to approve and implement his IEP. I do hope that this won't be another long process when he starts high school, but I am glad it is official.
We are waiting on the military Top Level School Selection list. If my husband is selected, he is hoping to get school at Quantico, which would make life a whole lot easier for him, at least for the year he's in school. He would hope to get a follow on job at Quantico, too, which could keep us here for at least another 3 years, after which he might consider retirement. It is the nature of the military that it seems like there is always a list we are waiting for - school, PCS orders, promotion, etc. Keeps things interesting!
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