I don't like to post things....

On September 11th.  I was in Washington DC when it happened, my husband working for the Department of the Army, and I thought he was in the Pentagon that morning when it happened, so it brings about very emotional feelings on the day for me.....

However, as the day once again approaches us, 14 years later, it feeling like it was yesterday.....I look at my son who is graduating this year and I still see that three year old little boy I was blissfully playing with outside in our back yard that beautiful late summer morning, unaware our world had changed forever. 

Ignorance is truly bliss...and I had never gotten the meaning of that expression fully until that day.

So today a friend mentioned to me the memorial that stands in on the shore of Bayonne, New Jersey, a gift from a Russian sculptor and the people of Russia themselves to those who perished in the attack on the World Trade Center and about the first attack back in February of 1993....when I had been living in New Jersey, my middle daughter only a month old.

I'd never even knew it existed? Did you?  It was dedicated on September 11th, 2006, I mean was ALIVE and watched the news that morning and I did not see one single thing about it.  Former President Clinton dedicated it....but I don't remember anything about it....I wonder why that was....maybe I just missed it or maybe it was just so small that it was not covered nationally....

Anyway.....see, I'd been to Bayonne many times, I had a very close friend of mine from when were at our first duty stations and she and her husband were were now stationed there when it was an Army installation....and I living about an hour or so away at the time made it very easy for us to visit.....Bayonne, NJ was a small place, but the people I met at the Post very welcoming....it was my first experience into stairwell Army housing too and I thought to myself, that it was rather quaint, but then she was a remarkable woman and I miss her very much.

I remember one late afternoon walking with her and our children and stopping to look over at New York and looking at the World Trade Center as it stood so majestically unshaken earlier that year after the first attempt to blow it up in 1993....and now as we stood in the cold air blowing off the bay, the sun setting and the beautiful sky providing a colorful backdrop, they towered above a city descending into evening darkness....and I thought to myself, what an unshakable Nation we are so very blessed to be living in, even terror can't knock this house down....how wrong I'd be proven.

It's all memories now, every trip I took to New York in my life, every drive past the World Trade Center....but I will never forget that afternoon standing there with my friend and our children, who are all grown up now and watching the sun go down with it's last reflecting rays trying to find a surface to shine off of.....in those beautiful, magnificent.....lost towers of our past.....

But never forgotten.....

911 Memorial Site

From the 911 memorial website, the artist's story

To the Struggle Against World Terrorism: A History

The artist, Zurab Tsereteli, was in his home in Moscow on the morning of September 11^th. The television was on as he was getting ready for work and Zurab, like the rest of the world, was glued to coverage of the attacks on the Twin Towers. He watched the towers collapse on TV and was moved to tears. 

That day, he went to work at the Academy of Art driving on a route that takes him past the American Embassy. People were gathered outside the embassy gates to pay sympathies, to be together, and to mourn. He saw a mass of crying people and decided to use the image of a tear in a memorial. 

He set to work that day on a proper and appropriate form through which to express his feelings over the attack. He went through many various sketches and 'forms' (all of which are chronicled in the yellow book) until finally deciding on the current monument's form. 

Zurab traveled to NY shortly after the September 11^th and went to ground zero. The ruins were still steaming. He decided that he wanted to create a memorial to the victims; but that wouldn't want to build on top of the bones of the dead on the ground zero site. He began to look for an appropriate and fitting site on which to erect the memorial. 

Zurab spoke with friends and colleagues who were in NY during the attacks. He heard stories about how boats and ferries were used to shuttle survivors away from the Twin Towers. He also learned about the New Jersey residents who worked in the towers. Zurab decided to look for a site in New Jersey, where the monument could be on the waterfront and settled on a never before seen area of the peninsula at Bayonne. Here, the World Trade Center was the backdrop to the waterfront, and so, the backdrop of life. The site had been a military instillation, and the town had decided to convert the land into public park-space.

From this vantage point, the Twin Towers looked almost as if they were in fact one building. His bronze monument reflects that image with a jagged tear through the center, and a 4-ton nickel tear hanging from the top. The tear represents not only the sadness and grief over the loss of life on 9/11 and previous attacks on the World Trade Center, but also hope for a future free from terror.

Additional information and photos

The monument has several reflective elements, so that the visitor becomes part of the memorial. The nickel tear is shiny and mirror like. The granite name plates which make up the stand for the monument, and on which the names of the victims of all who perished on September 11th are etched, is also shiny and reflective.

This is the "TEAR DROP" made and installed by the Russians to honor those who died in 9/11 and a statement against terrorism.  The tear drop is lined up with the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

The walkway is made of stones.

I'm editing this today, September 4th, after thinking of what I'd written and I hope after reading the entry, you go a little further.  

After thinking about this entry this morning, I realized something.....even though this post was about the towers and what was lost in New York and a memorial dedicated in New Jersey, I don't want anyone to think that for one moment I think only of what was lost in New York that fateful day.

As I stated we lived in the DC area at the time and had many friends who worked at the Pentagon and knew those lost when they crashed that plane into our beautiful headquarters. The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial there is beautiful and walking through the benches that are placed delicately on the Earth and the way the names are placed of those lost on board as plane approached the Pentagon and the situation of the names of those who perished within the walls of the great building is quite a site to behold, and should you ever find yourself in Washington, make the trip to see it.

I have never seen the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA, but I've seen the video of it and is so very moving it brings me to tears, a sad reminder of what the passengers and crew members aboard flight 93 sacrificed in their actions that saved many other lives  as they thrwarted the attack on our Nation's capitol, sacrificing their own.

A Thank you......

So I have to say that blogging has not been on my mind in so long I can't remember the last time I logged into this account to even look at it....and that is a shame since this blog saved my sanity during my husband's 15 month deployment so many years ago....

I looked through my blog list today and like myself so many of my long lost blog friends have abandoned their blogs, they sit with their last entries as a memorial to their lives, lives lived during a time when we all relied on our blogs to keep ourselves connected during a time when we thought that without the connection we shared, we thought we might lose ourselves.  Perhaps that was true, but what have we lost by losing touch with that part of us.  I know that I put so much of what I wrote into draft form, not leaving that vulnerable part of my heart, my soul, open for the world to see after it, the deployment was over. 

What was it about sharing that part of myself that was okay during such a difficult time in my life that was okay, but then, as the days ticked by afterwards, I looked back and decided that I no longer wanted my personal thoughts open for scrutiny by the world?  Am I the only soldiers wife, the only warriors wife that felt that way? 

I still find as I reread those entries, and see the outpouring of comments supporting me through those tough days, when I did not know if I was ever going to see my husband again and now, like then, thank God for my blog friends.  They truly were my lifeline, as this blog was, at the time, a world that I never knew would be the one saving grace in my life....why did it take 7 years in reflection to come back and to say it...for now there are people who either will not remember me that still blog and those who no longer blog or have, like I said, have left their blogs sitting as an empty reminder of what we were to one another.....blogsphere friends.... 

To each of you, thank you from this Soldier's Wife for what you were to me back then, I would never have gotten through it without you or this blog.

Divorce Agreement

The person that wrote this is a college student. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM.

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

--Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

--We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.

--You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.--Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.

--We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.

--You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

--We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.

--You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.

--We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.

--We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood

--You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

--You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

--We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.

--You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.

--We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.

--You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.

--We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.

--We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."

--I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".

--We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

--Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J. Wall

Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & ( Hanoi ) Jane Fonda with you.

P.S.S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

Forward This Every Time You Get It ! Let's Keep This Going, Maybe Some Of It Will Start Sinking In.

National Medal of Honor Day 2009

Congressional Metal of Honor Society

By COL Robert Howard (USA Ret.
Medal of Honor Recipient

When I joined the military in 1956, I was like many young men my age who enlisted; I wanted to protect the ideals of this country and also build a career. Little did I know that my experiences would lead to a Medal of Honor, and how poignant those lessons would be even now—53 years later—during our current national hardship.

Just after Christmas in 1968, I was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled Vietnam. We had just left the landing zone when we were attacked and many of us critically wounded, including me. For the next three and half hours, I had one choice: to lay and wait, or keep fighting for my men.

If I waited, I gambled that things would get better while I did nothing. If I kept fighting, no matter how painful, I could stack the odds that recovery for my men and a safe exodus was achievable.

Today on National Medal of Honor Day (3/25) —an annual tribute that I and other recipients humbly appreciate—I encourage Americans to recognize that in untenable situations, selfless people make the difference.

The Medal of Honor has been awarded only 3,448 times since the Civil War, and I’m reminded regularly by my fellow recipients (only 98 are living today) that extraordinary things can be accomplished by ordinary people from all parts of America.

Hard times ask us to put a greater good before our own interests. It is sometimes physically or emotionally painful. Yet throughout history, you will find common men and women who fought selflessly in a variety of ways for something so much larger than just their own benefit.

Today, we’re fighting terrorism and the spread of tyranny. We’re challenged by market upheaval, joblessness and perhaps hunger. But the human spirit is resilient and can withstand more than sometimes we are able to immediately comprehend.

It’s up to each of us to not lay and wait for better days, but instead look for opportunities to make the lives of those around us better. National Medal of Honor Day is not a celebration. It is a solemn time to reflect on the freedom we enjoy, its price, and how our own bravery can improve the world around us.

COL Robert Howard (USA Ret.) is president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Hey Remember that Stimulus Check Everyone Got

Last year......don't forget, it wasn't free money......it reduces your income tax return by the same amount this year.....

Don't get caught off guard by it when you have to enter it when doing your taxes this year......and make sure it is the right amount before you hit submit on that section of your taxes, because if you don't, it will cause issues for you and your tax return......when in doubt, check the amount, you can do that here, the IRS has ways of checking that, you know....

Ain't tax season grand.

Today.....

Dr. King's Words

It is one of my favorite days of the year....one in which we celebrate one of my hero's lives.....I don't have to tell anyone who he was.....we are in the midst of a turning point in our Nation because of his life, what he achieved and laid down his life for.....

Today I watched CNN rebroadcast the 17 minute speech given by Dr. King 5 years before I was born.....a pivotal time in our Nation's struggle to free itself from the oppressive hands of racism and segregation..... Our Nation takes a new step tomorrow with the swearing in of our 44th President....it is a monumental achievement that marks a great step for our Country. I know not what lies ahead for our Great Nation, I only hope and pray that God Blesses us with Grace and that we are able to truly be, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, WHICH IS INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

My unwavering thanks goes out to President Bush for keeping our Nation safe and for being the best President and Commander in Chief he could be, during a very difficult Presidency, my husband was honored to have served under you.

May God Bless Our Nation and may God Bless Our New President.

Outreach Center for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Opens

DCoE website

January 15, 2009 - DCoE

Contact DCoE Communications
703-696-9460 Ext. 122 or 166

The Department of Defense today announced the opening of a 24-hour outreach center to provide information and referrals to military service members, veterans, their families and others with questions about psychological health and traumatic brain injury.

The new center, which is operated by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), can be contacted around the clock, 365 days a year, by phone at 866-966-1020 and by e-mail at resources@dcoeoutreach.org.

“We’re providing 24/7 support to assist callers with questions regarding psychological health and traumatic brain injury,” said Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton, M.D., director of DCoE. “Getting the best possible information and tools, hassle-free, will empower and strengthen warriors and their families to successfully manage what can be confusing and disturbing circumstances.”

The center can deal with everything from routine requests for information about psychological health and traumatic brain injury, to questions about symptoms a caller is having, to helping a caller find appropriate health care resources.

DCoE promotes resilience, recovery and reintegration of service members facing psychological health and traumatic brain injury issues, and works to advance research, education, diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.

“If we need to research a question, we’ll do the legwork and quickly reconnect with callers,” Sutton said. “We welcome feedback on how we can better meet the needs of those we are so privileged to serve.”

The DCoE Outreach Center is staffed by behavioral health consultants and nurses, most with master’s degrees. In addition to answering questions, staffers refer callers to contact centers in other parts of the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and outside organizations when appropriate. Other contact centers also refer callers to the DCoE Outreach Center.

The center serves members, leaders and healthcare providers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserve and all uniformed services, along with veterans of all the services. The families of service members and of veterans are also served by the new center.

After Deployment . ORG

I found this website while doing some research last night and thought it might be a good site to provide to readers. The following is taken from the home page of the site explaining what it is.

afterdeployment.org

Welcome to afterdeployment, a mental wellness resource for Service Members, Veterans, and Military Families. If you’ve deployed, or know someone who has, you know that spending time in a war zone means being changed in some way. Some of these changes are good. But some of these changes may be causing problems for you or for someone you know. Having problems after a deployment is normal…Unfortunately, less than half of the Service Members having difficulty after a deployment seek services…

This is our mission: to assist you and the people close to you to manage your after-deployment concerns. We believe that working on solutions is a sign of strength, and the time you spend here a positive step in ensuring a smooth and healthy transition back to home life…

SMA: 'NCOs, the glue that holds the Army together'

Jan 09, 2009
BY J.D. Leipold

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 9, 2009) - The noncommissioned officer is the glue that has held the Army together over the last eight years, said the Army's senior enlisted advisor.

During a presentation at the Pentagon yesterday, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston discussed the contributions of the NCO to the Army mission and why the service has named 2009 the year of the NCO.

"This is an opportunity for us to showcase the contributions of the NCO corps," he said. "It's those noncommissioned officers out there every day who are not only winning the fight on the global war on terror, they're also the ones who directly influence their piece of the Army by being the first line supervisor for two or three Soldiers who they are responsible for. They're the ones who create command climate and train the Soldiers in their occupational specialties."

Preston told the audience of Soldiers and Army civilians that being an NCO was all about teaching from experience and that the two basic responsibilities of the NCO come from the NCO creed.

"It's accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of the Soldier," Preston said.

"One of the principal ways an NCO looks after the welfare of his Soldiers is through training -- it's about being a subject matter expert. We want our young Soldiers to study, to train and be the best Soldiers they can be, because as they move up into positions of increased responsibility they will be responsible for teaching from a position of experience. It's the experience that allows our NCOs to be trainers."

During the year of the NCO, the Army will work toward enhancing education, fitness, leadership development and pride in service by implementing programs and policies that support growth of the NCO corps, the sergeant major said. Additionally, the Army wants to recognize the leadership, professionalism, commitment and courage of the NCO through outreach events that are being planned throughout the Army.

With respect to education during the year of the NCO, the sergeant major said there were three pillars of learning for all Soldiers in the Army.

The first pillar of learning is institutional learning -- in the school house. The second pillar is that of operational experience -- the kind of learning that can only be learned in the field and by doing, Preston said.

"The third pillar is largely an untapped resource: self-development and self-study," Preston said. "One of the big initiatives coming out of this is the Army Career Tracker where we can begin to provide more guided and structured self-development initiatives. There are a lot of things out there we want our NCOs to be, know and do to take them to a whole new level."

The Career Tracker will identify a Soldier's path and their career track, mapping out specifically what they need to do to advance through the Army's ranks.

Preston said as Soldiers continue to develop and grow with their education, by the time they reach sergeant they've become very articulate, very smart and great spokespersons. 

2009 ~ No one is more professional than I.

CREED OF THE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army". I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!

YEAR OF THE NCO WEBSITE

For the Troops II CD

The following is an email I received regarding the "For the Troops II" CD.   The download for the CD will be available on the 25th of November from AAFES.com.

Sometimes, music can move our souls and change our lives. It can inspire, motivate, boost morale, lift spirits, bring back fond memories or serve as a temporary distraction from everyday life. Grammy Award winners/nominees and multi-platinum selling recording artists Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Daughtry and Five For Fighting teamed up with 10 other artists to release the CD “For the Troops II” on November 25.

 Just in time for the holiday, we are giving our thanks to the troops and their families. “For the Troops II” will be available for free download by Thanksgiving for U.S. active duty service members and veterans worldwide with a valid military ID at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) Web site, www.aafes.com. Additionally, TriWest Healthcare Alliance is producing and distributing 200,000 hard copies of the CD at locations, such as military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, America Supports You events, USO Centers, Fisher Houses, and others across the nation and overseas.

Find out more about the CD “For the Troops II” at http://www.cdforthetroops.com/press and please help spread the word about the FREE CD with “For the Troops II” widgets for your blog or web site!

Thank you,

Lauren Vargas

 

Victory Day in Iraq ~ November 22, 2008

As the spouse of a soldier who witnessed first hand, the amazing transformation in Ramadi and Al Anbar from 2006 to 2008, the news from those on the ground in Iraq is WONDERFUL!  As it is quickly spreading through the blogsphere....I join with others tomorrow in celebrating VI Day..... Victory in Iraq! 

An great idea of Zombie at Zombietime.com, one that I think should have come from somewhere within our own great Nation's Government, but since neither our outgoing, nor incoming administration will take on the responsibility of declaring this hard earned Victory for our Service Members and their families, then it is up to the people of our Great Nation to do it for them.....so join Zombie and the rest of us tomorrow in declaring November 22, 2008, VI Day in Iraq.....

Join in the celebration......read more here and here and here  and here and here, hell, everywhere ....I can't begin to link to all the places that are part of this.  It is what it is......

Congradulate our brave Service Men and Women for all they have sacrificed to acheive what so many said could never be done.....we did not tuck tail and run.....we did not leave with our honor disgraced.....we stand with our heads held high.  We value each life that was lost, every service man and woman who was injured, who bares the internal and external scars of this War.....the families who gave and lost all, that are left to carry on, they know that what was lost, or given, was not taken in vain......we acknowledge their sacrifices with our unyeilding resolve, with our love and compassion as we stand and celebrate this Victory with them..... God Bless each of them, their families and the United States of America.   

To Victory!

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and Ad Council PSA

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in partnership with the Ad Council have launched a campaigned for Veterans of OIF and OEF. The campaign encourages Veterans to join an online community that is the first and only one of it's kind that is specifically exclusive to the Veterans of these conflicts. It is designed to help them connect with one another. Much like military blogs, the social networking site provides them a place to talk about their own unique experiences.

I received this information from Matt Hirsch, on behalf of IAVA, in partnership with the Ad Council and felt it important to help the word out about this site.

See, I am very lucky that when issues came up with my husband after he returned this last time....issues that had been there for many years (since his first tour) that he knew that there was something wrong. He knew that seeking help for the growing feelings he was experiencing was what he needed to do. I was also very lucky that my husband is a loving husband and father and never let the uphill climb he faced (and still does) destroy his love for us or his commitment to making through to the other side.

Other service members are not so lucky, they may not have the supportive love of a wife who understands, or children waiting for them so that they can pick up where they left off once they return, or a Command that "gets it", or family and friends standing by their side. Many do feel alone and as if they have no one that truly understands where they are coming from.

Maybe this will be one more tool to help them feel less like they are in it all by themselves. Please help me, help them spread the word......

Military Health System....NOV 19th 2-4pm est ~ TOWN HALL MEETING

The MHS is hosting a web town hall meeting where experts will answer questions from service members and their families about the Defense Department’s medical care programs for its wounded, ill and injured troops. I hope you can join us.

When: Nov. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. EST
Where: http://www.health.mil/WarriorCareWebhall
Questions: Submit to mhswebcontent@tma.osd.mil

And please consider posting an entry to your blog and invite your readers to participate. During the event, medical experts, supporting organizations and service members who have been touched by warrior care will be dialoging about healthcare solutions. I’m working with MHS and your help will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Military Health System

Build A Sign launches program in honor of Troops

BuildASign.com has launched a promotion in honor of Veteran's Day. They are giving military families a free customizeable banner to help welcome home their loved ones returning from overseas or the option to send a free customized jumbo card to a loved one serving overseas.

Below is the link to the site

Build A Sign

Where was I when the world stopped turning

that September day......7 years ago....I was in the backyard on a crisp clear sunny September morning playing with my son in Virginia....he was 3. We had to do the dreaded commissary shopping trip....we never made it.....I would wait for hours before I would receive word that my husband had survived the attack....then hours later we'd hear jets flying low over our house escorting planes into Reagan National, by that night I would comment to my neighbor to listen, she asked to what and I said to the quiet.....my husband would not return home from the Pentagon until late....smelling horribly....covered in things I'd rather not talk about....and we knew our world had forever been changed. The other night we saw him on a show on the History Channel and we both just sat there with nothing to say....tears streaming down my face....we turned it off....we'd lived it once, it was enough.

Last year I spent it with my closest friend as we remembered those agonizing hours as we prayed across our post for friends, neighbors....... leaders that we both knew separately.....but this year it will be different....we are once again separated, but this time by many, many states and are spending it once again with our soldiers home.....who knows what our futures hold for either of us....but for those two September 11ths....we were on the same military installations....one grieving, the other remembering. Today, I miss you!

To all those who were the first victims of the war on terror and to each and everyone since as well as their families, as we once again look upon this anniversary of sorrow for our Great Nation, I pray for you, that you are able to move past what this war has done to you. That God grace your lives with love and comfort.....

To America, do not think for a moment that our enemy has forgotten what he did to us......he remembers far more then most of you do.....he laughs at our grief.....revels in every death caused by his hand and will stop at nothing to continue his path..... Support those that defend your Country, support their families, let them know that what they do for each of us, you honor. When the time comes that you find out that someone you know has laid down their life for you......let their family know that it was not done in vain......help them to know how much you appreciated that ultimate and great sacrifice....you have no idea what happens to a family who loses their service member, it does not end when the funeral is over, in fact, that is really when it just begins for most...... And America, where is your flag.....you make such a great stand of flying them when something horrible happens to our Nation....and yet my flag is the only one that flys on my street......it has flown every day for 20 years...... Why don't you honor our nation by flying it's national Flag?

The Pentagon Memorial......

I could not have said this any better!

My friend and fellow milspouse blogger Cat and I had an interesting email conversation the other day.  It was about opinions and the election.  She is very strongly set about her opinions on our up and coming Presidential Election and will speak to anyone about those feelings, but as outspoken she is in person, she was very standoffish about making a post on her blog about it....

Now while I am not a huge political writer, that does not make me any less passionate about the election then the next person, I only touch on the subject....which makes Cat and I different...she really wanted to write about it in depth....so I sort of gave her some reasons why she should...and I'm very proud to say that she went ahead and wrote about it....Please take a moment and read her post.....I think she made some good arguments as to why she feels the way she did.... reasons that just add to why I am so against O'bama, but not everyone will know all of it, because it was never reported on in the news......

Anyway here is her post entitled PACKING A PUNCH

To My Daughter

I wrote this on Monday morning after I took my children to school. This is my oldest daughter's last year in school before she will head to college.....ever aware of her fear of the future, I did my best to not reveal how I felt inside over her last year of high school.....but after being inspired by this from my friend T, I thought maybe, well....that I would go ahead and publish it.

Baby,

I did not know what I was having when I was pregnant with you....I didn't want to know. The miracle that you were was enough for me, I found comfort in knowing that you were just there, often when I was all alone.......I was overwhelmed when the doctor said "it's a girl." I cried......I still do when I think about it.

I am not sure when you got to be so beautiful....was it when you first cried, back when it was just you and me kid? Were you always so inquisitive? So full of questions? You walked early, talked early, got teeth early....so ready to just get on with it, you began growing up before I realized it was possible. Do you remember when I knew you could read? What the first word you read aloud to me was? It was Donut, we were driving....and you told me you wanted one....I laughed out loud and turned around and got it for you....you were five. Do you remember how you used to repeat everything I would say....often using the same colorful adjectives......I was apalled, but everyone else thought you were so cute.....

Your eyes always took in so much and were always the first thing anyone ever noticed about you.....so blue, so big......so beautiful, they still are, followed by your beautiful smile. You were the wind beneath my wings when I was just discovering how to be an adult.....the one thing that brought me out of the dark days of a war....did I ever tell you that?

How did you get to be almost 18 years old and graduating this year? I look back at photos and videos of you growing up. How proud I have always been of how you gracefully eased through all that life through at you.....the loss you experienced, the pain you went through and even coming close to losing one of your closest family members, not once did you fall......but then I have always been there in case you did.

As I looked at you this morning, my heart filled with so much, I hardly knew where to begin and so I was pretty quiet......you twirled around like you used to when you were little, looked over your shoulder at me and said, "Hey Mom, it's my last first day." It was all I could do to not let you see the tears as they welled up in my eyes.....when did you get to be so grown up, where is my little girl....with the bright inquisitive blue eyes and giggles when I held her....she has been replaced with this stunning creature I sometimes hardly recognize.....did I miss your life? I know I was there.....but being your mother has never once been hard, so maybe that is why you seem to have grown up in the blink of an eye.

Those hard days, the ones that stand out in my mind, the ones you rose above and showed what kind of resolve you had in you......the day I took you and your sister's cell phones away to make sure I was the one to tell you about your friend dying and then you held your little sister, the day the war came home to us, the day your friend at school didn't wake up.....through glasses and braces and disappointments you took life in stride, never once turning away from me. You knew I was there for you and you always sought the solace and safety of my arms, knowing that I'd make everything alright.

But now, I think you know that it's time to spread your wings, to find where your place in the world is, to discover where this last year of high school will find you.....ever knowing that I am always going to be Mommy, even on the day you become a mother yourself. I love you with all my heart, my love, my firstborn, my beautiful grown up daughter. I will always be proud to be you mom, privileged to have you in my life, thanked God every day for you, even before you were officially you, but as you grow up, I am excited about being your friend....

What a smile!

Shawn you rock!

BEIJING - AUGUST 19: Gold medalist Shawn Johnson of the USA smiles as she stands on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's Beam Final at the National Indoor Stadium on Day 11 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) courtesy of yahoo sports

Is Spell Check dumbing out our children?

My oldest daughter sat in my room last night filling out a couple applications for interviews today....and I gotta tell you....it was a brutal eye opener for her mother.....

See, this is my honors child...the one who, since kindergarten has been the child each of her teachers stated would do great things....12 years later she is an English major....taking AP this year in English, Government and Economics, on the Newspaper and Yearbook......she will graduate with distinguished honors....even her new teachers are excited about her being in their classes, so much so the counselor called her to tell her.......

AND while we are very proud of her and her siblings, I was dumbfounded when she asked me how to spell IMMEDIATELY and then asked me if she had spelled AVID right.....I guess after thinking about it, I was just a little perplexed. Of course I too spell things wrong and have to admit that I have become reliant on my browser's ability to underline in red what it does not recognize as being spelled right, especially on my blog......but all and all I am a very good speller....

Such a small thing, but such a big impact.....to me, being a good speller comes with being a good reader....which my daughter is, in fact all of them are........so why the issue? As a comparison I asked my middle daughter to spell IMMEDIATELY to which she did without issue, and while she is a strong English student, her areas in honors lie in math and science.....and come to think of it, she has not had a computer for as long as her older sister either.

Even though I know what classes my children take, and I have guided each of them so that they will be prepared for college, I guess I get to own up to being a bad mother now for not knowing exactly what is in the syllabus. But since they are such great students, I guess I just assumed they each had vocabulary, never really asked them about it. Anyway, I spoke to the girls about their English classes and they both stated that they did indeed have vocabulary, but my older daughter said that in her course, it is such a small part of the class, that her lowest grades were in that area, usually in the low 80's. She said that she did not study as hard for her vocabulary as she did the Lit part ....considering the course often had her reading European Poetry as well as Literature of up to 800 pages, but even with her explanation, she got a dirty look from mom it. She did get a 94% in the class, but imagine what she would have gotten had she not blown off her vocab, not to mention the fact that it is far easier for her to ask me how to spell something then to be confident in her own knowledge of it.....

This will be my daughter's third high school in four years and for the last two years she attended a high school that had block scheduling. For those out there that do not know what this is, it is where you complete a course in a semester instead of a year (much like college, same amount of information put out over a shorter period of time, but for a longer class time). The classes are 90 minutes long instead of the 40 or 45, and you have 4 a semester for a total of 7 or 8 credits per year......instead of having the standard year with 4 quarters, you only have two, when progress reports are sent home they are pretty much looked at like a quarter grade that does not count.

So I'm curious......

Is it the computer age? Did her attendance at one high school that had normal scheduling and then 2 years at one with block scheduling affect her and the way she had to study in order to pass classes that were shorter with just as much information....or was it something else? Many experts say that our adolescents are more prone to low attention spans due to over exposure to television and gaming, but what does it say about computers?

The following is taken from an April, 2008 Article in the NY Times:

James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, drew laughs when he expressed concern about what he called “the slow destruction of the basic unit of human thought, the sentence,” because young Americans are doing most of their writing in disjointed prose composed in Internet chat rooms or in cellphone text messages.

“Overall, American students’ writing skills are deteriorating,” said Will Fitzhugh, the founder of Concord Review, a journal published in Massachusetts that features history research papers written by high school students. He expressed skepticism that the national assessment accurately measured students’ overall writing skills because, he said, it only tests their ability to write very brief essays jotted out in half an hour.

“The only way to assess the kind of writing that students will have to do in college is to have them write a term paper, and then have somebody sit down and grade it — and nobody wants to do that, because it’s too costly,” he said.

Mr. Fitzhugh cited findings of a 2006 survey of college professors, in which a large majority said they thought most high school graduates came to college with limited writing skills.

In an age when we use computers as if they were always part of our lives.....when most of our children think they always have been, are we losing certain aspects of old-school learning while we focus learning how to use our computer programs? We now rely on the computer for everything from writing mail to writing books and blogs... as digital photo albums and for online support and friendships.... We communicate with our friends and share information via Myspace, Facebook and other like websites. We use programs to balance our checkbooks, watch movies and listen to music, use web-cams and talk on the phone to our loved ones thousands of miles away, use spreadsheets and charts to explain everything from household chores to major proposals by large corporations.... and so much more. All things we used to have to do by hand or without the aid of our expanding technology. How often do you hear someone state that their laptop contains "everything" on it or when it crashes they are determined to save the data?

With so much being accomplished with the aid of computers, is one small program that we all use at one time or another .....called SPELLCHECK, making our children less smart? Or is it just a compounding problem of many media applications? I don't know the exact answer to it, but what I do know is that the idea has opened my eyes up a little bit more AND that I will be checking to ensure my Senior will be studying her vocabulary a little harder this year......

By the way, the word spellcheck, was not recognized as a word by my computer.....funny.