Remember

I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel and experience things. The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college I went to Paris to take a history class. There is nothing that compares to learning on the same soil things happened.

Here are some of the pictures from when we visited Normandy. There is something immeasurably powerful learning about D-Day while you yourself are struggling up the beach. And, I was dry, not hauling pounds of gear and there were no bullets being shot at me.

The actual beach the US troops landed on. The lucky few who made it to land still had this climb in their way.



I kid you not the sea of headstones went on into the distance. And, these were just the men whose families chose to have them buried in France instead of brought home.


There were too many of these to count. It's so sad for their families, but the thought that they are known by someone brings peace to my heart.


It was all for a reason though. This flag was made by a grandmother in her attic while German troops ate and slept in her home. She wanted to welcome the American troops and thank them for saving her. It was made from scrap fabric and candy wrappers for the stars.


Summer is fantastic, but that's not all we need to be grateful for this weekend.

Special Type of Person

The Bear and I were at a play date the other day. One of the moms is going solo this weekend since her hubby is going on a fishing trip with the boys. She was complaining about being alone. He asked her what she would have done if he had been in the military. Her response was that she wouldn't have married him.

Another mom commented that "It takes a special type of person to be a military wife."

It does.

You have to be strong enough to tackle the world (or at least a new town) by yourself.
You have to be wise enough to compromise when Hubby returns and you return to being partners.

You have to be outgoing enough to constantly be making friends. Between your moves and their moves, no one stays put long.
You have to be introverted enough to get strength from within and realize there will always be new friends to be made and old ones to talk to on Facebook.

You have to find friends in people you otherwise would not talk to. Going through a deployment together is often you need to bond you.
You have to be picky about who you are friends with. There are a lot of bad influences out there in the world.

You have to communicate through the least reliable methods. Emails that get read, letters that get lost and phone calls that are filled with static.
You have to continue to share how you are with your spouse despite the frustrations.

You have to be flexible. Things ALWAYS change.
You have to be rigid in the things you will not compromise.

You have to have complete faith in yourself that you will survive - and hopefully thrive - in this lifestyle.
You have to have complete faith in your husband.


There is a delicate balance.

Not everyone can handle it. Some know they can't. Some think they can and end up making poor choices.

The rest of us end up on an amazing adventure.

Just gross

The Bear is into everything. He's 17 months old; I expected it.

What completely disgusts me though is his love for The Puppy's food. We have the food dishes in our laundry room under the deep sink, but The Bear manages to get himself in there.

AND EAT IT!

I googled it to make sure poison control wasn't necessary. Apparently, it's very normal and the food has meats and dairy in it so he'll be fine.

It's just so gross.

On the bright side, I'm able to add to my list of embarrassing stories to tell his future spouse :-)

What's your emergency?

The Bear has a fascination with phones. He loves to push the buttons and do his baby babble into it.

There might be a few times in which I let him play with my cell phone to give me 2 seconds to do something. Like you know go to the bathroom. I always lock it first so he doesn't end up calling someone.

Apparently, if you push the buttons in just the right order you can dial 911 even when it's locked. I guess this is a nice feature if you are a normal person in a true emergency, happen upon a lost & locked cell phone and can't read the directions that tell you what 2 buttons to push. Not really a nice feature when you have a 17 month old son.

By the time I realize what he's doing, the phone is already ringing. I've been told enough times not to hang up on 911 because they'll just call you back. So, I wait to explain it's was an accident and we're all okay.

A nice man answers the phone.

"911. What's your emergency?"
"I don't have an emergency. My son accidentally dialed 911. We're all okay."
"What's your location?"
"We're in Groton, CT. But, we don't have an emergency. He was just playing with my phone."
"Are you sure ma'am? I hear a lot of screaming in the background."
"Yes, I'm sure. He's mad because I took away the phone because he dialed 911."
"He seems to be quite upset. Are you sure it's not an emergency?"
"Yes, I'm sure. He's just mad at me. He'll get over it. I'm sorry for calling."
"Well, if you're sure it's not an emergency . . . Have a nice day."

The Bear always picks the best times for his tantrums.