DEPRESSED CHARLIE
Also, the dog is mad at me. Or depressed. Or scared. Something. Because he is not himself.
He supposedly had fun at the boarder. But he came home a tangled mess, so I immediately took him for a shave-down the next day. Maybe that was too much. Maybe dropping him off with strangers a second time set him over the edge.
He keeps doing this hacking thing, almost like a seizure. And he hasn't barked in two days. Normally he's perched in front of the window to bark at anything he sees, but not a peep since he's gotten home. He hides, and won't make eye contact.
Or maybe it's the same old Charlie but you've been switched and he's waiting for the real Sarah to return from Vegas.
Seriously, the "hacking thing" sounds scary. As if you being sick weren't bad enough. I hope he - and you - recover soon.
Posted by: Amritas at June 26, 2009 05:06 PM (2eQQr)
2
Mamie does that as well. She doesn't like being separated from us for too long - especially not when she has to sleep in a kennel!
Ike doesn't appreciate it, but he's boarded enough that he takes it in stride. He used to sit on us and be glued to my leg when we brought him home, even if it was only an overnight!
One thing that has changed a lot about Ike is that he used to HATE the car. We had to corner him, grab him, and throw him in. Then we boarded him once. Then he realized the car meant he was going with us and not being left behind and now he loves to go for rides.
Dogs are weird.
Posted by: airforcewife at June 26, 2009 05:17 PM (NqbuI)
3
Is it possible he's got kennel cough? I believe that is something they have medication for. As for the not looking you in the eye . . . my dog used to do that after a haircut. It was like she was embarrassed about the new doo and she would hide for a few days until she got used to it. Seriously.
Hope all is back to normal soon!!
Posted by: rc at June 26, 2009 05:30 PM (89qJF)
4
RC -- That never crossed my mind because we got him vaccinated for it, but I suppose it's entirely possible. A reading of a few websites says it's something they can get even if vaccinated. I will keep an eye on him for phlegm/mucus/etc. Thanks for pointing that out.
Posted by: Sarah at June 26, 2009 07:45 PM (TWet1)
5
My dogs have come home before doing the hacking thing as well. At the time, my vet just told me to make sure they're drinking well and if it didn't resolve itself in about 4-5 days to come in. It did go away by itself. No fun at all, though. Hope Charlie's back to his old self soon!
Posted by: dutchgirl at June 26, 2009 08:23 PM (hLAkQ)
6
wait... aren't you also coughing?
Maybe it's sympathy coughing.
In all actuality, it's most likely kennel cough. No matter how much fun he had, he was
1. stressed, because he isn't used to being around other dogs
2. exposed to a whole host of other germs, bacteria, etc from those other dogs
3. IN a kennel (even if it was climate controlled) that exposed him to a different temperature, humidity, and dusts/pollens/allergens he isn't used to.
4. Plus, he's tired. He's been playing his ass off for the last week. He needs a staycation.
Fluids and rest, he'll eat wen he feels better, don't push the issue (lots of treats if he is being picky). Baby him (more than usual) and he'll be his old self in a day or two.
I could bring Major over for a playdate if you like... you busy Saturday?
Posted by: Chuck at June 26, 2009 08:53 PM (aY7Ir)
7
Sarah, Chuck's points 1-4 could more or less apply to you too. Not that you were in a kennel, but you are stressed, you were exposed to germs, etc. in Las Vegas and the airport, you were exposed to a different climate, and you are tired. Staycate yourself too!
Posted by: Amritas at June 26, 2009 08:59 PM (2eQQr)
8
Yikes, I just realized all four of Chuck's points could also apply to me and explain why I'm sick. My staycation is slowly helping me to recover.
Posted by: Amritas at June 26, 2009 09:07 PM (2eQQr)
9
If Charlie likes to bark, he may have barked a lot at the kennel and his throat is tired. Definitely would keep an eye on it, though! Poor little C-man.
Maybe he's just p-o'd he missed out on the saucy shows and bacon?
Posted by: Guard Wife at June 26, 2009 10:51 PM (UIGsI)
10
If he's hacking AND attacking his face with his paws, get him checked for a bad tooth or jaw infection.
Posted by: Oda Mae at June 27, 2009 01:01 AM (qTjVS)
12
Poor little puppy boy, he looks so sad. He missed his mommy and daddy. And he may make you pay. Dogs are pretty good at that. But he also may have kennel cough. So like everyone else says, watch him closely.
We had two visitor puppies over the weekend, one old little one and one little young mini dachshund who has not been neutered. I wanted to do it myself because he just kept after my little lady Yorkie, who has been spayed, every single minute. My son in law finally swatted him with a newspaper he was reading. It didn't hurt him but got his attention and he let up a little. Of course that was two hours before they left. Our Sally had a bath first thing this morning because he would just grab her hair (it is more like hair than fur) in his mouth and pull her around the room, getting her all slobbery and dirty. But she enjoyed the running around and chasing they could do when outside. She is only 14 months old so she needs a playmate occasionally.
Posted by: Ruth H at June 29, 2009 01:57 PM (KLwh4)
STARTED AT SPOUSEBUZZ BUT FINISHED HERE
My husband and I went on our much-anticipated vacation to "somewhere other than our parents' houses." We took two whole suitcases and had the time of our life. My husband did a much better job of relaxing than he did back in January. The vacation was perfect.
Until the last day.
And all of a sudden, I realized we were on Block Leave. I realized
that the end of this trip signaled the end of block leave, which means
July was coming soon, which means my husband is deploying.
My husband is deploying in like two weeks or so.
And I wanted the last day to slow down, to last forever, to never end.
I love having my husband home. I need to have my husband home
if we're ever going to successfully have a baby. But three years on, I
miss the deployment feelings. I miss the sense of connectedness, of
purpose, of conviction. It probably sounds strange, but I miss the
feeling of sacrifice, of knowing that I've given up being with someone
I love for the good of our country. Honestly, for me, the deployment
feeling hurts, but it's a good hurt, a deep and satisfying pain. And I
haven't felt it in three years. I feel ashamed that I've lived too ordinary of a life for three years.
I welcomed that last deployment. But this time, it just kinda seems too soon for me. It feels like he just got home. That coupled with my lack of emotional investment in Afghanistan has made me unprepared for him to leave this time.
I can't believe he's leaving.
The IVF clinic called me while I was at SBL Utah at the end of May. I haven't called them back. I've been stalling. I don't really care right now. I don't want to think about it. I know I need to call them back and get the process moving, but I just don't want to.
I'm kinda incredulous about life these days. I can't believe what's happening to my self, to my family, to my country. It's like I'm in a bad dream that I can't shake.
1
while not helpful, I think this makes total sense.
I expected you to say that your realization it was the last day and block leave was ending and the deployment was closing in was turning on your bitch switch. Because that is something I think I kinda do. As stupid as that is.
I hope these next few days are good and slow for you guys.
Posted by: wifeunit at June 26, 2009 10:38 AM (Y8fCw)
2
You know my husband doesn't get deployed or anything else these days but I do have a real quick bitch switch that I wish I didn't have. I've finally learned to control it somewhat unless I have a headache, the cut ants ate my plants, it is too hot, etc., etc.
Posted by: Ruth H at June 26, 2009 11:21 AM (4eLhB)
3
I'm years from deployments. Way back when, women weren't assigned to ships, so I didn't deploy, but my husband did. My feelings about deployments changed over the years. As brand new Ensigns, who had met during officer training, part of the worry was, will we still connect when we come back together? In the Navy, it was a real concern. Many other couples didn't make it over time. Later, we had the history together of knowing there'd be rough spots, but we got through them. When he was assigned to a carrier, he was gone for up to 7 months. The 6 months before a deployment were much harder than any other time. The ship would be in for a month, out for a month, in for 1 or 2 weeks, out for the same, until the deployment, plus overnight duty every 3 or 4 days. That was hard. I have the most trouble trying to balance the emotions of trying to get the most out of the time we were together, and the distance needed to survive when you are apart. Routines were impossible. This was true before children, then after as well. I'd want to sleep or do trivia or just plain avoid, but I'd want also to LIVE and take in just BEING with my husband while I could, and I couldn't do both, not very well anyway. I admit to being very glad when my husband had his last deployment. Our 2nd child was born on that last deployment. He met his son at age 3 months. We laugh about it now, me presenting him for approval, as if he could be sent back. That baby is now in the Navy with wife and child. The toughest time is always that limbo time with big events looming. In your vacation posts, my thoughts were, wow, this lady knows how to soak up the memories she'll need soon. I found UP to be a great movie, and one line stuck with me. It was made by the little boy Russell about his absent dad. 'It's the boring stuff I miss'. This deployment stuff stinks. I know. And, that carrier did go into harms way, at least by Cold War standards. There was a Syrian crisis and the ship turned around after it had started back home, extending the deployment, tough time for those of us waiting at home. Coffins were carried on board and were used every deployment. Flight decks are dangerous. I don't know how the danger will be for where your husband is going, but I do know that you have something I would have paid thousands for - the miracle of modern communication. Mail took "only" 10 days. There was no internet. We got phone calls in port, and they were at sea up to 4 or 5 months between port calls. I got 2 MARS ham radio calls that I cherish. The ship linked to ham operators, you'd get a collect call, and they'd patch you through to your husband. (No women on board remember). They calls wouldn't last more than 3 minutes and only one way communication, so you had to say 'over' to let the other person know they could speak. My husband was notified by a 2 sentence Red Cross telegram, which was transmitted as a short Navy message to let him know his child birth date and time, and that it was a boy, his size, weight and that he and I were both healthy. You've shown more wisdom to date than I did. I isolated myself more. You've built a social support system. It's tough, but you've made what you need to tough it out as the one who waits while the other deploys.
Posted by: HChambers at June 26, 2009 03:42 PM (YpVpF)
PERMANENT PUPPY
When we dropped Charlie off at the boarder a week ago, the lady squealed and asked how old he is. "Wait, you mean he's not a puppy? You mean he's going to look like this forever?" she exclaimed. Apparently everyone all week kept asking about the cute golden "puppy," which has prompted my husband to riff off of CVG and keep saying our dog is Permanent Puppy.
They told us another story when we picked Charlie up that keeps making me smile. Charlie is deathly afraid of water. He hates it and won't go near it. The boarder put out plastic kiddie pools for the dogs to frolic in, and apparently Charlie desperately wanted to play with the other dogs but was immobilized by his fear of water. She said he would just run in circles around the plastic pool while all the other dogs were in it in the water. So they came up with a solution: they got another plastic pool and set it up beside the first...empty. Apparently Charlie frolicked and played in an imaginary pool all week beside the other dogs. Which really tickles me.
We're all back together again at home. About two or three more weeks before the husband deploys...
1
I love that story about the paddling pools! How nice of them to accommodate Charlie's needs.
That's the sign of dog people if I ever heard it!
I'm glad he had fun!
Oh. Glad you had fun too.
Posted by: Guard Wife at June 24, 2009 01:17 PM (qk9Ip)
2
That is just too cute. I'm glad they used some real doggy lover skills on the problem.
Posted by: Ruth H at June 24, 2009 01:47 PM (4u82p)
3
Charlie the Permanent Puppy is Chuck Everlasting! As AWTM noticed, you perpetually look fifteen, so agelessness runs in the family. And Chuck E (not to be confused with Chuck Z or Chuck D of Public Enemy) even shares your aversion to water (#29 on this list). Species, schmecies, you're obviously related!
I wonder if any of the other dogs joined CE in the empty pool.
5
Lol. I think Charlie and Daisy would get along really well. Every time I go to the dog park I get asked how old she is; she's on the small side for a beagle, so everyone thinks she's still a puppy, even though she's 2 years old now. And she is also afraid of water. She hates the sprinkler, she runs if I turn on the hose. She's gotten to the point where she'll stand still for a bath, but that's about it. At least I don't have to worry about her getting muddy at the dog park.
Posted by: Leofwende at June 28, 2009 01:54 PM (28CBm)
FEWER "BOOTY" JOKES, PLEASE
Oh good heavens, they tarted up the pirate show.
We saw the show six years ago when we were here, and it was clever: swashbuckling, cannon battles, proper action. But then someone at Treasure Island thought, "You know what this pirate show needs? Thongs." And now, it's a Britney Spears video with a pirate theme. Ugh.
However, it did end up being a good platform for some movie quote jokes. My husband worked in the following: "They're gonna love him up and turn him into a horny toad." "That's not pirates, that's ass." "Let me guess, he fixes the cable?"
Dear Treasure Island: The addition of skanky girls does not automatically improve every single thing in Las Vegas. I'm just sayin'.
Posted by: Sarah at
12:16 AM
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Post contains 125 words, total size 1 kb.
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know
there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things
we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we
don't know we don't know.
Rummy was right. Last night I encountered an unknown unknown, something I did not know I had never seen because the thought never crossed my mind. I didn't know what I was missing until I encountered it.
If you have never seen a contortionist pole dance, then you have no idea what you've never seen.
VEGAS FOOD UPDATE
We had the Bellagio buffet for lunch, which was quite good and which I preferred to the Paris one, I think. (I vote Bellagio for food and Paris for dessert.) They had some good curry duck and rack of lamb and stuff. The highlights for me were the asparagus -- perfectly crisp; mine at home is always too mushy or too raw -- and the tiny cheesecakes for dessert. Oh gosh were they good, and I am the type person who would normally choose seconds of the main course over desserts.
And afterwards in the bathroom, there was a girl puking. Either she gorged herself, in which case I feel sorry for her, or she's a bulemic. I had to think about that for a while: is Las Vegas a bulemic's dream or nightmare? On the one hand, you get all these yummy foods before you barf, but on the other hand...you just paid twenty bucks to gag all that food up? Weak.
We went to the gym this morning, so that totally counteracts the buffet, right?
Chuck Z suggests the Rio buffet. Gourmet magazine recommends their seafood buffet as the best in Vegas, so it was on my list of potential things I want to spend $40 on. I'm trying not to be a cheapskate and do one nice meal per day, and then cook something here or do something light for the opposite meal. Tonight we will have a small dinner before heading to a saucy show.
It's hard for me to part with $75 each for show tickets, but I had a talk with myself this morning: In six months when my husband is gone, would we pay $150 to sit together in a dark room watching a sexy show? Absolutely. So why not do it now while we have the chance.
We're having fun. Really, I don't need to spend money to have fun; I just like doing anything with my husband. Sitting in the hot tub, being on the internet, riding on a movable sidewalk, all of these are even satisfying as long as he's here with me. (And the movable sidewalk, that's one of the good parts of life!)
I'm loving it that you are practically live-blogging your getaway...it reminds me: the other night I found an article online saying that families were spending less time together and internet use was increasing...so I sent an email with a link to the artcile to my husband who was surfing online in the livingroom (while I was on my computer in the home office). We chuckled...but he argued that the internet actually allows more sharing...he said, that before perhaps it was considered together time when a husband and wife sat on the sofa together and each read different books...while surfing the internet allows you to send links to people to share whatever you are just reading...so maybe it actually increases communication?
And the Rio buffet is pretty good. I've been there 2x.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at June 17, 2009 04:25 PM (irIko)
the food court at Caesar's is pretty great and "reasonable" for Vegas Prices. Â Also the Burger joint in the hallway between Paris and Bally's with the slutty French waitresses has stupid good burgers and fries.
Posted by: Sarah's Pinko Commie Friend at June 17, 2009 05:24 PM (P0BHB)
3
Me & She really enjoyed the Circqe's Love show--very cool if you like the beatles. (Of course, we went courtesy of Wayne Newton.)
Another fun thing to do--get dressed up--businesslike--and go to the casinos. People will ask you for directions. always fun to give directions, especially when you've no idea where you are going.
Posted by: Chuck at June 17, 2009 07:09 PM (meX2d)
4
I vote for hot tubbing while live blogging about riding on the moving sidewalk.
Multi-tasking!!
I'm glad you're having a good time. It's your boyfriend's birthday today. I told him you were with your husband in Vegas. He whined (again) that he has never been. I told him if he behaves, maybe you'll let him tag along next time.
Posted by: Guard Wife at June 17, 2009 10:35 PM (UIGsI)
Our bags still aren't here, so we went out and ate anyway. We went to the buffet at the Paris hotel, and my goal was to eat things I don't make at home: duck, crab legs, salmon, etc. But the true joy came at dessert time: mousse, creme brulee, crepes, and...flan.
Ah, flan. Flan is apparently my version of Proust's madeleine. It took me back twelve years to the halls of my school in France. There was a vending machine that dispensed this delightful treat.
Yep, flan from a vending machine. The French are so la-di-da.
1
I had the same philosophy when I ate breakfast at the hotel buffet this morning in Hong Kong, though I made an exception for bacon.
No food can take me back to Japan, Holland, etc. My sense of taste is nearly nonexistent.
I had to look up flan. I first heard of it in Duckman, where it was described in "The Gripes of Wrath" as "a flavor-filled Mexican dessert".
I love how exotica here can be in machines Over There.
Posted by: Amritas at June 16, 2009 11:29 PM (VtO7U)
2
Oh lordy, French flan is such a guilty pleasure of mine. Whenever I am in France I go to Carrefour and get a pack of about 4 slices...I keep on thinking, it can't be that hard to make: some pastry cream baked in a pastry shell, but I just never got around to attempting to make that stuff, because part of me knows I will never hit it on the head...man, you have given me some serious cravings right now...
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at June 17, 2009 07:43 AM (irIko)
3
Go to the Carnival buffet at the Rio. It is hands down the Bestest buffet in sin city, and you can even have one of their four-star chefs make you something silly--like a cheeseburger.
I asked one if he could make me some hamburger helper, of if they had any spam--he said if I gave him a few minutes, he could whip something up! I declined and went for the kobe beef instead.
Posted by: Chuck at June 17, 2009 02:07 PM (sLfwn)
We live 80 miles from the airport. We allotted three hours for travel. We missed our flight.
I have been in far harder rain storms, but apparently (we now know) flooding backed up traffic all over town. It took us over an hour to go a few measly miles. Thank heavens for Garmin; we eventually exited and took back roads to the airport. I honestly thought there had been some sort of terrorist attack or evacuation, because the highways were a nightmare of traffic but there was not a car to be found on the roads in town. It was eerie.
So we missed our flight, but luckily for us, the 6 AM flight had been delayed five hours. Sucks to be its original passengers, but we lucked out and ran to the gate just in time. We still managed to barely catch our original connecting flight, so we did some serious Mr T style recouping of our day.
And, without a dictionary, I wondered if the final turn of events had been fortuitous or serendipitous. I think it's more the former, though I detect an element of the latter.
Unfortunately, we're out a good chunk of change in extra parking fees, since in our hurry to make the flight, we chose short-term over long-term. And our bags didn't make the flight, so now we're sitting in the hotel waiting for them to be delivered. For a $25 fee, of course.
But our hotel room is teh awesome, so score. Full kitchen and everything. (We're talkin' four burners and a full-size fridge, plus dining room table!) And we overlook the Bellagio fountain and the Eiffel Tower. So, sweet.
1
C'mon! Admit it! Your husband was flat ironing your hair and THAT is why you missed the plane. Rain indeed!
Ouch on the short term v. long term, but I hear you. This from the girl who has had her A/C running for weeks and has had two upstairs windows wide open for at least as long. NICE!
You are going to have an AWESOME time!!!
Take lots of photos of the sites!!
Tell my peeps at the Denny's I said, 'Hey!' They probably don't show up until around 2 a.m., though, so you may need to plan accordingly.
Posted by: Guard Wife at June 16, 2009 08:40 PM (UIGsI)
2
Yikes, I had no idea things were this bad! At least you didn't have to go through this nightmare alone. I'm imagining what would have happened if the flooding had occurred when you two took me to the airport.
Hope your luggage is in by now. When I took the right flight and the airport put my suitcase (with all my clothes!) on the wrong one, they delivered it to me at 11 PM - for free, but still - ouch!
Will you be using the full kitchen? That'd be really useful if you could buy ingredients in Vegas that you couldn't get at home, but I doubt that's the case.
Flat-ironing your hair? So what other beauty secrets of yours does Guard Wife know?
Posted by: Amritas at June 16, 2009 09:42 PM (VtO7U)
I'm sad that we missed your layover time, but we will manage to hook up again soon. Somewhere. With dh's broken hand and all, I spent the bulk of the day on the phone seeking specialists anyway. ugh. Have a Wonderful time!
xoxo
Posted by: Lane at June 16, 2009 09:51 PM (OXC3Q)
4
wear your garter outfit to the buffet, it is permeitted in Vegas you know...
1
You don't have to turn on the laptops in Vegas, but I would appreciate it if you did post occasionally while your Pashto lessons are fresh in your heads.
(Can you tell I think Pashto is more interesting than Vegas? You could have spent block leave sitting at home focusing on Pashto, but NO.
)
Posted by: Amritas at June 16, 2009 12:40 PM (x4B1D)
Four years ago today, we brought little six-pound Charlie home to be our dog.
You can even see the green ink on his ear where he got tattooed. (Oh, and don't think we didn't make lots of jokes about Germans and their fondness for tattooing barcodes on people...)
We dropped Charlie off tonight for his week at the boarder's. He barely looked back at us as he ran off into the room filled with 32 other dogs for the week. He is going to have the time of his life.
But five minutes after driving away, I said, "OK, I miss him already." I was mostly kidding. Mostly.
My husband says we'd better hurry up and have a kid, lest we turn into the Swans.
INSOMNIAC
My husband hasn't been sleeping well lately. He is overwhelmed by how much there still is to learn about Afghanistan. He is keeping himself up at night worrying that he hasn't learned enough geography, culture, and history. He invested five years of his life into learning Iraq, and now he's changing horses midstream. He wants to make sure he's prepared for this new mission, and it's been on his mind constantly.
Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. I joked, "You're becoming an insomniac like me! See, it's true what they say about people turning into each other when they've been married for so long. It only took you seven years." He snorted and said, "But I don't want to be like you in this area!" When asked what area he would like to be more like me in, he replied, "You know, how you're organized and remember birthdays and stuff." Heh.
We're leaving tomorrow for block leave: a week in Las Vegas. In addition to festivities and fun, we will be working on learning Pashto together. Just another thing to shove in our suitcase...
Don't worry, we're such nerds that we chose our hotel based on who had free wifi.
1He invested five years of his life into learning Iraq
and a lot of time learning Iran, too! I admire a man who gets into his field and takes it seriously.
I can't wait to hear about your Pashto studies together. Now that's my kind of romance!
Posted by: Amritas at June 15, 2009 10:03 AM (b3Ptv)
2
My husband's been doing the same thing. He's been to Iraq, speaks Arabic, spent the majority of the last year with this unit training to go back to Iraq, and now (as of just a few months ago) they will be heading to Afghanistan instead. It's a whole different ballgame, and he's been studying up on the region they're going to since he found out.
Enjoy your block leave. We just got back from ours - a road trip to visit friends & family in SoCal with a quick detour to the Grand Canyon.
Posted by: Leofwende at June 15, 2009 01:10 PM (28CBm)
3
I like to speak Arabic (Klingon) with a high pitched, Major Hockschtedder voice. "Vee Haf vays of getting informacion, you know." Unfortunately, the humor is lost on the Iraqis. Even the whole cigarette routine.
FWIW, I really liked "The Arab Mind" for Iraq, not sure if Pataki has written anything on The Muj Mind, but lessons learned in one may apply to another. Also, dealing with tribes--watch The Godfather, over and over and over. There are SO many lessons learned in that movie that really did apply. Leave the gun, take the cannoli, indeed.
Posted by: Chuck at June 15, 2009 01:43 PM (bQVIy)
4
Do enjoy your week and yours PASHTO! What's his deployment rotation? I thought the new 50/50 was bad (out 6 months/back 6 months and repeat) yours seems to be 75/25. Ew! You are such a good Army wife.
Posted by: Darla at June 15, 2009 06:46 PM (LP4DK)
5
Darla -- It's supposed to be 8 on, 8 off. But it didn't exactly turn out that way... It's more like 7 on, 7 off, 9 on, then a PCS. I blogged about it at SpouseBUZZ: "More Fair"
Posted by: Sarah at June 15, 2009 08:11 PM (TWet1)
SEVEN YEARS
My husband has a summer birthday, so he was always the youngest in his class. That also has made him the youngest in his year group in the Army, so he has always been the baby of the group. At OBC, a prior-enlisted guardsman flipped out when he learned my husband was born in 1980: "I was pickin' up chicks in my Trans Am in 1980!"
But he's started to realize that he's been in the Army for seven years now. And suddenly, he's older than most of the NCOs he works with. He's not the baby anymore.
I took his team a homemade lunch today, and they gushed and thanked me and called me Mrs. and Ma'am. And I realized that I'm no spring chick either: I am nine years older than the medic on his team. I must seem like such an old lady to him.
On Monday, my husband and I have our seventh wedding anniversary. We've known each other for almost ten years.
It feels good to be a grown up. But it took me by surprise today.
1
It could be worse... Most of my students (College Juniors) were between 1 and 3 when I graduated high school, some weren't even born when I enlisted.
None of them saw Top Gun, or Full Metal Jacket in theaters, many had never seen it.
They were too young to see Saving Private Ryan in theaters, or rent it without a parent when it came out--on VHS.
The oldest ones weren't in Kindergarden during gulf 1.
None are old enough to remember Ronald Reagan, most don't Remember George H. W. Bush.
Now I feel old.
Posted by: Chuck at June 11, 2009 05:15 PM (meX2d)
2
Happy Anniversary!! Best wishes for another 7 years!!
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at June 11, 2009 08:23 PM (YQ3jz)
3
I still sometimes realizing how old I am, too. I am still single, and have no children. However, friends I went to high school with are starting to have children graduate high school and send them off to college. I have a new acquaintance out at the ballpark - a police officer who enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school (9/11 his senior year helped him decide between that and an athletic scholarship to a West Texas A&M) and served in Iraq - in Fallujah, during the April & November offensives - and I have to remind myself that although he is an responsible adult now, he's about 13 years younger than me. I have been out of high school for 21 years now. I've been out of college for 17. There are many things that, when I was younger, I thought I had plenty of time to do: have a career, get married, have children, travel. I've had a career, one that allowed me some small amount of travel around the US, and I went to my cousin's wedding in Alaska 5 years ago, but I can't help but think I'm running out of time for the other things. Yeah, I still have time to meet "Mr. Right" and get married, but I can't help but think that it might not be soon enough to try to have those children I always expected to have... And I feel old sometimes...
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at June 11, 2009 11:48 PM (paOhf)
4
Welcome to the grown up world. You are well on your way to your 50th. I remember our tenth seemed only a few years ago, yet it was 41 years ago. We celebrated our 51st on May 24th.
Posted by: Ruth H at June 12, 2009 08:28 AM (4u82p)
5
We were having a conversation with family about Sweetie's (Sig's) work, and referred to his office helper – who is a PFC – as a "kid". His parents, aunt, older brother, and sister-in-law all kind of chuckled. You know, like it's funny we use the term "kid" when WE're still the kids.
But we reminded them that we're both over 30 now, and Sweetie's a little above sergeant (though a rather young sergeant), and that actually makes us pretty senior to anyone with "Private" before their name.
In fact, when Sweetie joined up six (six!) years ago, we were still pretty senior at 25.
My best friends at DLI were all younger than me by several years.
Now, my youngest brother is turning 26 and Sweetie's youngest brother, who is 25, just became a lieutenant. Kids I babysat are graduating college and getting married.
Funny how time flies.
Posted by: Deltasierra at June 12, 2009 03:23 PM (ekWzF)
6
I was ten and a half when my oldest sister was born. She's getting married this November at the age of 28. I was a freshman in high school when my youngest sister was born. She's out of college and all out on her own now. I remember changing both their diapers...
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at June 13, 2009 01:01 AM (paOhf)
7
I also realized (or perhaps re-realized) that my company commander is younger than me.
On the other hand, being a Guard unit, we've got people who've been with us for decades. One crusty SFC reminisced over the idiot butter bar in charge of his platoon (when he was a platoon sergeant); the idiot in question is now the battalion commander.
As a professor, I wondered if some of the younger students had a hard time taking me seriously because of my apparent age.
At work, I am still the kid, at least in my section. Hardly anyone's younger.
Yet I know I'm getting old. I recognize very few TV and music references after the 80s.
Sarah, you seem relatively 'with it' ... certainly more than I am.
I've known you since shortly after your first wedding anniversary. I can still remember thinking of you as newlyweds. And the neat thing is that when I met you two last month, you were still like newlyweds in paradise! I think you'll always be that way.
Posted by: Amritas at June 16, 2009 01:03 PM (/IwHi)
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There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. --The Count of Monte Cristo--
While our troops go out to defend our country, it is incumbent upon us to make the country worth defending. --Deskmerc--
Contrary to what you've just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners, only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, WWII, and the Star Wars Trilogy. --Bart Simpson--
If you want to be a peacemaker, you've gotta learn to kick ass. --Sheriff of East Houston, Superman II--
Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind. --Jed Babbin--
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. --President John F. Kennedy--
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. --General Patton--
We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over. --Full Metal Jacket--
Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed. --Dick Cheney--
The Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. --Col Steven Arrington--
The purpose of diplomacy isn't to make us feel good about Eurocentric diplomatic skills, and having countries from the axis of chocolate tie our shoelaces together does nothing to advance our infantry. --Sir George--
I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right. --Oriol--
It's days like this when we're reminded that freedom isn't free. --Chaplain Jacob--
Bumper stickers aren't going to accomplish some of the missions this country is going to face. --David Smith--
The success of multilateralism is measured not merely by following a process, but by achieving results. --President Bush--
Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.
--John Galt--
First, go buy a six pack and swig it all down. Then, watch Ace Ventura. And after that, buy a Hard Rock Cafe shirt and come talk to me. You really need to lighten up, man.
--Sminklemeyer--
You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting --General Curtis Lemay--
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained -- we must fight! --Patrick Henry--
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. --President George W. Bush--
are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill--
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other. --General George Marshall--
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
--Buzz Aldrin--
America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.
--Dinesh D'Souza--
Recent anti-Israel protests remind us again of our era's peculiar alliance: the most violent, intolerant, militantly religious movement in modern times has the peace movement on its side. --James Lileks--
As a wise man once said: we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Unless the price is too high, the burden too great, the hardship too hard, the friend acts disproportionately, and the foe fights back. In which case, we need a timetable.
--James Lileks--
I am not willing to kill a man so that he will agree with my faith, but I am prepared to kill a man so that he cannot force my compatriots to submit to his.
--Froggy--
You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
--Varifrank--
In a perfect world, We'd live in peace and love and harmony with each oither and the world, but then, in a perfect world, Yoko would have taken the bullet.
--SarahBellum--
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. --Ronald Reagan--
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for. It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large. --E.M. Forster--
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse. --Mark Twain--
The Enlightenment was followed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which touched every European state, sparked vicious guerrilla conflicts across the Continent and killed millions. Then, things really turned ugly after the invention of soccer. --Iowahawk--
Every time I meet an Iraqi Army Soldier or Policeman that I haven't met before, I shake his hand and thank him for his service. Many times I am thanked for being here and helping his country. I always tell them that free people help each other and that those that truly value freedom help those seeking it no matter the cost. --Jack Army--
Right, left - the terms are useless nowadays anyway. There are statists, and there are individualists. There are pessimists, and optimists. There are people who look backwards and trust in the West, and those who look forward and trust in The World. Those are the continuums that seem to matter the most right now. --Lileks--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
--Winston Churchill--
A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it. --Arthur Conan Doyle--
A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself. --John Stuart Mill--
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." --Dave Grossman--
At heart I’m a cowboy; my attitude is if they’re not going to stand up and fight for what they believe in then they can go pound sand. --Bill Whittle--
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. --Alexander Tyler--
By that time a village half-wit could see what generations of professors had pretended not to notice. --Atlas Shrugged--
I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
So Bush is history, and we have a new president who promises to heal the planet, and yet the jihadists don’t seem to have got the Obama message that there are no enemies, just friends we haven’t yet held talks without preconditions with.
--Mark Steyn--
"I had started alone in this journey called life, people started
gathering up on the way, and the caravan got bigger everyday." --Urdu couplet
The book and the sword are the two things that control the world. We either gonna control them through knowledge and influence their minds, or we gonna bring the sword and take their heads off. --RZA--
It's a daily game of public Frogger, hopping frantically to avoid being crushed under the weight of your own narcissism, banality, and plain old stupidity. --Mary Katharine Ham--
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms
of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. --James Madison--
It is in the heat of emotion that good people must remember to stand on principle. --Larry Elder--
Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. --from a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt--
The world economy depends every day on some engineer, farmer, architect, radiator shop owner, truck driver or plumber getting up at 5AM, going to work, toiling hard, and producing real wealth so that an array of bureaucrats, regulators, and redistributors can manage the proper allotment of much of the natural largess produced. --VDH--
Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves. --Marcelene Cox--
