Never Forget

Ten years ago today.

We don't live any where near Ground Zero in New York City.

We are about 1,000 miles away from the Twin Towers site, and it is so different here in little-town America.

But September 11, 2001, touched us, too, in a profound way.

The morning started out lazily for me.  John went to work and I was hoping the boys would sleep in.  Homeschooling is nice that way, you can sleep in some days.  We had just gotten home from a big trip to Disney World two days before and I didn't want to get back into our routine yet.

As the boys slept, I kept the TV muted.  I had on a headset that let me listen to the television.  I'm a news junky, so I had the TV turned to NBC's morning program.  I can't even think what it's called now. The show that Katie Couric used to be on.  I was at the computer, on our slow dial-up, checking email, when I heard something odd on the headset.  I rushed to the TV in our bedroom to watch the horror unfold.

The boys stayed asleep until after the second tower collapsed, around 9:30 our time.  I remember very vividly thinking that I need to go give blood.  There will be an urgent need for blood.

After the first tower collapsed, I knew the second would, also.  I thought, I don't need to go give blood.  They are all dead.  Everyone of them.  They're all dead.

It was so arresting, thinking that.  I felt my heart would stop, it hurt so to think about what was going on.

Then the news unfolded over the day that yes, we were indeed under attack.

And the realization that I am married to a military man.  And he'd be needed somewhere.

I don't remember calling John, but I am sure I did.  We were both just stunned by what was going on, as was all of the United States.

The boys got the day off of school.  I was in no shape to teach.  They were 5 and 9 years old.  So innocent!  And their world just changed.  Did they even know it?

They would know it very soon.  The next afternoon, Bryan and JT played in our woods with their swords--they were knights in King Arthur's court, slaying dragons.  John and I watched them behaving like the little children they were.  It was a gorgeous day.  John told me that he had called his Army Reserve unit and asked to be put on the short list to go where needed.  He gestured towards the boys, who were running through the trees, and said, "That's what we're fighting for."

Sunday following 9/11 I went to Radio Shack and bought my first cell phone.  I knew that John would be called up and I wanted him to be able to reach me where ever he was, at any time.

The very next week, on Tuesday, September 18, John had a trip to Florida to work on something to do with Operation Enduring Freedom.  Whatever he did there was secret to me.  It was awful putting him on a plane that morning!  I took the boys to the commissary (the grocery store on the military post).  I was so upset, near tears the whole morning until John called and said he had landed.   I was very short with the boys in the commissary.  They were acting up and I was already at my breaking point. One of the retirees who was shopping there that day came up to me and patted me on the arm and said, "They're fine, Mama."  Reassuring me, and letting me know that I needed to hold it together for my children. 

Over the next eight years, John went on four separate missions as an engineer.    Building targets, he said.  Kuwait, DjiBouti, Qatar, Afghanistan.  Finally getting to put all he learned into practice.  We stayed home and prayed and managed.  We were all so happy when John's last deployment ended two days before Christmas, 2009.  

So Thankful!

Tom, my brother, made it through a heart surgery just fine today. He's probably the healthiest of my brothers, certainly Mr. Physical Fitness growing up, so this need of his was a surprise to me. We're praying for your complete recovery, Tom. (By the way, Bryan looks so much like Tom to me--sometimes it really astounds me how much his personality is like Tom's, too.)

Luci had two cavities filled Monday, and scaredy-cat that she is, I wasn't expecting it to go well. It went great. She had meds to help her be calm and then some laughing gas...and that TV on the ceiling helped, too. We get to do this again in two weeks.

And Luci made it to Af ghan istan! John picked her up in his mail today.

We fixed it so Luci *can* go to Afghanistan!

Since we can't get Daddy to come to us, Luci is going to Daddy. We traced around her body and colored it in. This is the result:

Luci took this one.

Ta-Dah!

Bryan says the drawing on the left is better than the one on the right. Luci has her eyes crossed, she's always trying to be funny.


Here's another one, and yes, her eyes are silly again.

She's going to Gaf-Ghanistan.

Luci packed up her backpack with all things important (plastic food from her kitchen set, binky, blankie and a coloring book), handed me her baby ("Please take care of her, I can't take babies, Mommy") and headed off to Afghanistan.

I don't think she'll get very far--all she is wearing is her Ariel panties and white patent leather shoes (which is why I am not posting a picture!).

Right after dropping Luci off at the "airport" (the living room sofa) I made an appointment at the International Adoption Clinic in Birmingham for a meeting with Leigh Anne, their family therapist. She's been a big help in the past. I think the play-acting is a good thing, but it really is breaking my heart. Luci's had other things pop up about Daddy in the past week that shows she is having a tough time with this. Can't wait for that appointment!

Another issue that the Clinic is going to check out is whether melamine in the baby milk supply in China affected Luci in any way. The recommendation is to check any child adopted after January 1, 2004, so Luci will have that evaluation when our meeting with Leigh Anne is done. Luci was born in October 2004, and adopted in August 2005.

A big, huge, gi-normous thing--Luci is now sleeping through the night!

Afghanistan Engineer District

Something new since John's first trip to Afghanistan...the Corps of Engineers' website now has the Afghanistan Engineer District on it. Lots of information there. Since I don't have a support group like many of the spouses whose soldiers and airmen are deployed, this is a very nice tool.

John was stationed there when it became an official district office of the CofE! Pretty neat. (John, I can't find the disc of Afghanistan pictures to post that pic of you with the cake--can you email me and tell me where it is, please?)

For the Dads--that's a good site to bookmark in your favorites list!

Standard Operating Procedure

My S-O-P when John's on these trips is, No News Is Good News. Because if something does go wrong, God forbid, they will find me and let me know. So, when John is traveling, I try to not worry too much. (I don't always succeed.) When John left US soil last night, we knew he'd probably be out of touch until he got to his duty station in Afghanistan. What a nice surprise when John called during our lunch today! He was in Kuwait, awaiting transport to Bagram.
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John has, in the past, been able to call nearly every day and send emails just as often. I know we've been fortunate; some soldiers don't have that ability because they are out in the field, or perhaps the communications set-up isn't complete for their unit.
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Another S-O-P is Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But for us it doesn't mean what you think it means! It means, "Don't ask John about the bad stuff because you really don't want to know."

Christmas Mini-Study

We have not gotten back into our Weaver studies yet. We'll dive back into that in January. During the holidays, it is nice to ease up and study Christmas, make holiday gifts and cookies, all that sort of thing. Today the kids and I worked on a little-bitty unit study on Christmas Symbols. It was a mixture of history and language arts, with some drawing thrown in. Here's the site I used for information: Christmas Symbols.

As usual, Luci spent her time un-doing things. She has taken everything off the lower shelf of her closet and it is a total wreck!

Tomorrow John flies out from Georgia, headed to Kuwait (commercial flight) and then Afghanistan (lovely military transport). Prayers for his safety are appreciated.

D is for Deployment

Today was the day. We took John to the airport this morning. The man at the ticket counter gave the kids and me a pass to get in to the gate area so we could wait with John. That was really nice--I didn't know that was allowed.
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JT helped carry John's pack. It was about a third of JT's weight. Whew!The boys got along most of the day--getting rid of corn syrup has been such a big key! (JT just told me that when I took this picture, he was hitting Bryan! Yikes! They look friendly.)

Awwww.

Guess who?

Waiting and watching the Weather Channel.

After John boarded the plane, the kids and I went to Cracker Barrel. It's become a tradition. We all did well today. I'm sure we'll have our moments of upset, but today was good. Luci is our shot of hilarity all the time. I'm sure the people in the boarding area were very happy to see that the 4-year-old Energizer Bunny was not getting on the plane! Ask her, and she'll tell you her Daddy is going to "Affana-affanistan."

Boys! Mom wants to take your temperature!

That's what Luci said after I measured her. She knew I wanted to measure something. We measure the kids on important dates: Birthdates, Luci coming home, John's deployments. The boys both have grown a whole foot since John's last trip to Afghanistan! Wow! And Luci is exactly the same height that JT was at the same age. Neat.

QotD--Show Us Your Favorite Person in Uniform

My favorite picture from John's travels with the military. Kabul, Afghanistan. John and his group of engineers aided an orphanage. Here's a little man getting a toy from this kind soldier.

Come Back!

John got a verbal hug from Luci today--he called from Barstow, CA, this morning on his way to an army meeting before the mission trip begins on Sunday.

Luci got on the phone and told him, "Come back!"


John's observation on Southern California's mountain region--

"It looks like Afghanistan out here."

Afghanistan: photo from TrekEarth

Reminds me of the "Welcome to Boise National Forest" sign that the boys and I found--but there were no trees in sight! And what about the Bradley cousin (which one was it? Dad will correct me--) who wanted to know about Vedawoo Forest near Cheyenne, Wyoming: "Where's the tree?!"

What to Think?

Today Osama bin Laden has been in the news--a "new"photo of him was on the tv screen. Luci walked by and said, "That's Jesus." No, honey, he's just the opposite.

When that guy gets on the news, we pay attention in our house. John's been overseas twice since September 11, and he's on the list to go again--although this time a long stint is unlikely since he's nearing retirement. John's second trip was to Afghanistan, and I think he really loved it there. He got to work with the locals quite a bit, and his group, the Corps of Engineers, did some special things for the Kabul Orphanage. It was very similar in feeling to a missionary trip.

Above, John is getting a salute from one of the little boys. It is my absolute favorite picture from that trip--the little guy is thrilled to get a new toy, a pair of socks, and have the attention of some nice strangers.

Right after that photo was taken, our church started a big effort to send toys and clothing to the kids there--some of you reading this helped in that endeavor, and we are still so thankful for your kindnesses to these children.

John's work with this orphanage is what got us on the road to adopting Luci. I wish we could have brought them all home.