Happy Anniversary

Today is our 16th anniversary. Unfortunately we are a world apart for the day. But I don't think it is the first time. I think Mario was TDY back to the mainland for at least one of our anniversaries when we lived in Hawaii.

I can't believe it has been 16 years. In many ways it feels like yesterday. But then I look around and see my 12 (almost 13) year-old son and realize that yes, it has been many years. I recall when I was a teenager, my dad and brother, Billy, thought I was difficult to get along with. I don't think they would have believed then that I would ever make it to 16 years of marriage. I was telling Mario that yesterday and he said that speaks volumes for him. He said that it shows he is a very patient man. I agree. He doesn't get mad at me for stupid things like backing into his truck or making two big holes in the house or wanting to go on lots of vacations or for all the other obnoxious things I do. In fact, he never seems to get annoyed with me.

I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with him (hopefully we'll be in the same location for most of them.) As for celebrating today, Zach and I are going to lunch. Why Zach? Not because he's my favorite but because I have taken the other 3 out to lunch the last couple weeks and it is his turn. Nothing special, just Quiznos because there is one in my neighborhood and kids eat free everyday and that's where I took the other kids. I am a cheap date! Speaking of cheap date, when Mario and I were dating, Whoopers at Burger King were 99 cents. We ate a lot of Whoopers. My kids would be surprised by that since we don't eat at hamburger joints very often now.

We were out shopping yesterday morning when the kids started getting hungry. Eric and Erin decided they wanted to take me to Subway since they didn't get me another gift. That was very thoughtful of them.

Exercise Bike Mishap

With all my knee problems, I can no longer run on my treadmill or even walk long distances. Mario suggested that I try an exercise bike. After researching new ones, I opted to buy a used one since you can buy a used one that is practically brand new. I have found that some people buy them with good intentions to ride it, but never do. I found one on Craigslist that was close to my neighborhood. Erin and I took Mario's truck and went to check out the bike listed for $100. I bought it and they loaded it into the truck. I pondered how to get it off the truck since Eric has a broken arm and Mario's deployed. I decided to back Mario's truck into the garage so I had less distance to carry it. Unfortunately as I was backing up, the handlebars didn't clear the house, and I had two handlebars stuck in the house. Erin said, oh no, the garage has 2 big holes. I thought she meant the garage door and I started to panic. That would be a very pricey repair requiring me to purchase a whole new garage door. I was scared to look back. But I was relieved when I did look back and just saw two holes in the stucco. That surely wouldn't cost as much as a new garage door.

I had to take half the exercise bike apart to get the handlebars out of the holes (so much for buying an already assembled bike.) The bike was very bent up and appeared to be in bad condition. I thought it would end up in Monday's trash pickup. We finally got the bike into the house and were able to bend everything back into place and put it back together. I gently broke the news to Mario (he was just relieved that his truck wasn't damaged.) He just blew it off as no big deal and told me to call the repairman. Fortunately, I found a guy that works very cheap and he said he could fix it for $50 Monday morning. So now my almost brand new $100 exercise bike is a pretty beat up $150 bike. I learned my lesson...next time, ask for help!

Master Manipulator

In the middle of the night, while I couldn't sleep, I thought up a plan to see if Mario was messing with me about the two week deployment extension. He was originally supposed to leave Afghanistan on August 14, but was told that everyone gets a 2 week extension. I started wondering if this was really true or if Mario was just wanting to surprise me and come home early.

So when I talked to Mario this morning, I told him that I found some cheap plane tickets to Florida in mid August and I was thinking about going to see my brother, Charlie, before he deploys. I knew that if Mario was coming home earlier than expected, he would have to tell me so I wouldn't buy the tickets.

It worked like a charm. He had to tell me that he has a chance of leaving Kabul August 14 instead of August 26. The military is extending everyone by 2 weeks, but Mario has a compelling reason to leave early. He needs to get back to prepare for the RIF board. So his bosses (so far) are agreeing to let him leave August 14. Mario didn't want to tell me in case it doesn't work out and then I will be disappointed all over again.

No respect for the Air Force

Strange Kids

My kids (well at least 3 of them) must have gotten their eating habits from Mario's side of the family. I guess Nate takes after me because he is a picky eater. But tonight Erin asked for turkey burgers. I didn't want to eat a bun so I made some mushrooms and onions to put on top of my burger. Eric, Erin, and Zach all asked me to make extra for them. I was shocked. I didn't eat those things until I was an adult. The three of them love refried beans (and many other types of beans) which I hate. In fact one meal that I dreaded as a kid (and still do), ham and bean soup, is one of their favorites.

A couple years ago I bought a book about sneaking vegetables into meals. Come to find out, my kids actually don't mind many of the things I was sneaking into their foods. They would prefer me just to be honest with them and serve it the way it is intended to be served.

I have noticed that Erin will eat almost anything that she makes even if it has some ingredients that she hasn't eaten before. Eric isn't too picky when it comes to food. He just eats what is served. If he likes it, he will have seconds, if not, he is done. Zach is the most impressive of all. I have been ordering baskets of fruit and vegetables from a co-op. I order the basket on Tuesday and it is available to pick up on Saturday. All the baskets are the same, so there is no choice in what we get. It has been so much fun to get our basket and try new foods. Most of the food is familiar to us, but some is new. We have tried eggplant, avocado, kale, fennel and several other new things. Zach will try everything that comes into our basket. Eric and Erin will try some things, but Nathan will try almost nothing new (unless there is a really yummy dessert waiting). I have to sneak things into his homemade popsicles that I make with my new Vita-mix. He doesn't like the shakes I make, but he likes the popsicles (that are just frozen shakes) most of the time. So now I don't care if he eats a popsicle for breakfast. In fact, I encourage it.

A Pair of Cripples

Eric and I make a fine pair...he with a broken arm and me with an injured knee. Today we went to buy some water bottles. Neither of us are supposed to pick up heavy stuff or push a heavy cart. We just laugh at ourselves and our injuries.

Today I took Eric to the orthopedic surgeon and the news wasn't what we hoped for. It has been 6 1/2 weeks since his injury and it looks like he will have another 3 or 4 weeks before it is fully healed. So we will have to postpone our plans to go the water-park on Friday. How disappointing.

But I was able to ask the dr if they would be able to complete the surgery on my knee if I got a referral. He said yes and even looked up my MRI results. I may have a long recovery since my injury is 2 years old and hasn't healed yet. I asked how long...6 weeks on crutches with no driving. That sounded like worst case scenario. So I went down to talk to my physical therapist from last year and he agreed to get me the referral. Now I just have to figure out when the best time would be to have the surgery. I am thinking around Thanksgiving in case my recovery takes weeks. I can just shop for Christmas from the comforts of my family room. I would like the have the surgery in early September but then I may not feel up to our San Diego trip.

Happy Birthday Mario

I dreaded my birthday and Mother's Day for days beforehand because Mario wouldn't be here to celebrate with me. But my kids made both days wonderful for me (not to mention all Mario's kind emails, gifts, and blog pictures.) Now I have found June 20th to be probably the hardest day for me since Mario has been gone. Today is Mario's birthday and Father's Day. I love celebrating these days with Mario. Growing up, Mario's family never made a big deal out of these holidays, so Mario doesn't expect much. But I love decorating, making a cake and all his favorite foods. So not being able to make a big deal out of his birthday and Father's Day has been really sad for me. I am just glad they fall on the same day this year so I only have one day to be sad, but too be honest, I have been sad about it all week. Probably doesn't help that I haven't been feeling well all week from my dental work.

I think I better bring a whole box of tissues to church with me. But that may scare people and they will think something bad has happened to Mario. I am sad that the kids don't have him here to celebrate Father's Day. I am sure there will be a lot of talk about Fathers at church. But I have noticed that the kids are much more resilient than I am.

As hard as it is to have Mario away, I am grateful for men (and women) who sacrifice so much to defend our country. It is only fair that Mario takes his turn at a deployment. I am just glad that his first turn is winding down and hopefully his next deployment (if there has to be a next one) won't be for a few years and it will be to Latin America instead of Iraq or Afghanistan.

Here's a quote from a recent email from Mario regarding his deployment:

I miss you very much. I do feel sad that I can't be with you and the family on Father's Day. But, I've been looking forward to it and my Birthday because it is at the tail end of the deployment. I'm at about 2 months away from see you. I know without doubt the Lord sent me here for a reason, several reasons actually. We didn't know the AF would be cutting folks, but the Lord did. This deployment really beefs up my record. I got a great stratification statement, actually its the best I've gotten in 12 years. I also am getting the best medal I've gotten in 12 years. I get deployment experience in my record. Serious, World Series level deployment experience. I also get joint credit, which is a big deal for FGOs.

Those are just the career related benefits. I also think I'll be much stronger for being here. I will, I hope, be a better father and husband. I have learned so much about people and life. I've become more compassionate and understanding of others. I'm sure you'd rather have me home, and so would I. But we're almost there. Not much longer now.