Seems Like Yesterday.



Tonight we are in a peaceful campground in Kentucky....less than 100 miles from a place we visited often - Fort Knox. Laurie was stationed there for 3 years and we made the trip between Hamburg and Fort Knox more times than we could count. Yesterday and today, as we drove through Ohio, many memories of those drives came flooding back - they always do, don't they?
As we passed countless exits, there were many memories down those ramps. The town where Laurie always stopped for the night when she was driving home; the exit we took one cold December 23rd as we drove Laurie home for Christmas....in a snow storm that could not be believed. I remember to this day, the coziness of the motel room, the safety and peace Ron and Laurie and I felt being off the highway and warm and dry; of being able to tuck Laurie in and crawl into bed next to Ron...exhausted, but happy to be where we were - all together.
And there was the time when I drove by myself to visit her after she had been in an accident. A mom thing, you know? But we had a good time - and when I left to drive back home, I was so grateful for those days we'd had as mom and daughter.
This afternoon, as we crossed one of my favorite bridges which led from Cincinatti into Kentucky, I saw the sign I'd read tons of times...WELCOME TO KENTUCKY! It was always the second best part of the trip...the best of course when we pulled up to her barracks and saw her running down the stairs to greet us, or the smile on her face when she opened the door to her room and saw us.
Tomorrow, as we complete our trip to my sister's in TN, we'll go through some of the towns where Laurie would lead us to her favorite places for dinner - O'Charleys being one of them. Of course we will be in a hurry to get to our destination so no stopping at O'Charleys for lunch, but that won't stop the memories from coming back. Mmmmm...those fresh rolls, still warm from the oven and basted with honey butter.
Life is good - and memories sure help to make it so. Tomorrow when we go through Louisville, I will remember the night in 2002 when we took Laurie to pick up her new boyfriend from the airport. We were all there for the wedding of a friend of Laurie's and it would be the first time we would meet this new young man Laurie seemed quite smitten with. His name was Stephen. Laurie glowed all over as we walked through the airport with him, and I knew this was the man she would marry - and told her very quietly at the baggage claim that I thought I had just met my future son in law. We both cried a bit....and only 3 months later, he proposed to her.
See - does a mom know, or what? Sometimes, YES, we do. Isn't that cool?
The memories and the blessings keep flooding back - as though it was yesterday.
Thank you, Lord. For those days and all the days since.
God bless our troops, and those who wait.

Reconnecting.

We've been here in Western NY for a week now - visiting with family and friends...squeezing in as many visits as we can before we leave next week. How good it is to see the autumn colors here in WNY. Sure, we saw them along the way too, but they somehow can't compare to autumn colors on the trees that line the streets of your hometown. Last week Monday, after we got settled at the campground, we headed over to Scott's place. He had just walked Veronica home from school and she was having some pudding in the kitchen. Quietly, Ron walked to the kitchen doorway and stood there as she was intent on eating her pudding. Scott said, "Binker, look who's here," and she looked up. When she saw Ron, she whispered, "Papa!" and by the time she was halfway across the room she was crying and laughing at the same time. She leapt into Ron's arms to hug him and then she saw me and tried to hug us both at the same time. Hard for her chubby little 5 year old arms, but she did a very good job of it. It was a moment to cherish and there wasn't a dry eye to be found. Scott looks awesome - he got his hair cut recently for Locks for Love - it had been really loooong - trust me on that...but he looks great and is happy he had it done. A smile on his face often now, he is making good choices and some really nice changes which will make life easier - and more affordable - for him. He doesn't have a whole lot of extra cash, but is getting better at managing his budget. This will make leaving next week a little bit easier on this mom's heart and mind.

We've been making some great improvements to the RV as well...putting in a small electric fireplace and a catalytic heater, both of which will help us keep the RV warm at a lower cost. The furnaces which come with RVs generally operate on propane and are vented outside. This means that half the heat escapes through the outside vent and is using a lot of propane. So we have two other means of heating the trailer now which will cost less and will more than pay for the investment within the first year. Since we will be in Arizona during the winter, we'll need to use the heat then too. So Ron has done an awesome job improving our coziness factor. The nights and early mornings can get downright cold at this time of year. We'll continue to use the furnace for heating the bathroom in the morning or at night when we shower - it makes the bathroom like a sauna. This I can handle. :)

I'm a sweatshirt or flannel shirt girl, actually. I like to be cozy. As soon as the temps go below 55, that's cold enough for a sweatshirt or one of Ron's flannel shirts. How funny it is that he has three bags of flannel shirts waiting to go in the closet - and I already know my favorites - the ones I love to put on over a turtleneck. Those will hang all the way over to the left of Ron's shirts; right next to where my winter clothes start. I figure someone should wear them 'cause he can't possibly use them all.

Old friends, new friends - people who have blessed my life for various periods of time...seeing so many of them all this last week has been such a blessing.
And I continue to be amazed at the people who enter my life via the wonder of internet. Today I got an email from an old friend - (not old in the literal sense) -he used to date my sister in high school. It was great to hear from you again, Bruce...keep in touch, ok? Funny how people re-connect isn't it? You log into classmates.com and find so many people who played an important part of your life when you were young. Kids you saw every day - with whom you used to walk the halls of high school between classes when you were supposed to be hurrying to the next class; carrying on conversations which caused you to slide into your seat just as the bell rang. Good times, not always easy, but a time when it was easier to be a teenager than it is now. The world was still outside the high school doors, and we went back out into it at the close of each day, but somehow it didn't offer the temptations that teens deal with today...maybe they were there, but we didn't know about them. Or knew, but weren't tempted by them. Or were tempted, but didn't give in. Kind of complicated, huh?

One last thing that I thought would be the most difficult part of our trip back home...seeing the house that was our home for 29 years. The lady has made some pretty significant changes - at least on the outside, but it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Somehow, I think this is because the years we had there with the kids - including our grandkids - were so happy. It doesn't bother me to see the changes because the memories of our time there are still so fresh. I wish the new owner many years of blessing in the house which is now her home.

God has been gracious to us - and to our family. So much ahead...and so many blessings we have to be grateful for - including all of you.

May He bless our troops - and those who wait.

Wonderful Friends, and A Great Place on a Great Lake.

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted here. We've been on the road since September 16th - have seen some of the most beautiful areas of our country. It's been a great trip so far - and thankfully, we will be in Buffalo by Monday.

The last couple of days we have been in Milwaukee visiting good friends. Nancy, her husband Jim, their great kids and grandkids, and our friend Wendy as well. Nancy and Wendy and I have been friends for a long time - all of us being Military Moms...Nancy is a veteran's mom now but the connection remains. We are three moms who met in our military moms chat room, and will always be friends. We see each other infrequently, but our friendship is steadfast. And every time we do get together, as my friend Wendy said today, it's like we pick up where we left off. And that's a very good thing.

And so, Nancy gave us a tour of Milwaukee today - and a great tour it was. We saw the beautiful old buildings downtown, the waterfront which could teach many major cities a lot about how to build up one of their greatest assets - Lake Michigan.

Tonight, we prepare to leave this city - packing up again and putting breakables in their travel mode - wrapped in dish towels and ready to sit in the kitchen sink for a few hours while they bump along on the highway. We'll head out soon after rush hour traffic has thinned out a bit, and travel another day as we head closer to home....well, what we always will consider our home..until we are done traveling and are in an apartment somewhere.

My friend Nancy always tells us Milwaukee is a great place on a great lake. I agree - but it's people like her and Jim, and my other friend Wendy who make it so.

Military moms have a kinship - we have been brought together by our children's service, and blessed by God to be friends forever. I have so many friends - GOOD friends - with whom I share this bond. Some are moms of soldiers, others spouses, even widows of soldiers who sacrificed all they had to give.

I cherish you all.

Blessings my friends.