My Dog Wants To Know Why I'm Home
Well, I've been home sick today. Yes, really. Wasn't feeling real well yesterday, but after taking the trash to the curb, I sat down to have my morning coffee, and after one sip...bang zoom, I set a standing broad jump over the dog to pray to the porcelain god. Now either I really need to clean out that coffee maker, or it's the flu. Momma says "you're hot" I gave her my best sly smile and said "wanna make it 8?" She says "bed" and of course I had to say "wow you're fast!" I got her point when she said "you kiss me you're dead". She didn't like my comment about "sharing" either. All the romance was out the window when I went flying for the bathroom again, especially after being told I sounded like "a seal making a mating call in an elevator shaft". Kinda takes the edge off the old libido, especially since she was pretty accurate.
I called into work and got the usual "if I get sick from you yada yada; hope you feel better" schtick. I guess they knew I was really sick since it was a slow day at work and it's raining outside to beat the band. I trotted off to bed under protest that I would be fine (don't want to waste a sick day actually being sick now do I?). I hate it when she's right. which is usually half the time, her half and mine. Several hours later, here I am.
I guess I hadn't realized I had not posted an article in quite awhile. Not that I have anything earth shaking to say. Catching up I guess. So what's new here? If you're interested I'll give you the highlights (if you're not, there are some great discussions going on elsewhere on J/U):
I had 4 stents put in my heart. Weird thing was, I didn't have any symptoms anything was wrong. In fact I passed my treadmill stress test quite handily. The heart scan caught it. Four seriously clogged arteries, 2 75%, 2 90%. My cardiologist says I'm fine now. If I'm fine, why do I have to keep taking medication (whining)? It did shake up my life viewpoint a bit. Realizing one's mortality has a tendency to do that. Especially coupled with:
I turned 50 last month. Half a century. I don't feel 50 at all. When I look in the mirror, same old ugly mug looking back. Heck, I still have my teeth and my hair. I don't even have a whole lot of grey or silver to speak of. A few scattered in my sideburns, and a dime sized patch on the left side of my chin when I let the whiskers grow (momma hates that hey hey hey {inference implied}).
My son Mike came home from Iraq the end of November, in one piece thanks be to God. That was one long deployment. He was in Baquba at FOB Warhorse. He's a Counter Intel Agent. Both he and us did not get a whole lot of sleep this past year. He was home a few days in December before being joined by my new daughter-in-law. He didn't talk much, at least not to everyone. We had a late night father/son talk over several beers. It'll be some time before he gets some of that stuff out of his head. His triumphal moment came when they nailed Al Zarquawi. His team developed the Intel that took him down. Let's just say the stories in the press weren't exactly what happened. He was quite upset that the guys "in the black suits" took over the operation, and his team didn't get to see "the money shot" after all their work. Soldier humor.
I gained a daughter-in-law. Mike met Mina at Ft. Carson before they deployed to Iraq. She was stationed up at Balad Airbase, close enough to him for a romance to blossom, obviously. Leave it to Mike to make the best of it. Mina is an Arabic Linguist. She's a very nice girl. We spent Christmas together with them, and the other kids have adopted her (thankyou God; I've seen way to many familys where they don't like the in-law/out-laws). Then they were off to California to meet her parents, and then on to Hawaii to see her sister (Air Force) and get married "on the beach". We had mixed feelings about that, but understood why. Mike has orders to MD, and Mina does not. They had to get married and into the Army Family Program before April, otherwise she's on her way back to Iraq. To date that still has not happened. I will intervene (with their consent) by contacting our congressman later this week (that's another story fo here when it plays out). They have planned a Church Wedding in the Chapel at Capistrano, CA for October. That we will be attending (hope her folks are ready for this group!).
We survived Breast cancer. It was a very tense time. A lot of prayers and some excellent physicians and we made it out the other end ok. We have some issues to deal with since we just got the report from the geneticist. Looks like she may have to have her ovaries removed. But being the stoic that she is, she's kind of looking forward to not dealing with the monthly. I keep a close eye on her. She set a date to retire, if the Army lets her anyway. She hit her 20 last fall, and she's tired. It's time.
I finally got a laptop for Christmas. I didn't have a clue until the day the better half and number 2 daughter were getting ready to go shopping. I wouldn't have at all except daughter number 2 was wise enough to realize shopping for that sort of thing for a geek was going to be daunting. She bluntly came to me and said " I need a list of features, or mom's picking it out"! I knew there was a reason I like that girl! A laptop is no big deal I know, but I never had one of my own. I had one at work several times. The first one we got went to mom. The second to her parents. The third to daughter number 2 when she graduated from High School. The 4th to the youngest son (in fairness he saved up half). And the 5th went to son number 3 in a drug deal with mom I still don't understand entirely. All I know is I was roped into "shopping" with mom and Rob, and ended up in Circuit City paying, and I am almost positive, more than half of a new laptop. I'm not certain, but I believe there was actually a 6th as well. I remember a care package going to Iraq that felt a little heavy and looked a little large to be sardines, candy and baby wipes. I just know it was coincidental that all of a sudden I was swapping emails with Mike and chatting on Instant Messenger more frequently than I had before that package.
So I fianlly got my own. And I upgraded it to Vista. My wife tells me it's great. She'll let me know if there's any compatibility problems with her "games". Ahem.
That's about it I guess. I still have a headache, but I'm hungry. I think I'll go chance something bland. I'm having withdrawel from coffee though. I'm enjoying the quiet for awhile. Mom's still at work, all the kids are off doing their stuff. It's been that way most of the day, except for a brief tornado that blew through named son number last and my Iranian half step son Kia. Kia and Spencer have been buddies since time began. I honestly think they're sharing the name Kiaspencer or Spencerkia. Kia's a great kid, when his dad Reza isn't off to Iran visiting family. Kia spends, I swear, half the month here, and Spencer, half the month there. Kia is a sometimes Muslim. In other words, nonpracticing. He's only Muslim if he doesn't like what we're having for dinner. Unless of course if it's ribs. Then he's "just American". He visited Iran once with his dad. He didn't like it much, except for getting to fire an AK 47 in his grandmother's backyard. I don't want to know. Here he is just my 12 year old Iranian half stepson. Strike that. 12 year old half step son. More another time. I'm off to risk some soup.