Bloom

My life has been one defined by constants. Constantly uprooting. Constantly reestablishing routines, friendships, and hang-outs. Constantly in some state of spring cleaning. Constantly stressing. You'd think that almost four decades of this kind of life I would want to shout from the rooftops, "Stop the constants!" like a crazy woman with her hair on fire. Yep. You would think that. Truthfully, I do say that. I just don't take to the shouting route to deal with the crazy constants. O.K., maybe every now and then you'll hear that scream escape.

I choose to fertilize what I do have. Roots. Yes, I said roots. They may be yanked up and at times look a little shabby, but with a little tender care, our family roots are back and ready to grow stronger wherever we have transplanted ourselves. That root system is what allows us to grow; allows us to enjoy our new duty station for all that it can provide; allows us to cry during the moments we are missing a previous duty station ( trust me, no matter how good the new assignment is, you're still going to have to deal with misty eyes when we think of what we left behind.); allows the constants of change to be a little bit more manageable. Our roots are made from our faith, our family, and our devotion to living our life with "no regrets" and as few "we wish we wouldas" as possible.

We've been here four months. It's been four months of trying to fertilize the roots of our family and of ourselves. I think we're managing. We've established some level of routine. We've begun exploring our new city and state. We're reconnecting with family and seeing friends we haven't seen in many, many years. We're becoming more involved in our church and finding the joys of a new parish. It's been an amazing high of emotions: exhilarating to be in such a diverse richly steeped in history place, lonely at times with not knowing who to call or who is going to stop and become a new friend, frightening at others as we realize we've been gone from the mainland America a long time and a lot has changed, and down right confusing. (Seriously...why did that person decide to honk...why does the name of a street change even if you don't turn...is going 10 miles per hour over speed-limit postings really not fast enough?)

This is not the "paradise" we left behind. It is, however, our new normal. It has it's own charm...like seasons, choices, and distance to take road trips without running quickly into the ocean. Life is good. We're still tending the soil around around our recently uprooted roots. We're still having the normal pains of moving to a new place. We're still replenishing.

No matter what, we are blooming where we have been planted. Only strong roots can produce the lovely blooms. All it takes is for a moment to stop and look at the buds beginning to spring forth. Bloom.

Thankful in Paradise

Spiced pumpkin creamer is blending perfectly with my cawfee filling my cup, the smells of pumpkin French toast wafts through the air, the kids are giving HH and me the countdown for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and HH is snuggled up beside me.

We may not have any of our household goods right now, but nevertheless, we are thankful in paradise. This marks our fifth Thanksgiving spent on the island. Each has been different from the others, but each has provided wonderful memories for us to reflect upon.

2008- Our 1st on island. HS was 6 and in 1st grade. LD was almost ready to celebrate he 11 month milestone...she crawled like she was ready for baby Olympics. HH was working on the watch and was lucky enough to not be standing the watch. He took a few cat naps since he had just finished the night watch cycle. We headed over to our DF's hale on Kaneohe and enjoyed a fried turkey and trimmings, laughter, and friendship.

2009- Blessed to be able to take some leave and island hop for a "Maui Thanksgiving." We drive the crazy, curvy road to Hana with our 2nd grader and 2 year old kids looking rather green in the back seat of our rental. We devoured our turkey sandwiches and enjoyed toasting our clan with champagne after getting the kids down for bed as the ocean crashed onto shore below our balcony.

2010- HS is deep into the world of being in 3rd grade and amazed us with his LEGO creations while an almost three year-old LD is in love with twirling and pretending she is a ballerina. Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is a hoot as HS pretends to march in the bands, LD is a cheerleader, and HH and me are dreaming of seeing Broadway shows. We believed this would be our last on island and were amazed at how quickly the tour had gone. We hosted our DF's for Thanksgiving and were so thankful that we had three years to share with their amazing family, but knew that within a month, we would have a tearful goodbye.

2011- Amazed at our luck in being able to not only stay for an additional tour, but honored at the job HH was selected to do in a new command. He would say during our toast, that "God was indeed amazing. We are healthy and we are continually thankful for moments we have as a clan."
We shared Thanksgiving with others from the command at the Nimitz House. We will never forget watching HS and LD play in the side yard and the phenomenal group of military members we were honored to share the day with.

2012- The pages have not yet been written on this year's Thanksgiving. HS is now an almost my height child. No doubt, he will pass me by quickly. He is a talented young man and he is having an amazing 5th grade year. LD is almost 5 and is a gem. She's in love with her big brother and daddy, thinks I am pretty cool, and enjoys just being within reach of us.

I feel blessed. I am blessed. I can't imagine not leading the life we do. It is not an easy one, the military lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. It is an amazing life. I am thankful that we have had the four years we were given in paradise. The echoes we hear in the house resound with one note..joy. We loved being here, loved watching HH put his hear and soul into his work, loved watching our kids be able to enjoy the beauty of the islands. We are thankful. Thankful we had the opportunity to live here and build our friendships, watch our roots grow stronger as a family, and experience a place most only dream about being able to visit.

'Twas the Night

Before packout
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Except for the spouse.

The stockings weren't washed yet
The fridge not yet bare
But still, in six hours
Men with vans would be there.

The children were nestled
Like cubs in their lair,
While their mother picked Lego
blocks
out of their hair.

When down from the wall
There crashed with a clatter,
A large jigsaw puzzle;
But what did it matter?

For all the spouse saw
Wherever she turned,
Was a mess so gigantic
She thought, "Slash and burn!"

And suddenly something
Just snapped from within
When she realized she'd never be
"Neat as a pin."

She set out that instant
And returned in an hour
With a small Cat bulldozer,
300 horsepower.

Then she fired it up
And aimed at the toys
And the sound of the pileup
Was a joyful noise.

The study was targeted
For her next caper
As she plowed at full speed
Towards the mountain of paper.

By now she had wakened
Her family from sleep.
And they stared at their mom
Without making a peep.

But their father said,
"I should have listened before,
When you said you'd go crazy
With one packout more."

The spouse did not hear.
She had gone in reverse
And was happily mashing
Her over crammed purse.

Her eyes, how they twinkled!
Her expression bewitching!
How merry she was
As she bulldozed the kitchen!

When she finished, there lay
In a pile on the deck
The remains of what could be called
"Household Effects."

"In just a few hours,"
She said, smiling with glee,
"Men with vans come for you,
Men with white coats come for me."

And I heard her exclaim
As she drove down the road,
"Happy Packout to All!
And damn, that felt good!"

-f. kelly

High Score Halloween

Each year, our clan has a great time preparing for Halloween. What once began because we lived in a tight knit neighborhood has sprung into a yearly event even with a decrease in many of us dressing up and having a ball with the kids. Now, the kids look forward to what HH and I are going to be. This year, we took on an athletic theme..complete with a goalpost...I'd say we scored a fantastic Halloween memory of our last one in "paradise."