Second to Last

After a night of my stomach being hugely bothered (I think it was the dessert at the restaurant that threw my carefully balanced innards over the edge), I slept in until after 10.  Grateful for my Kindle which kept me company in the bathroom off and on all night.  Note to self:  the kids bathroom is freezing - and we have to get the garage insulated 'cuz I don't know how B. survived two weeks in his freezing bedroom.  So, so cold in the rooms over the garage).  B. and I moved our breakfast to lunch and had sushi instead of Perko's cafe.  So now we have 'two places' that he considers 'ours'...though he also enjoyed Mikasa once with his dad this visit, too.  J. fixed all of us a delicious brunch so it seemed wise to go to lunch vs. another breakfast.

He also made my day by agreeing to watch "Frozen" with me while we enjoyed a leisurely morning. He hadn't seen it before and it was fun watching him get the humor throughout the movie.  And he willingly tolerated my singing the songs as they played.  I found out later that he bought a pair of totally noise cancelling headphones at WalMart this week - and was relieved to realize that he hadn't been wearing them during my singing.  Though he was wearing computer headphones off and on 'cuz he's taking some online classes for his job and he has a lot of them to get through by Monday. Always the procrastinator.

Loved talking to him.  He's such a great conversationalist.  Asks about my music tastes and we both marvel about how you can Google any lyric, identify the song and purchase on iTunes in a matter of minutes.  How great it is to hear such a variety of things in everyday life - television shows; waiting in line at Starbucks.  Even sitting in the restaurant trying to figure out what the song was. He asked if I was listening to country music and I confessed that no, I don't much - though I do tend to listen to the country station(s) he listens to when he's here 'cuz they are in my car when I start to drive it again and 'his' music gives me a few days that I feel closer to him after he's left.  Then we talked about my job and about how long I will still work.  We drove out to one of the construction projects in our district so he could see the new school buildings going in.  It was a nice time and I'm always glad we have a little mom and son time before he heads out.

He confirmed with me (for the first time - I know he's told his Dad before) that it looks like his unit will likely be deployed to Iraq in the fall.  He said he didn't want me to worry about it - still quite a bit of time before it might happen and nothing's ever for certain in the Army until they are on the plane or otherwise officially en-route.  It's the Army.  Nothing's for sure.  But he thinks it's likely.  He said he's heard that his time there will be 9 months to a year which means if it happens, he likely won't be here for next Christmas.  I reassure him that I won't fret about it - and that if it's his unit's turn to go, then they should.

He is enthusiastic about his career and from the sound of it, I think it's likely he will re-enlist for sure and possibly for a longer term.  He does enjoy it - and he's toying with the idea of being an officer at some point.  He likes to lead and he's good at it - he's always just had a way about him that gets other people to do what he wants them to do.  The only person he can't seem to influence is his brother. Never his brother.  But others, he can manage.  He just has a lot of things/roles he wants to accomplish before he considers moving into officer-ship - and he's got plenty of time to consider all those roles.

He heads out tomorrow around 1 for the airport and we have no idea when we'll see him again.  He's back in the state in May possibly for some training exercises but we know from past experience that doesn't mean we will see him nor that he'll have any time before or after the training begins and ends.

I made a quick run to the grocery store and bought the minimal essentials...didn't go all the way to Winco and you sure notice the difference in prices at the store closer to us.  I am starting the year attempting to eat better (I know....I know....I always say that).....so procured a few quick things to have on hand.  Prociutto wrapped around pear slices was a perfectly delicious dinner for me.  The sushi lunch was pretty late and I feel full without eating a big dinner.

Tomorrow, I have to plan wardrobe and breakfast and lunches for the week.  Trying something new including making iced tea at home each morning and packing breakfast and lunches.  Giving up my McDonald's drive thru time which is 10 minutes more sleep. Sort of - I will have to get up earlier or give up computer time in the mornings to wedge in the new stuff I'm adding but then again, I have the world's best personal assistant every morning and I know he will help me.

I dread the Monday morning alarm with every ounce of my being - and B. and I agreed that we will be thinking of each other as we arise, knowing we are both suffering together.  That will help.  He's going to head out when he gets up for a long, fast run - I won't be doing that.

OH - he tried really hard to get me to go CrossFit here in town.  Suggested I go there, tell them I'm his Mom, ask for a specific trainer and try it.  He's a huge CrossFit fan and has converted many other friends into going - he thinks if I try it, I will love it.  So I'll think about it.  I have a lot of work friends who do Cross Fit and frankly, I don't want to work out with people I work with.  No way.

It's sure been a lovely holiday season and it's been fun having the whole family together.  I wish the two brothers had made more time to spend together but they both are out and about more often than not.  That's OK.

Chloe is feeling much better.  Her tummy looks good and she doesn't seem bothered by it.  She's not licking or chewing at her stitches at all so far.  She even got a toy today and played a little bit.  Glad she's on the mend.  J. will call on Monday to find out if she will need an appointment to get the stitches removed....we think she will.  The only concern is she hasn't pooped since Monday and that seems like a long time to go without going.  We are feeding her less food than usual - but still.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

The pool is having issues - it drained out 3 inches of water from a leak somewhere.  Hoping J. can figure it out soon.  The house is 14 years old now and it feels like it's all going to heck in a hand basket now - at a time when repair budget is non existent.  Oh well.

All good things must come to an end.  But 2015 feels like we're headed into still more good things and I feel great about that.  It is going to be a wonderful year, I hope.