happy day!

AB Porter, Robert T

Got to talk to Robert for 45 minutes today!   He is doing sooo great!   His flight is probably going to get Warrior Flight and is in the running for the PT award and Honor Flight(no flight in the history of Lackland has gotten all 3).   He got just over 9 minutes on his 1.5 mile run, the 3rd highest score on his written exam and is eligible for Honor Grad.   Only 4 people from his flight of 56 or so will get it, and if more than that qualify I'm not sure how the MTI will choose.   There is one more locker evaluation to cut down the competition, but Robert says he is sooo stinking good at rolling shirts that he rolls for other people sometimes.   So proud of him.   He asked me to bring him chocolate... Honestly, who is THAT good at BOOT CAMP!?  3 more days until I get to kiss that face!

poems...

I'm not an ARMY wife, but I still loved these poems another wife shared.  I don't know if there is any other job your husband can have that defines you as much as the Military.

The Silent Ranks 
Author: Unknown

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens
But I am in the Army in the ranks rarely seen
I have no rank upon my shoulders - salutes I do not give
But the military world is the place where I live
I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line
But my job is just as tough. I'm the one that's left behind
My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man
And the call to serve his country not all can understand
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me
I love the man I married, Soldiering is his life
But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Army Wife



“The Final Inspection”
~Author Unknown

The soldier stood and face God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass.
‘Step forward now, Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?’
The soldier squared his shoulder and said,
‘No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
Because those of us who carry guns
Can’t always be a saint.
I’ve had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But I never took a penny
That wasn’t mine to keep…
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills just got too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.
I know I don’t deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.
If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had to much,
But if you don’t, I’ll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly
For the judgment of his God.
‘Step forward now, you Soldier,
You’re borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve served your time in Hell.’

bragging time...

I got a call from the Hubs today.  It was downright therapeutic to hear his voice.  He is amazing and I am sooo proud of him.  What kind of person is actually GOOD at boot camp?!  Turns out Hubs is!

Hubs passed the basic physical training requirements for BMT at his 2 week evaluation.  He is now working towards a WarHawk, which is the highest level of honors for the PT graduation.  This award is fantastic because it means we get to spend an extra day with him over the graduation weekend.

Hubs is gaining weight!  For any of you that know him, this is significant.  He had to get a weight waiver from the doctor that performed his physical before he was allowed to join.  He has gained 20 pounds in 6 weeks, most of it muscle.  Excited to see him? Yes I am.

Hubs has always been good at school.  BMT(Basic Military Training) is no different.  He gets most of the answers right and is good at memorizing...whatever it is that Trainees have to memorize.

Since he knows the answers to the questions, Hubs has been made BEAST Monitor.  This means he is in charge of a group of guys during their deployment simulation campout of doom.  If they do well they have another chance to earn an extra town pass, so here's hoping!

He has been able to stay under the radar, besides one smiling incident and misplacing his fingernail clippers the first week.  This means that, besides those two times, he has not earned himself any extra push-ups, gotten his phone privileges taken away, or put on Latrine Duty (you do NOT want that duty!).

He flew through the obstacle course and has become a very good runner.  At his 2 week evaluation he ran 1.5 miles in 9 minutes and 40 seconds, and is just getting faster.  He is just 6 seconds behind the fastest guy in the flight.  This is awesome to me because if he is fast he gets to run at the front of the pack during the Airmans' Run(the first event of graduation weekend, and the first glimpse we get of our Airmen), which drastically improves the chance that I will be able to pick him out of the crowd.

I know that if you don't know AB Porter, than you could care less about this post.  But I really want to remember how well he has done.

And now, a sad/funny story as related to me in a letter, because Grandpa will laugh, and so will my FAJ(you know who you are :)

"Today our MTI (military training instructor) was checking people's drawers to see what we could improve on.  Well, as he was going around, all of a sudden he yells "DID A FREAKING CAT CRAP IN YOUR DRAWER?!?"  He then pulled out the skid-markedest pair of undies I have ever seen.  He then made the trainee parade them around the dorm so everyone could see them, then he made him go to the OTHER dorm across the call and show all of them, then he made him throw away his skid-marked panties(AB Porter's words, not mine! Whitey tighties are standard issue).  I haven't laughed so hard for the entire time I've been here."

Dear Skid(don't worry, no one outside those 2 dorms knows who you are) Thank you for the laugh.  It let me know that my hubs is still himself, for which I apologize.  He hasn't got an ounce of sympathy in his body.  I'm sorry for your embarrassment, the cafeteria food is not your fault.

Warm Fuzzies

The other week I waited by the phone all day for a call from my Airman.  It didn't come.  This is not really uncommon; you never know whether they will call or not.  I was sad, but I got over it and started hoping for next week.

On Monday we headed out to get some things done.  Right as we got to the store my cell phone rang.  That ring I don't hear nearly often enough.  Hub's ring tone!  Since he left, my heart jumps into my throat every time I hear it.  The call was so surprising that tears sprung to my eyes(lets be honest, it happens often.  Pregnancy will do that).  It turns out that Hub's flight had the chance to earn 10 extra minutes of phone time if they wanted to wait a few days to call.  Of course they jumped at the chance, but I had no way of knowing.

So here I was in the store for my extra-long phone call.  Muffin was getting fidgety sitting in the cart and I couldn't hear very well.  As I talked a couple in the store noticed that I was A)on an important phone call B)on the verge of tears and C) losing the battle of entertainment and distraction with Muffin.  They offered to take over his entertainment for a minute.  The showed him books and zoomed him back and forth on crazy cart rides and kept him busy for a few minutes while I finished my phone call.  They saved me!  It was just a little thing but it meant so much to be able to talk to Hubs.

When I finished I thanked them and told them that I had gotten a surprise phone call from Basic Training.  They were glad they could help and went on their way, and have probably forgotten about it by now.  But that little act of service meant the world to me.  They were at the store to get something done, but still took a few minutes to help a stranger with her hands full.

I don't remember the last time I saw someone in need.  I don't remember the last time I saw past the end of my shopping cart.  I have been pretty wrapped up and preoccupied with what is going on in my life right now.  I think that sometimes, that's ok.  My entire everything is going towards taking care of my home and family and I just don't have a lot leftover.  Maybe sometimes you serve, and sometimes you let other people serve you.  Or maybe I'm just being near-sighted...

This is us missing you!