New roles

So yesterday, I added a new role to my life.  Navy Mom.  My son is officially a US Navy Sailor.  Unlike my other son, who is in the Army Reserves, this one is active duty.  This means he will be gone somewhere protecting and serving our country full-time.  This is my BABY boy.  The child that was home the longest.  Yesterday I watched him graduate from basic training.  I cried.  Not tears of sadness but tears of pride & joy.  Some may not understand that.  My tears of joy were in that I knew that my son had found his calling in life.  After muddling through a semester of college, he realized it wasn't for him.  At least not yet.  We allowed him to try to sort it out & figure out what he wanted to do by not abiding by our own rules.  Our rule was, if you are in college, you live at home free of charge.  If you aren't you pay rent or move out.  We knew he wasn't ready to be on his own so we didn't push it but we hoped he'd figure it out.  He did.  Yesterday, I knew without a shadow of a doubt, my son had found his thing.  He was so full of excitement and enthusiasm !  It was something I had rarely seen from him.  He shined.  I could feel his sense of pride.  I knew that he had accomplished a huge goal.  Getting through basic training is no small feat.  He did it.  My little blonde haired, green eyes, sweet boy is now a US Navy Seaman Apprentice.  That boy is still there, but there is a new shine about him brought on only by the accomplishments he has made in the last 2 months.  I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes in the future.  I never doubted him or what he was capable of.  He told me that he doubted himself, I told him that I didn't doubt him for a second.  I knew that he could overcome whatever challenge came his way because he'd already overcame such huge hurdles in his life.  I told him that while he might have doubted himself, I never had a doubt that he'd make it.  I could not be more proud of my sailor.  I can't wait to see where he goes from here!

My most brilliant ideas come to me when I'm away from my computer

Today, while enjoying a bottle of wine on my deck in the sunshine with one of my nearest & dearest...I uttered the phrase "I think of the most brilliant things when I'm away from  my computer."  Seriously...I get flooded with the best blog ideas and then I sit down to blog and uh...hello....nothing....Yup.  Today a conversation that started with a bottle of wine encompassed everything from gay marriage, military healthcare, puberty, forgiveness and beyond.  One of my best friends in the entire world, who gets me in a way that few others do....talk about a blessing!  

True Friends

Through the years I've had many friends.  I thought they were true friends, turns out most of them have been fair weather friends.  Some using you up & casting you aside, some have stuck a knife in my back, but there are those few rare gems that come into your life that continue to sparkle through all the muck that life hands out.  I have a few of those.  Those who accept me for who I truly am, those who allow me to share every dirty detail of my life without judgment.  Who aren't afraid to say what they think and give me permission and validation for my own feelings.  Those rare gems are true treasures.  In the last couple of years, I've had my share of trials and along the way, I have made a great group of friends who I love dearly.  In that group, there is one gem that shines brighter than all the others.  She is always there for me with loving words and the gift of laughter.  When I struggle with things, she lays it out there for me and helps me to see things from another perspective.  Then she makes me laugh.  She's seen me through some of my lowest points as well as some of my highest.  My life would be so very different without her and I am so thankful to have one gem that shines above all of the rest.

Wow...has it been that long

No posts since September 2012!  I guess my life has been busy.  Time to get back to it.  Let's see since September too much has happened to try to rehash and the reality of it is that I barely remember the activities of yesterday so I'm not even going to try to remember what has happened since September.  We'll just move forward!