Mamaw & Papaw Pruitt's

We had a cookout at my hubby's Dad & Step-Mother's house in North Carolina Mother's Day Weekend. We had a great time & it was wonderful to get to see everyone. I had not seen them since my hubby & I were dating. The pics are pf my hubby's Dad, his brother, him, and his sisters.

I am glad we got to spend the weekend with family. It was fun!

Last Day

My hubby just got back from being away from me for a month with work. This was our last outting, our last day together before he left. As you can see we were surrounded by the nature of South West Georgia. The pic of my hubby & one of him showing some love to the face of Saddam Hussein. This was at a museum, We had fun just hanging out & I tried not to cry.

South Carolina

This past weekend, Mother's Day Weekend 2010, I went thru South Carolina for my first time ever. We stopped at a Plantation & took some pics. It was really pretty. I found out what a jogging board is, looked at the State flag. It looks like something Muslim to me,but I know it isn't.

I've included pics of the sign outside the plantation we visited, a pic of my gorgeous husband, a pic of me (no makeup on, yikes!), a pic of the tree outside the plantation. And pic of the jogging board that I found out what that is. Wow! That was fun to bounce on! When I get a home, if it has a porch, I want one! Too fun!

My hubby got home from being away a month and the next morning here we were. Oh, I also tasted Cherry Cider & Peach Cider. They were both very good. I had never heard of either of them before. The cherry wasn't as sweet as the peach, but I liked them both.

May 5

My trouble is insomnia. If I had always slept properly, I'd never have written a line. -- Louis-Ferdinand Celine

I was up past midnight not being able to sleep of course. I tossed & turned, flipped & switched, huffed & puffed, got up & paced, went to the bathroom, paced some more, layed back down, started the whole process over again until about 5 this morning. I have been up since. I have re-organized, or organized as it is in my case, the bags I have been living out of for the last month. I hop on the computer & there is this quote. I thought, how appropriate.

My month without my husband is almost up, almost over, we're almost back together physically speaking. Maybe that is why I can't sleep. I can't tell you how much beter I sleep when he is there. I never thought I would say that about anyone. I was an only child, always slept alone. I didn't even like it when I had friends spend the night & slept in the same bed. I didn't like anyone being near me at bedtime & if someone actually rolled over & touched me I was furious & wanted to go get in the spare bedroom & usually did. What happened to me? I still prefer a king size bed. I don't sleep well with someone touching me, but I sleep better if we cuddle before hand. I guess it gives my mind the illusion that everything is ok & it can shut down & let me sleep. Just trying to use my amateur psycho-analization skills. That may not be it at all.

Like I said, I am glad that I will be in one place for about three weeks. Maybe I will feel like I am not living out of a bag or two, but probably not. Still virtually homeless for a while. This too is temporary. I will miss m son who will be staying here. We celebrated Mothers Day a little early just hanging out together. And I will miss having access to a computer. It has been nice to be able to pick it up & use it at any time. Made me feel like I had an outlet to be able to write whether anyone reads or not. I will miss it. But this too is temporary, right? In a few short months when we are stationary for the coming year, we are still hoping that my son & I both have part time jobs, mine maybe full time. It won't take long to save up for a decent computer. I would rather do without until I can save up to have something I really want instead of spending half or three quarters as much for something I don't want & will resent using. That has never made sense to me. I have been doing without for this long, another couple of months isn't going to break me, right. It might however make a larger break in my communication on my blog. Sorry about that.

So these are the early morning ramblings of an Army Wife. Today is laundry, packing, get it all done Last minute junk day before I head out tomorrow morning. I just hope I am this awake tomorrow morning this early That won't happen though. that would be too much like my body NOT working against me.

With my about to be seeing my DH for the first time in a month, I wish I felt better about myself. I need a haircut, color, nails done, pedicure, and a facial & massage & wax wouldn't hurt either. I feel like I am coming apart at the seams. What I wouldn't give to feel better about myself at this point . . . .

April's Army Wife Life

April is now gone. As I enter May, I haven't seen my husband in over three weeks. I am counting down the days. As I type I am enjoying the sweet Alabama rain. Before it started, the air was hot, thick, muggy. The rain came & cooled things off, washed some of the green sticky coating of pollen off of everything. I am on the deck here at my parents house listening to the sweet music of the rain dancing off the leaves of all these trees. It is intoxicating. The whole yard here is nothing but trees, a totally natural yard. When you are on the deck here looking out, you just see the trees. Makes you feel sort of like George of the Jungle (or Georgina, maybe for those of us of the female persuasion). The privacy these trees offer is a rare find.

May is not just a new beginning for school to be out at the end. For us it is a season of change also. We have a lot of changes going on. A lot of activity. Our ever-changing Army life affords us many opportunities. I have less than a week left here in Alabama & then I will be in Georgia the remainder of the month. We will be doing so much back & forth this summer, I won't know whether I am coming or going. I will just have to stop & catch up with myself at some point.

I housesat/dogsat for a friend last month & thoroughly enjoyed it. A reprieve. It started to feel like home after a month.

We are in limbo right now. We gave up our house on post. I don't think either of us liked it from the start. It was not a good experience for us. When we are back there, we will live off post. I think we will both enjoy it more off post. I am trying to keep a positive attitude about it. I know it will be better off post. Now if I could just be closer to civilization, I don't think I would mind it at all.

As you move around a little, get out of your comfort zone, you realize things about yourself. I now know, I am a suburb gal. I NEED a suburb to survive. I feel like I'm suffocating if there isn't a mall or a Target nearby. Funny that I was raised an hour away from a decent mall. You would think it was just what I was raised with, but no. But it is what I have gotten used to. I crave conveniences. I like having a Starbucks near whether I have the money to go or not is irrelevant. I have the option there. I have also learned that not all small towns are friendly, especially military towns. Why? I'm not so sure yet. Maybe I have some more growing to do before I figure that one out. You'd think they'd be especially friendly. Not the case. Also learned that just because it is in the South does NOT mean that everyone or an establishment knows Southern Hospitality or it's rules. Big eye opener. Actually, lots of them.

When I write, if you've noticed that my subject matter tends to be scattered, well, that is just how my mind works. Another thing I think will make me happier living off post when we have to go back to GA is that I am praying for walls painted something other than white. All walls are white on post housing. I would love some designer color painted walls. Sometimes it's the little things that keep you from going crazy, right? Like a gallon of Behr Paint! haha We're trying to make changes that move us forward & make us happier & more productive as a family. Paint is one of them.

I intend to get a part time job (as does Rod, my son) before summer is over. And during the next year, I want to return to college. My goal is to be thru with one part of college before Rod is ready to go to college. Just a plan.

When I started this blog, I had no idea I would be without a computer. It is hard for me to regularly keep up without computer access. But it helps to get my thoughts out so I continue whether it is read or not. A lot gets left out. It is just where I am right now, not where I will always be. I keep reminding myself of this. It helps me not to wallow in self-pity at my situation or the situations I get myself into.

When my husband had to leave temporarily with work, I went with him that morning. We are in the damp cold dark with his bags & a bunch of other soldiers. Most of which are young enough to be my husbands child (not mine, I am still a baby myself--it's ok to laugh at that). I noticed that only about 4 had wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, S/O's there. I understand that it is early morning (2 or 3) and that some of them have small children & no one to watch them. But I was amazed at that. They were all going to be away from us for a month. I wouldn't have missed those last moments unless my husband specifically asked for me not to be there. When the soldiers were called into formation, even though I knew only 2-3 total including my husband, seeing them in formation out there in the dark in the early morning made me swell with pride, American Pride. And knowing that one of them belongs to me, well, that was my personal pride. I was almost awestruck. You would think that is something you get used to, but you don't. There is jsut something SO hot aobut your man in ACU's!

Just like everytime I see the memory walk (a tree for every soldier lost in battle from there), I want to cry. I don't know those soldieres. I don't know their family. It's just a bunch of trees in a row I tell myself. But I see them. They are a physical reminder of someone's child that was lost in war.

When you hear the shot when a company is deploying from your post, you may not know any of them. I had just moved to our post when I heard it for the first time & even though it caught me unaware, a tear rolled down my cheek. And before I knew it, that tear was not alone. Does it ever become old hat? I dunno. I guess some more growing will tell me. I wonder, when it is time, and when it is my soldier, how am I going to react? How am I possibly going to hold it together & be strong for him? I will. I have to. I will because I have to. I am determined to. It is my goal. I cannot fall short on it. I must think of something else. I must be there. I wouldn't miss it. But I must try to think of anything else, magically transport myself to another place during the whole festivity so I can somehow surive & be strong for him. There is a time to breakdown, but it won't be then. It will be when he gets there, when I hear from him. I will be holding my breath until then I am sure. Then, when he can't see & it can't harm his resolve for the year, I will collapse. Just another Army Wife Life.