When your son sends you a picture from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while hooked up to an IV because he's dehydrated.  He and his team worked four hours outside with a heat index of 130º Fahrenheit.

Let's all take a minute to be grateful for our troops — and our air conditioning units.  As a mother, I'm also sending up a prayer of gratitude that he's okay.

And there he is!

We flew to El Paso to spend Thanksgiving with David and his family.  We got there a bit early, so he wasn't home yet . . .

And, then, there he was . . .

My world just lit up.

Family Day at Fort Jackson

The day before graduation from Basic Combat Training is declared “Family Day.”  Families and new soldiers are reunited and granted an on-base pass for most of the day.  Fort Jackson is quite large, encompassing 52,000 acres and even has a movie theatre and bowling alley!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  First came a brief, but poignant ceremony, at Hilton Field.  There was an invocation by the chaplain, the Star-Spangled Banner was played, and then . . .

The Army proceeded to demonstrate a tactical maneuver in which they kill some terrorists trying to set off a bomb and then secure the area.  I don't have a single photo of this, since I was in a state of shock.  I'm sure the Army meant to impress the parents and reassure us of the very thorough training that the soldiers were receiving, but all I kept thinking was how very real, and how very scary war is, and how my child could potentially end up in a similar situation.

Then they set off a series of colorful smoke bombs . . .

More and more smoke, louder and louder . . .

And then, the soldiers began emerging from the smoke!

It was quite a show, but I didn't take any of these pictures either.  I was still in shock.  I'm very happy that my husband grabbed my camera and started shooting - pictures that is . . . not bombs . . .

Afterwards, the families were instructed to go out on the field and find their soldier.  Well, that was an order that was gladly obeyed by all!

Here's our soldier . . .

And here was one more shock for mom:  My son is happy!  He likes what he's doing and has a sense of purpose I had never seen in him before.  Now, if only the world would behave itself for the next four years . . .

House Remodeling, House Guests and Worrying About David

The title of this post sums up the last two months at our house.  No sooner had David left for Basic Combat Training, we launched into a few house updates, including new siding for the exterior . . .

 

Here's a picture of the old one . . .

  

 

We are such wild people, going from light grey to white!

We also got rid of the "builder special" lights and got pretty new ones!

We were trying to get it all done before our guests arrived!  I hadn't seen my cousin Robert and his wife, Ely, since their wedding in 1970!  We had kept in touch over the years by phone and Christmas cards.  The visit was wonderful!  It was as though we did this all the time!

We played tourists on Lake Michigan.  Here they are with Navy Pier behind them, and the beautiful Chicago skyline . . .

And here's a picture of my son, David, "borrowed" from the FB page for their battalion (he's the one on the far left).  Boot Camp ain't what it used to be.  Imagine!  They have a Facebook page!  He looks well, but it seems I've found a new hobby:  Worrying about David.

No time for the blues . . .

Boy, it's been a busy few months!  What have I been up to?  Well . . .

January flew by in a blur of activity.  Just at the time of year that my body kept telling me to stay home and sleep, I was super busy at work, planning the 2014 Field Sales & Marketing Kick-Off, which took place on February 4th.  It was a 3-part event consisting of . . .

A large meeting that accommodated 550 . . .

Awards were given to the 2013 Top Performers . . .

I was even surprised with an MVP Award of my very own!

Here I am with the Sr. Director of Direct Sales . . .

There was an Expo, featuring many of our programming partners, like HBO and Showtime . . .

Ending the day with a Casino Night!   The event was a huge success and worth the countless hours of work!  Even the day before, I was holding my breath, worried about having to cancel the whole thing because of the weather.  An 8-inch snowstorm was in the forecast!  Thankfully, Mother Nature held off for one day!

I did do a little hibernating after the event, and took a few days off work to recharge my batteries . . .  I curled up in the Living Room which was in cozy winter mode, with furry pillows and snowy white carnations . . .  February was still busy at work though, and I was still wrapping up loose ends from the event all the way to the beginning of April!

But now that I had stopped working so many hours, I could think about other things . . . like my health.  I've learned the hard way that you cannot take for granted the tremendous gift of health . . .

So I did a little reading . . .

Got an amazing new appliance - a Vitamix that truly lives up to the hype!

And that came with more cookbooks to play with  . . .

I tried a recipe or two from the Internet . . . This was my favorite - Baked Salmon with Blood Oranges and Fennel.  I'll share the recipe soon!

Then I had a new passport photo taken . . .

Because in the Fall we are planning to go to Venice!  La Serenissima - at the top of my bucket list!

And now, unhindered by other “business,” thoughts of the Army consume me, as they have absorbed my every waking moment, regardless of how busy I've been, or how much interest I've pretended to have on other things:  My son, David, has joined the United States Army.  He leaves for Basic Combat Training on May 6th.

And how was your winter?