The new schedule
I turned off the tv early today. I usually let the baby watch Teletubbies in the morning but I couldn't bear hearing the same re-run that I've heard about 6 times in the last year. I put I Mean It Stanley on the tape deck. We flipped through the book along with the narrator. Afterward, we sat down and colored B sheets G-man traced words that I wrote out. Tiger made scribbles everywhere. He helped me color some things and we were done. They went off to watch videos and I put in To The Nines. I was set to laugh but the book was slow to get started. Naptime came too soon after grazing instead of a sit down lunch. After my soaps and Tiger's mandatory after nap tempertantrum I got back to my book. Oh the boys were a rough couple of stinkers this afternoon. They fought and slung things around until I was so upset that I couldn't think straight. This place is a real mess now. I told Eddie that I needed to decompress after fighting over the phone with the baby. He set them up with food and settled in on the couch listening to my book. I got a good laugh and felt soooooo much better. I joined Eddie on the couch and tried to find something to watch. Once supper was over I sent them outside. I got to watch Bones in peace. It was cool, not a re-run to me.
Tiger is out of the bath and I started him picking up toys. G-man will have to come in now. I looked out the window to check on him and discovered muddy handprints on Grandma's sewing machine. Whoooops. Time to go get the Pledge. I need to go straighten up my stuff for the night.
thinking things over
I have a great idea about an episode of Smallville. It's been fun working on it.
G-man and I had a "how babies are made" talk today as we headed out to Speech. Tiger just kept singing The Abc's. It was a nice ride although I was harried trying to get there early. I didn't even get to see my Daytime Dollar's people. I would have taped it if I had thought about it but that might have been cheating.
Acording to Jim tonight is one that I have seen before. It got me to thinking about my own father. I thought it would be great to know that I had more siblings than just Carla. I'm kinda sure there are. I also laughed thinking that there are kids my children's age. That was funny considering my kids range from 17 to 2. Then I also thought about the possibility that I was a grandmother and that kid could be Tiger's age. eeek I can only hope he or she seeks me out for support cause I will give it whole heartedly.
Things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. Leaving the house early meant that I left the snacks at home. Money was tight so I didn't think I could buy anything but I called Ed and he said he borrowed some money so I did get to feed the boys a decent snack. It was hot. When I'm faced with a decision between gas money and snack, that's sorta easy but choosing to sweat or waste gas was hard. I did each for a while and I'm thankful we could borrow some money to pad our budget until Friday.
We've made a lot of sacrifices in the last 10 years and I'm really tired of struggling. However, this house is worth it and so are the kids.
A Simple Thank You
Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together. After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.
No, he responded.
Heading out I asked?
No. I'm escorting a soldier home.
Going to pick him up?
No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq . I'm taking him home to his family.
The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days. I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.
Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the! forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign."
Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.
So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.
Stuart Margel, Washington , D.C.
Here are two very very touching photos honored at this years International Picture of the Year.
First Place
First Place
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.
During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: "See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home," he said. "They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should."
Second Place
Second Place
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."
PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING!
Added: This "Quote" shared by grateful Americans of words spoken by a 'Great American'...
"No arsenal, no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. - - - Ronald Reagan
Mother's Day
I feel guilty. I ruined my own day. I got up early cause I was so hungry and Eddie didn't have time to prepare my brunch like I had anticipated. I've been looking forward to all the crazy things that would happen today and although the gifts I ordered were nice. I was just too alone most of the day. The boys went outside and Eddie followed them. It left me too much time to think about Jeffy. Too many questions, too much to apologize for and too many regrets.
I'm gonna find a way to go to law school so this never happens to anyone in my family again.
Edited in:
Okay I had a self recrimination moment. G-man is here and wants to play plus and equals so I'm going to go.
2nd edit:
Brunch menu
Jimmy Dean Sausage 3 pounds
Butter Milk pancakes with Maple Syrup
Swiss and Cheddar Cheese slices
fresh Strawberries
Strawberry Cool Whip
Strawberry Banana Orange juice
Milk
To see the spread was really cool even though I had to put the spread out myself. Eddie bought American Greeting cards. They were wonderful. They weren't Hallmark as I requested but they were wonderful. He didn't wrap the boxes with Jewelry I had picked out but that was okay. I wore them all day. Well I took the earrings out for my nap but that was it.
Survivor was a big let down when Terri lost the last challenge and was passed over for Aras. Poor Danielle, she fell for Aras' bs hook, line and sinker. I wasn't interested in the reunion show so I went to Gray's Anatomy. I was on pins and needles for the whole show. I woke up the kids when I yelled about Burke being shot. Man, can I survive the 19 hours until the Finale?
Desperate Housewives was good although I hated to see the only 2 parent household on the block be busted up. Poor Lynnette, of course Gabby isn't fairing any better since the trailer for next week sounded like Carlos isn't going to make it. That baby better survive or I will be soooooooooooo mad. 5 single women and only Mike on the block, and we may see 2 more single women, should we change the name to Mike and his harem? I just wanted to hug Bre. Having been raised by a slovenly BiPolar men addicted mother, I just love Bre and I also know the value of Antidepressants. I cannect with her cause I've been using the same self prescribed medication to avoid some pain of my own.
I caught up with Charmed. I love that show too. I just love Television. I'm happy to see the girls moving past the magic versus normal lifestyle struggle. It's a harder thing to manage than good versus evil I guess. I see a sequel coming. Bring on Wyatt and Chris. My soap hasn't been the same since Sam left it will be good to see him working again.
Hmm since it's 12:50 a.m. I think I should actually head to bed some time soon, before Stephanie Plum has another car explode.
I love having creative dreams
It's nice when I can right wrongs, solve crimes or create masterpieces in my dreams. Last night I did all three. I hope that the creators of NCIS will forgive me for using their show as the premise for my dream but I just Love that show. I think the executives of CBS are the greatest in the Entertainment field.
On with the show. I'm sitting in my dreary office in the Federal Courthouse staring at the cell phone in my hand. On my desk is a file describing the murder of a woman I went to Highschool with. I had been in awe of her Naval career since my short stint in the Army had only given me the means to pay for my law degree and an opportunity to work as a JAG in Tulsa. I'm hearing an officer from the Osage County Sherrif's office say "'mam, 'mam" but my head is spinning. The Sherriff there was on the line but he handed the phone to his deputy. His deputy says he coming to get me cause my mother is in danger and she needs me. He says my sister is at the hospital somewhere... I didn't catch it. I'm dumbfounded did he just say that my sister is dead? My door bursts open and there stands a ghost from my past. The newly elected Sherriff is an officer from the town where my sister lives. He must have worn a jet pack to get here so fast. In reality he took the helicopter that should have brought my sister to a trauma center. They landed in the construction zone of the new convention center and came right to the building across the street.
He leads me across another street and to my truck. All the way he's giving me the details of my family emergency and the names of other people that have been contacted. One of them is my husband. Sherriff Don tells me that my son's, all three of them, and their fathers were being rounded up and moved to a safe location. We speed down the road headed to a small remote town in the biggest county in Oklahoma. Sherriff Don is driving. I normally would be upset but I'm in shock and don't have the energy to tell him to slow down. I know his urgency. My mother. She is barely mentally stable on her good days. Today and everyday after would be very hard on her. My cell phone is ringing again. Washington is sending a team of special agents out to help me find Chandra's murderer. I am so relieved since I'll have to be away from the office seeing after my mother and *gulp* my dead sister. Spec Agent Gibbs and his team will arrive tonight at 6. I hang up and look at the time on my cellphone display. It's only 10 in the morning.
Don goes on... Carla didn't show up to pick up the kids. My mother wasn't answering her cellphone. Mike knew they were together. The kids were with him when he found my mother duct taped in the trunk of her car with my sister dismembered in the house. My mother was screaming when Don left the scene and according to his last contact with Mike she was still screaming. I knew she would calm down when I arrived. I was the rock in her life. I didn't like to be but that was the man she molded me into. My husband allowed me to be the soft vulneralble woman that my job and my mother did not. I loved that man for it. Don and I plotted our next moves. My mother would be hospitalized and medicated until the hysteria subsided. Once her medications were stabilized the officers would come back to question her. They had a few good leads already. Carla has been, had been having trouble with her exes all of them would be tracked down and questioned. We pulled up at the house where my sister had lived and my mother spent most weekends. I got out wrapped my mother in my arms and watched her face crumble. She agreed to take the ride to the hospital and was finally given the adivan from her purse. I made sure the emt's had her emergency medications, medical cards and drivers license, I would look after the rest and follow them in about an hour. Things moved quickly from there. I walked through the crime scene after the investigators had cleared it. I found my sister's datebook and address list. She was supposed to pick someone up from the airport. There was a sign with my father's name on it and a flight number/arrival time on the back. I asked that someone check with the Airport to see if my father was indeed coming into Tulsa today. Exiting out the back I found Mike and Carla's kids strangling my mother's dog. The dog was loving every minute of it as the kids clung to his neck. They release him and ran to me. They started crying again. Their dad was begging me to let him go home. I assured him that he and the kids were not going to go home anytime soon. He looked unhappy about that but too bad. Within a few minutes they were lead away the dog was in my truck cab belted in with the harness I kept for my own dog. His head was resting on the arm of my baby's car seat in the back and he was asleep. I got the news that my father was due in at 6 and thought great I don't have to make 2 trips through security tonight. I checked on my boys and mother. I went to my house and exchanged the truck for a van that held 8. I prayed that my father was alone and the NCIS agents were forgiving. I went back to the office to tidy up and realized that the scene I just left and the photos in Chandra's file on my desk were strikingly similar. I called Don at that point and told him. We'd compare notes over supper at my home. Gibbs and his team would need to hear it all and I could guarantee that we would not be overheard there. My father was another story.
I met both flights at the airport. My father arrived first. I told him why Carla wasn't there and begged his indulgence when we had to wait. Agent Gibbs and the team including a doctor and lab technician greeted my father well and agreed to wait for discussions until he was squared away. We left him at the hotel near my home arranged for their quarters there and left to drive to my place. Then we started discussing my case. We were still discussing it as I finished cooking and set the table for 6 strangers/collegues. After we said all we could I told them about my sister. They agreed that the two could be linked. My father called me. He was at the hospital visiting my mother and there was something I needed to know it was about another murder and a teenager, someone I knew. He wanted to come to my home.
The car service he used while in town brought him to my house and after he was settled in he explained to me and my guests the details of a murder he had witnessed in California when my mother was pregnant with me. My mother had driven out there to say goodbye before he left for NAM. They were sight seeing when they came across this boy cutting up some meat. The next morning they heard the news, a woman had been dismembered and left at the tourist attraction. My mother testified against the teen. My mother never remembered the name of the boy, repressed the whole thing until she saw my sister done the same way. He gave us the name of my 2nd husband. My world imploded. I had married a murderer, he'd accidentally shot an uncle as a teen but he had also been convicted of murder and his parents had fled the state to keep him out of prison. I had just shunned this man again, was this retaliation? Did he ever know my old highschool friend? Not through me I was sure. It was now up to Gibbs and his crew. They took over my house, cars and office. I went to stay with my boys. It was there I learned the connection between Chandra and my sister. She and my oldest son's father were dating. Jeff had encountered my 2nd husband at a bar and they exchanged words. Chaundra was there. This was the week my 2nd husband contacted me.
In my home the agents tracked down emails and letters to me from the killer. Jeff had been the target and Chandra had been the one home. Tracking the killer would be up to the team. I was staying safe and keeping the boys out of harms way. Since I wasn't part of the action I just got to know the others in the team and my father. Dr. Mallard was the greatest help with my mother. He was able to keep her distracted and entertained. They fell in love. When things wrapped up they married. Ducky's mother would be surprised but my mother knew how to handle alzhiemer patients since she's fed and cared for my grandmother. My father and I reconnected and he was able to enjoy all 5 of his Oklahoma grandkids. He did have to go home to his wife and business. I learned about other siblings. I had become an only child and a sister to 7 all in the time it took to catch a murderer and marry off my mother.
That was fun despite the sadness and fear.
