My Latest Venture

Well, this has been a busy week for our little bunch. We were out of school for Winter Break, so we began the week with a trip to Pensacola, Florida with our Cub Scout Pack. We had a very nice trip, and it really makes you appreciate just how good your own children are when you are stuck with a bunch of other ones! Happily, we returned on Tuesday with the same number we left with! The activities of the rest of the week varied from doctor's appointments to a trip to the Georgia Aquarium to helping draw a mural on my cousin's wall. Hey, we'll try just about anything once!

That brings me to the reason for the title of this entry. I'm off on one of my wild ventures again, and this one puts me in combat boots! No, I haven't completely lost my mind and joined the Army. I'm instead joining the Georgia State Defense Force's Medical Detachment! (Too bad Barry and I don't wear the same size uniform!) So March 19th will find me at the Kennesaw Armory for orientation, paperwork, and most probably swearing in to the GSDF. I spoke at length today with the First Sergeant, who seemed to think it would not take a great deal for me to eventually become a medic. I'm excited, but a little nervous about all this. Though I will only drill one day a month, I have to make sure the kids are taken care of. Barry and I may not drill on the same weekends, so trips and extra activities will take a bit more thought and planning. At the same time, this will give me opportunities to enhance my training and "give back" at the same time. I always have to have something cooking!

I was a bit surprised at the responses I have received regarding the GSDF. I figured Mama wouldn't be exactly thrilled and Granny would just plain have a fit! Instead, both were encouraging and supportive. Barry was too, though he has always encouraged me in whatever I chose to do. As an added bonus, he can help me to not look like a complete idiot when I first show up in uniform!

I feel very blessed to have Barry as my husband and all-around best friend. Over 13 years of marriage I feel we have both learned and grown in many ways. I have seen him set goals and work tirelessly to reach them, both in earning his college degree and becoming a warrant officer. Without him I don't think I would have grown in spirituality at the rate I have. He and I have faced many things, and banded together to rise above them. We have lost our home to fire, been through surgeries for a precious, tiny son, and dealt with bitterness and venom from family who once loved us. We faced deployments and separation, and felt the thrill and excitement of reunion. We stand with pride beside each other with each accomplishment, and shoulder to shoulder as a formidable force in adversity. Though we don't always see eye to eye, at the end of the day I feel his arm around me and know that I am loved and appreciated for just being me. Now he is dressing me like a little doll in BDUs and pushing me to reach a little higher. There doesn't seem to be a doubt in his mind that I can do anything I set my mind to. I sure hope he's right!!!

Timeless Values

This past week has brought to mind the question of values, and just doing the right thing. Though I said I wouldn't get political, some things just make that about impossible. The "Muslim world" got all stirred up over cartoons published in a Danish newspaper, and began riots and violence all over the world. Drawings of the prophet Mohammad are apparently a big no-no. Two things about this bother me. First, the cartoons were originally published several months ago, and sparked a couple of protests in Denmark. I guess this didn't satisfy the bloodthirsty world media, so they republished them last week and all heck broke loose! Second of all, do cartoons warrant violence and destruction? I have seen photos of protesters waving signs against America and Israel - neither of which had anything to do with the cartoons! Things like beheadings and suicide bombers earn an express ticket to paradise, but a cartoon offends these folks??? Oh come on. As I said before, who feeds these folks and cares for their families while they are out yelling on the streets and torching cars instead of working and earning a living?

The second bit of major news was the death of Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This drew attention and mourners from around the world to my hometown of Lithonia where her memorial service was held. President Bush, as well as three past presidents attended, as well as scores from the political, sports, and entertainment worlds. Many people who spoke at her funeral decided not to talk about her and the work she did, but instead took the opportunity to speak out against the president, the war, the response to the hurricanes, hangnails, papercuts, blah-blah-blah. These same people cry about the separation of church and state, but stand in front of news cameras in a church while they are supposed to be delivering a eulogy and spout their political views. I think they did a great disservice to Mrs. King. I have been to too many funerals to count, but at least the preachers at all of them remembered why they were there, and talked about the life of the dearly departed instead of taking the opportunity to make a name for themselves. You wouldn't do this sort of thing at a wedding, so why do it at a funeral?

The last part of this post is about children. We had our Cub Scout pack's Blue & Gold Banquet last night. I go to things like that to see my kids rewarded for their achievements, and also to make myself thankful that when it is over I only have to take two of those kids home with me! As I said before, my sons aren't perfect angels, but they are respectful, good little gentlemen. In our home and in our cub scout dens, respect is something we emphasize. How I wish everyone else would do the same. Many of the kids last night acted like it was painful to say "Yes, sir" or "No, Ma'am" or please and thank-you. Some went ahead and did things even if told not to, and their parents sat right there and let them. These boys will ignore most people, but will jump in line when my husband speaks. It is because of his loud military voice, and the fact that the kids know he expects them to behave a certain way.

Scouting talks about "timeless values" and I think this should be something taught in every household around the world. Parents just need to be PARENTS and teach their kids by example how to be good citizens of the world. Respect is the key to it all! Respect yourself and others. Respect the property of others. Respect the fact that not everyone looks the same or believes the same. Just because you don't agree with someone is no excuse to get violent. Stand up for what you believe in, but pick your battles. Learn that there is a time and a place for things, and suit your words and actions by this. If respect had been shown by the cartoonists, the media, the protesters, the speakers at the memorial service, and the wild ones at the banquet, the week would have gone differently and this column would have never been written in the first place!

Notes From Angels

Everyone likes to know that they are loved and appreciated. Many folks, however, spend more time trying to be superior or digging up things to be offended over than they do appreciating others. I, however, am blessed to be in the company of angels almost every day.

Most of the children I work with in the school system are classified as severely and profoundly disabled. But these little ones have a happiness to them that only comes from innocence. When you can connect with them and get them to smile it is like the sun coming out on a cloudy day! One little group of kids has been working on a project for me. There are five of them in this class. They are 3rd through 5th graders, though they all function about a kindergarten level. They have been writing simple notes and coloring pictures for me to send to deployed soldiers.

It is a treat for me to see these notes and pictures before I mail them out. One child puts smiley faces on everything. Another girl's letters are backward and go downhill. One little boy draws very colorful things, but I haven't got a clue what they are. The one thing they have in common is the love an innocent little heart posseses. I separate these masterpieces out and send them to friends overseas that I know will respect the enormous effort these kids put into it. When a response comes back in, you would think these little guys had won the lottery! One soldier took the time to write an individual email to each of the five kids. Others have sent a group "thank you" back to them. Their teacher saves all these responses and is making a bulletin board to display them along with maps of the Middle East. I took a photo of the group. One little boy insisted that he should hold the flag, and he held it just as high as his little arms would go so he could "be like a flagpole."

It is a win-win situation as far as I am concerned. The soldiers know that someone put extrordinary effort into saying thanks to them, and these children know they did something that made someone happy. We could all learn from their example.

Some REALLY Good News

I didn't hear about this wonderful little tidbit from the major news outlets, and chances are that you didn't either. It seems that a victory for decency has been won in Washington DC last week. I'm not talking about some major polarizing political coup. It is instead a victory for our wounded servicemen and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

For quite some time a radical anti-war group has staged protests around Walter Reed. They have had the habit of lining up fake caskets on the sidewalk, hanging signs on the fences, and accosting soldiers and family members as they enter the hospital. How great it must have made them feel to tell some injured soldier's mom that her son/daughter was "Maimed for a Lie". What a morale boost it was to a soldier walking in on a new prosthetic leg to hear that his loss was for nothing and he could "Enlist here to die for Halliburton." They staged their biggest protests on Fridays because that is when the most visitors come. Well, NOT ANY MORE!!!

It seems this group, Code Pink, let their protest permit expire, and the permits for all four corners around Walter Reed's main entrance were purchased by groups that support the troops. Now folks can enter and leave the hospital peacefully past people thanking them for their service. Now if something could just be done about the nuts from a Kansas "church" who travel the country protesting the war at funerals for fallen soldiers. If there is anything more sickening than protesting outside a hospital, it is doing so at a memorial service. I just can't imagine the dignity of the funeral I recently attended being trashed by people like that - and it's supposed to be a church group!

Being a heartless fruitcake is something I simply cannot understand. Have you ever noticed that "peace protesters" frequently get arrested for stuff like accosting people, throwing rocks, or torching cars? Who pays their bills while they scream on the street corners? Many are really clueless about what they are protesting in the first place. I was raised to stand up for what I believe in, but I was also told to use common sense. I was also taught that there was a time and place for things. Want to protest? Fine. My husband and all those serving or who have served guarantee your right to do so. But take your signs and tasteless displays to the capital, and leave those who are healing or grieving alone.

Please continue to pray for our troops.