1. When a deployment is imminent, we just want it to start. That doesn't mean we want our spouses to leave. We don't. But when the date has been set and our husband's bag is sitting half-packed in the corner of the bedroom, we start getting anxious, worried and a little bit angry. We think about the upcoming months and everything he's going to miss and everything we're going to have to do alone. It's overwhelming. Once they leave, we can start to tackle the challenges one at a time and that's so much easier than the waiting. But those last few weeks before he leaves are wrought with frustration, nervousness and a little fear.
2. We are not miserable the whole time they are gone. We don't like that our family is split up, but we can't live in the future or press a pause button on our life, so we focus on other things. Hobbies, children, visiting friends and family, work; our life is still full. Just not complete.
3. But there are tears right underneath the surface. Whenever our children do something new, or something exciting or sad happens, or even when there have been just too many nights that we've stayed in alone, we get really sad. And we can't always be sad because we don't want to upset the kids.
4. That being said, most of us like our lifestyle. We enjoy the adventure of moving every few years, starting over, making new friends and living in various parts of the country and world. We have close friends everywhere. It's stressful yes, but also exciting.
5. We rely on our friends a lot. Even when our husbands are home, we are used to be canceled on at the last minute, not knowing schedules until an hour before an event, or having a job take precedence over the family. So, we have friends who are reliable, patient, flexible and who make us laugh. We love and truly appreciate our friends. So do the kids.
6. Our children are well adjusted and okay. In fact, most of the time, they are amazing in their ability to see the silver lining in every challenge. From the beginning of their lives, they've moved around, started over and had a parent leave for huge amounts of time. We have lots of strategies to help them stay connected, and we analyze how to make each deployment as painless as possible on the children.
7. We don't need or want pity. We look for love, friendship and fun. We don't need you to say "I'm sorry," when we tell you our husbands are away. We knew what we signed up for when we got married. However, we'd be so grateful for a helping hand. Helping us with something that would normally take two people, like shoveling snow or even just bringing in our grill for the winter would be awesome and will relieve the stress a little.
8. Please don't ask us what we are going to do to "keep busy" when our husbands are gone. Just like you have a healthy relationship with things outside your marriage, so do we. We don't need to "keep ourselves entertained" or "find something to do to pass the time" while he's gone. Those comments are insulting. We will just continue to live our life. Yes, there will be a hole in it, but we will not be pining away for six months or a year. So don't try to give us projects or find stuff to keep us busy. We'll be fine.
9. There are romantic moments about military life that rival only the most dramatic movies. We've been spun around by a man in uniform after he hasn't seen us in months. We've seen our children run toward their daddy with pure glee and excitement. We've dressed up like royalty and attended military galas and we've watched ships pull into port, with sailors standing at attention around the perimeter.
10. And sometimes the civilian population can be so supportive and sweet that it just brings tears to our eyes. These moments are precious and get us through all the tough stuff. So thank you. We appreciate all the thoughts, good wishes and the extra stuff you do to make us feel better. We notice it. We see it. And it really does help.
Sarahlynne is a Parenting Guru and has been married to a United States sailor for 3 years and 3 deployments.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Soldier by Angela Goodwin
A Soldier
There is discipline in A Soldier
you can see it when he walks,
There is honor in A Soldier
you hear it when he talks.
There is courage in A Soldier
you can see it in his eyes,
There is loyalty in A Soldier
that he will not compromise.
There is something in A Soldier
that makes him stand apart,
There is strength in A Soldier
that beats from his heart.
A Soldier isn't a title any man
can be hired to do,
A Soldier is the soul of that man
buried deep inside of you.
A Soldier's job isn't finished after
an 8 hour day or a 40 hour week,
A Soldier is always A Soldier
even while he sleeps.
A Soldier serves his country first
and his life is left behind,
A Soldier has to sacrifice what
comes first in a civilian's mind.
If you are civilian -
I am saying this to you.....
next time you see A Soldier
remember what they do.
A Soldier is the reason our land
is 'Home of the free',
A Soldier is the one that is brave
protecting you and me.
If you are A Soldier -
I am saying this to you.....
Thank God for EVERY SOLDIER
Thank God for what YOU do!
Poem By Angela Goodwin
Michael Mack
An American
There is discipline in A Soldier
you can see it when he walks,
There is honor in A Soldier
you hear it when he talks.
There is courage in A Soldier
you can see it in his eyes,
There is loyalty in A Soldier
that he will not compromise.
There is something in A Soldier
that makes him stand apart,
There is strength in A Soldier
that beats from his heart.
A Soldier isn't a title any man
can be hired to do,
A Soldier is the soul of that man
buried deep inside of you.
A Soldier's job isn't finished after
an 8 hour day or a 40 hour week,
A Soldier is always A Soldier
even while he sleeps.
A Soldier serves his country first
and his life is left behind,
A Soldier has to sacrifice what
comes first in a civilian's mind.
If you are civilian -
I am saying this to you.....
next time you see A Soldier
remember what they do.
A Soldier is the reason our land
is 'Home of the free',
A Soldier is the one that is brave
protecting you and me.
If you are A Soldier -
I am saying this to you.....
Thank God for EVERY SOLDIER
Thank God for what YOU do!
Poem By Angela Goodwin
Michael Mack
An American
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Are We going to Argue or Fish?
When you examine the economic growth in North Dakota, the unemployment decrease, the pride, the Positive Outlook it gives the Country, Given the current state of our Economy How could anyone ignore this and make a decision not to do this because of the mating habits of the Buffalo or the Elk, or the spotted Owl. I looked at the protest that took place in Washington DC and all the protesters could say is they want green energy and the wanted Obama to stick to his promises.
I cannot conceive of anyone thinking we can flip a switch and go to green energy. The battery cars are a flop! Do you think a tractor trailer which moves the goods north, south, east and west can run on a battery and pull 80,000 pounds at 70 mph? The battery itself would be bigger than the trailer it would be pulling.
It will be over 100 years before fossil fuels can even begin to be phased out, if then. Let’s take what we have learned from space travel and apply it to transportation in this country, a novel idea!
Fourteen lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to delay a decision on the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil sands pipeline, while Obama was interrupted in Denver on Wednesday by a protester opposing TransCanada Corp's project.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who is one of the Senate's most liberal members, and Democratic Representative Steve Cohen were joined by 12 other congressional Democrats in asking for a delay until the State Department investigates alleged conflicts of interest over the project.
An analyst at the KBC consultancy in Houston, said the delay could scuttle the proposal. "To delay the decision on Keystone XL is in effect a decision itself," he said. "I think in all likelihood that a delay would kill the project."
A TransCanada spokesman said on Wednesday a delay would not make sense and would leave the United States dependent on tanker traffic and oil imports from the Middle East.
Some of Obama's liberal supporters have strongly opposed the project and delaying a decision could allow him to avoid antagonizing environmentalists disillusioned with his progress on climate change.
Cruz Construction started a division in North Dakota just 6
months ago.
They sent every Kenworth (9 trucks) we had here in Alaska to North Dakota
and several drivers.
They just bought two new Kenworth's to add to that fleet; one being a Tri
Drive tractor and a new 65 ton lowboy to go with it.
They also bought two new cranes (one crawler & one rubber tired) for that
division.
Dave Cruz said they have moved more rigs in the last 6 months in ND than
Cruz Construction moved in Alaska in the last 6 years.
Williston is like a gold rush town; they moved one of our 40 man camps down there since there are no rooms available.
Unemployment in ND is the lowest in the nation at 3.4 percent last I
checked.
See anything in the national news about how the oil industry is fueling
North Dakota 's economy?
Here's an astonishing read. Important and verifiable information:
About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes Bros. was the guest.
The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I
would like a direct answer; How much oil does the U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "More than all the Middle East put together."
The U. S.. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only
scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big.
It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana.
Check THIS out: The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable( 5
billion barrels), at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.
"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their
jaws hit the floor.
They had no idea.." says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial
analyst.
"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in
the past 56 years," reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly
referred to as the 'Bakken.'
It stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada .
For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end.
Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades
ago.
However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's
massive reserves, and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL !!!!!!
That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years years years straight.
And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should -
because it's from 2006 !!!!!!
U. S. Oil Discovery - Largest Reserve in the World
Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006
Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the
largest untapped oil reserve in the world.
It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush
mandated its extraction.
In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted.
With this mother-load of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore
drilling?
They reported this stunning news:
We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on
earth.
Here are the official estimates:
8 times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
18 times as much oil as Iraq
21 times as much oil as Kuwait
22 times as much oil as Iran
500 times as much oil as Yemen
and it's all right here in the Western United States !!!!!!
HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the
environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help American become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy. WHY?
James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this
very compact area than the entire Middle East, more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.
Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price even with this find? Think again!
It's all about the competitive marketplace, it has to.
Think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
;
Cruz Construction:
http://www.cruzconstruct.com/services..php
;
I’m reminded of the joke that Jerry Clower told about his friend Clovis catching all kind of fish and the game warden wanted to see how he was catching fish when no one else can catch any. They row to the middle of the lake and Clovis lights a dynamite stick throws it in the lake and after the explosion, he nets the fish and puts them in the boat. The game warden says “you idiot don’t you know it’s against the law to fish like that., Clovis lights the next stick of dynamite and ask the game warden are you going to argue or fish?
I believe we are at that point! Are you going to drill, build a pipeline, put people back to work, change the future, change the outlook of the country or fish(argue)?
Michael Mack
An American
I cannot conceive of anyone thinking we can flip a switch and go to green energy. The battery cars are a flop! Do you think a tractor trailer which moves the goods north, south, east and west can run on a battery and pull 80,000 pounds at 70 mph? The battery itself would be bigger than the trailer it would be pulling.
It will be over 100 years before fossil fuels can even begin to be phased out, if then. Let’s take what we have learned from space travel and apply it to transportation in this country, a novel idea!
Fourteen lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to delay a decision on the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil sands pipeline, while Obama was interrupted in Denver on Wednesday by a protester opposing TransCanada Corp's project.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who is one of the Senate's most liberal members, and Democratic Representative Steve Cohen were joined by 12 other congressional Democrats in asking for a delay until the State Department investigates alleged conflicts of interest over the project.
An analyst at the KBC consultancy in Houston, said the delay could scuttle the proposal. "To delay the decision on Keystone XL is in effect a decision itself," he said. "I think in all likelihood that a delay would kill the project."
A TransCanada spokesman said on Wednesday a delay would not make sense and would leave the United States dependent on tanker traffic and oil imports from the Middle East.
Some of Obama's liberal supporters have strongly opposed the project and delaying a decision could allow him to avoid antagonizing environmentalists disillusioned with his progress on climate change.
Cruz Construction started a division in North Dakota just 6
months ago.
They sent every Kenworth (9 trucks) we had here in Alaska to North Dakota
and several drivers.
They just bought two new Kenworth's to add to that fleet; one being a Tri
Drive tractor and a new 65 ton lowboy to go with it.
They also bought two new cranes (one crawler & one rubber tired) for that
division.
Dave Cruz said they have moved more rigs in the last 6 months in ND than
Cruz Construction moved in Alaska in the last 6 years.
Williston is like a gold rush town; they moved one of our 40 man camps down there since there are no rooms available.
Unemployment in ND is the lowest in the nation at 3.4 percent last I
checked.
See anything in the national news about how the oil industry is fueling
North Dakota 's economy?
Here's an astonishing read. Important and verifiable information:
About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes Bros. was the guest.
The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I
would like a direct answer; How much oil does the U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "More than all the Middle East put together."
The U. S.. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only
scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big.
It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana.
Check THIS out: The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable( 5
billion barrels), at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.
"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their
jaws hit the floor.
They had no idea.." says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial
analyst.
"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in
the past 56 years," reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly
referred to as the 'Bakken.'
It stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada .
For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end.
Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades
ago.
However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's
massive reserves, and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL !!!!!!
That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years years years straight.
And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should -
because it's from 2006 !!!!!!
U. S. Oil Discovery - Largest Reserve in the World
Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006
Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the
largest untapped oil reserve in the world.
It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush
mandated its extraction.
In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted.
With this mother-load of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore
drilling?
They reported this stunning news:
We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on
earth.
Here are the official estimates:
8 times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
18 times as much oil as Iraq
21 times as much oil as Kuwait
22 times as much oil as Iran
500 times as much oil as Yemen
and it's all right here in the Western United States !!!!!!
HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the
environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help American become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy. WHY?
James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this
very compact area than the entire Middle East, more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.
Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price even with this find? Think again!
It's all about the competitive marketplace, it has to.
Think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
Cruz Construction:
http://www.cruzconstruct.com/services..php
I’m reminded of the joke that Jerry Clower told about his friend Clovis catching all kind of fish and the game warden wanted to see how he was catching fish when no one else can catch any. They row to the middle of the lake and Clovis lights a dynamite stick throws it in the lake and after the explosion, he nets the fish and puts them in the boat. The game warden says “you idiot don’t you know it’s against the law to fish like that., Clovis lights the next stick of dynamite and ask the game warden are you going to argue or fish?
I believe we are at that point! Are you going to drill, build a pipeline, put people back to work, change the future, change the outlook of the country or fish(argue)?
Michael Mack
An American
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