On the Eve of Greatness

 On the Eve of Greatness, how do you feel?

Do you feel empowered, just, and prepared?  Or do you feel weak, lost, and hopeless?

On the Eve of Greatness, how did those who have achieved felt?  Did they feel "I have done enough, it is time to move on" or did they say "My time has not yet come--I am ready for more."

On the Eve of Greatness, what is your state of mind?  Is it one of promise or depair?  Are you willing to accept the challenge or do you sit quietly on the sidelines hoping that destiny finds you?  Do you accept the mantle of responsibility or do you hope that the next day will never find you--waiting in the shadows for your time in the sun?

Moments

My time here in Del Rio is coming to an end. It's funny how fate throws twists your way every now and again.  This time around I was actually, for the first time in my career, not looking forward to leaving an assignment for the next one.  Despite multiple assurances that I was in the overall plan for the base, when the time came such assurances fell through. As a result, we're moving on soon. I just don't know when. 

As I am looking back on what can be described as the best and worst assignment of the last 17 years, I have been debating. What were the moments that defined this tour for me? What am I going to take with me once I depart the location that has been home to my family and I for over six years of my career?  I have some time before there's a farewell party for me--we shouldn't be going until sometime is summer. So I have decided to start writing some of these down. 

I've been looking for an excuse, or inspiration, to get my Odyssey going again. Hopefully this will be the catalyst. 

Monkey Update

The monkies have grown.  The original Monkey is 12 now and in the throes of tweendom.  Cowboy is now 10 and just as sweet as he was when he was 4.  Odie's 5 now, as he'll remind you of every time he talks to you.  And the Princess is 2, and has a temper worse than I've ever seen.  She's very much like Monkey though, and will likely be a diva.  I can't imagine my life without them.

Here's a quick update to show how they're doing.

Re-entry

It's been a while.

For some reason I've been reading my old posts on here recently.  It made me miss it, and to miss reading blogs in general.  So much has changed over the past few years in regards to technology and the internet.  As I said before, this blog was originally designed to keep in touch with friends and family.  Facebook has effectively taken care of that.  Cell phones, texting, all of that eventually made this blog obsolete. But upon re-reading a lot of my older posts, what I found was that I missed the writing, the constant oberservation of the world around me in a search for something to blog about.

I am ten times busier than I was before.  In the last couple of years I worked as the Base Commander's aide, and then moved to be the Operations Officer of my home squadron.  The thought of writing and taking pictures every day sounds daunting--but I'm going to give it a shot.

I need to, if only for my own sanity.

Life

What is the price of life?

I sit here watching my 4 year old son, flailing miserably in his swim class. he doesn't judge himself--no, he is full of smiles from ear to ear. My thoughts are of tasks to accomplish. I have managed to convince my boss to allow me some time off, and my plans are to use that time off to catch up in projects that are in dire need of my attention around the house. As I watch my son, I have checked my watch 4 times in 30 minutes.

6 hours away in Houston a person I know only in passing sits in a hospital room. Her four year old son lay in a bed undergoing his latest round of chemotherapy. For the last year this little boy has fought brain cancer, and it appears to be winning the fight. His cancer has spread--and their hopes lay on trial treatments, hoping to cure the incurable.

The thought crosses my mind as I watch my child try in vain to complete a backstroke--this mundane, simple task I am doing, distracted by a lawn that needs to be mowed, how valuable would this simple time be to my friend?Something so small to me, an inconvenience in my simple mind--of what value us this to one fighting for her child's life?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]