Daredevil Update

Daredevil got the cast removed from his leg yesterday. He said the doc looked and looked and looked at the x-rays and couldn't find where it had been broken. His leg is weak now but he is walking on it and I'm sure will be running again in no time. He has been told he can take leave and come home Aug. 16 through Sept. 2. He will be going to Iraq sometime around the middle of Sept. He will be on the Syrian border at a post called Korean Village. Here are some pics I found on the internet. I'm not sure when these were taken. Yeah, they just opened a new internet facility at the base.

Currently, Daredevil is at Camp Pendleton, CA. We thought that it would be a step up into civilization compared to the facilities and location of 29 Plams, CA. Twenty-nine palms is isolated. Daredevil couldn't wait to leave there. It was a long and lonely six months. Camp Pendleton is between LA and San Diego. Again, we thought it would be more advanced and accessible. First, he was in a part of Camp Pendleton called Las Pogus. It has an exchange about the size of a convenience store, an internet facility and a couple of fast food places. But, was far more isolated than 29 Palms. Add to the fact that Daredevil arrived on crutches. He was very limited and bored. After about 10 days he was transferred to Las Flores. It makes Las Pogus look inviting. The exchange is in a semi tractor trailer and although there is a Subway sandwich shop it is closed on weekends. That's it. No internet. Poor child. He keeps going from bad to worse and the next stop is Iraq. I bet when he returns to the states he will have a greater appreciation for all the luxuries we have. Las Flores may even look good. The bright side is he is saving up a lot of money. There is no where to spend it. I think there is a method to the Marine Corps madness.

OUCH!

I came home from work about a week or so ago to find blood spots all over my house. It seems my dog, Remington, developed a fast growing tumor that ruptured. The vet said it is skin cancer and had to be removed.

So, here is my pitiful dog after surgery. He was still doped up and on pain meds in the picture. Also, someone at the vet's office has a sense of humor. They are the ones who wrote "ouch" on his bandage.

Why I love my children

I found this on Chowhound's Myspace:

Well I have gotten news about a change. Unfortunately, I have to leave a month earlier. I got a call saying that I'm now scheduled to leave September 15. The reason they gave was because they need a marimba player. So I guess that's a good thing, I guess I'm the only one that can fill that spot. There's nothing I can do about it. Its just the way these things go. This seems to be hard on my mom because, well, I'm leaving in September, (Daredevil) is going over to Iraq in September as well, and my oldest brother is leaving for the Air Force some time in October or something like that, so shes kinda down. I think she'll be fine, she just has to worry about herself now. If you care to leave her a message or a smile you never now how much a small thing like that can improve someones mood.

I hate that he worries about me but I'm glad that he cares.

Six word Memoir MeMe Part II

VWBug has tagged me with the Six Word memoir meme. I did this once already but I'll play again. Last time I came up with:

From Chaos to Serendipity since 1964.

That pretty much describes my life. Now time to get more creative.

wild child neurotic mother now what?

This is how I feel

A friend sent this with the caption, "Have you ever felt this way?" Yeah, that's exactly how I feel right now. I just don't look that cute with that scowl on my face.

Empty nest coming fast

The time with Daredevil flew by. He is now at Camp Pendleton. He has a couple more weeks in the cast and then he will be preparing to deploy to Iraq. My heart sank yesterday when he mentioned that little tidbit of information. He kinda slid it into the conversation. He sounded apprehensive about it. Now I know why. I googled Northern Iraq. Daredevil mentioned that he would be sent to that region. It seems that is one of the hottest spots right now.

Violence is at its lowest level in Iraq in four years, according to U.S. officials. But al Qaeda in Iraq maintains an active presence in northern Iraq and U.S. and Iraqi raids regularly target them. (emphasis mine)

Great. Crap. I hate the Internet sometimes. Ignorance is bliss. I want to crawl back under my rock. The tentative date is sometime in mid September.

Chowhound has his second audition for the Marine Corps Band tomorrow morning. Someone from Parris Island is coming down to evaluate him. Although, he performs percussion in the front ensemble mainly on the Marimba, he has to audition on the snare drums. Fortunately, he has a drum set so he has been able to practice the rudiments he has to know. I hope they take into consideration that he only started learning them a month ago. Chowhound is a talented musician. I'm sure he will have no problems tomorrow. Once, Chowhound is accepted into the Band then he can firm up his date to report to Parris Island for Bootcamp. Right now, it is either September 8 or sometime in October. They told him they changed it but he doesn't have it in writing so I'm not banking on it.

Improviser leaves for Air Force Bootcamp in October as well. His brothers badgered and tormented him until he finally enlisted. I think it will be great for him. He has been living in indecision since he graduated three years ago. His attitude changed immediately once he made the commitment. He signed on for 6 years. He has a test scheduled for Thursday to determine if he is eligible for the computer programming billet. He scored an overall 87 on the ASVAB (a minimum score of 49 is needed to even get in any of the services). He made a 94 on the mathematics portion. They said he can pretty much get into any field he wants. He is my computer geek so I hope he does well Thursday.

So, more than likely my boys will be scattered out around the world by Christmas time. It will be my first Christmas without them. I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. I am so not ready for this.