Military Life

Hey there Dad,  I hope you are enjoying this warm Friday morning. I am having a hard time today, I had to say goodbye to two really good friends. I love the military life, however, saying goodbye to those that mean a lot to you is never easy. Unfortunately that is the military life. I have learned so much over the past few years about friendship, because of the friendships I have gained through being affiliated with the military life. There is nothing like the bonds you form with those in the military and their families. I feel like it is a special club that automatically presents you with the opportunity to have good and genuine friends in your life. Today Craig and Taylor left for San Diego. Craig has been staying at the house this week and Taylor came down from Baltimore last night. I didn’t think it would be so hard to say goodbye this morning, but it was. I have known Craig for a while now, he has been there for Kelly and I whenever we needed him and I am so glad he found his wife, Taylor. Seeing their relationship flourish over the last year and then attending their wedding last month was simply beautiful. Taylor brings out the best in Craig and you can totally see it in his eyes. I am so happy for them both, however, I hate that they have to leave. Like I said, the bond amongst military families is irreplaceable, it is a family. It has shown me how to be a better friend and taught me that your real friends will be there for you no matter what. The people who I could call if I needed a ride, place to stay, help with the lawn, fixing something, or just someone to talk to, etc… are those that I have met through Kelly, my marine guys and their families. Seeing one of them leave today with no idea when we would see each other again puts things into perspective.  Cherish the times you have with the ones you love, you never know when they are going to have to pick up and go on a moments notice, always be a good friend, be there when you say you are going to be there, do what you say you are going to do, and never judge. That is what I have learned about friendship over the last few years.

Keep an eye out for Craig and Taylor as they make their cross-country trip to San Diego.

Love and miss you dad, I could really use one of your big hugs today. 

Craig and Taylor on their wedding day!!

Mom and her girl's Marines. Love them

All Along the Watchtower

Happy Tuesday!

What a beautiful day outside this morning, totally your kind of weather! I hope you are riding that Harley! It has been excruciatingly hot these past few weeks but last night and this morning it was pleasantly cool! I am dreading the dentist appointment I have this afternoon, I have been putting it off for long enough, I finally decided to suck it up and go. You know how much I hate the dentist! Dr. Schell still brings you up in conversation, the last time I saw him he mentioned your shoes…the crazy plaid Vans. You know, those “fugly” looking slip-ons you loved. I’m just kidding, they really weren’t that bad, just a little punk rock! Anyway, let’s hope I don’t have a mouth full of cavities like last time…I know I have at least one…UGH!

This weekend was pretty eventful! I planned on just relaxing and watching movies, tanning on my deck, sipping a cold beverage…however, things came up. Friday night, I went to spin and got into bed super early so that I could go to my spin/ab class early Saturday morning. As soon as I got tucked in, Blair called me and told me Aunt M was in the hospital up at Mt. Vernon and they were unsure if she was going to pull through. The nursing home called Blair because both Mom and Uncle Bubby were out of town. I didn’t want Blair up at the hospital alone so I hopped in the car and drove up; luckily there is no traffic on 95 at night! When I got there Pam G. was there with Blair and they were holding M’s hands and rubbing her head. I officially dislike Nursing Homes and Rehabilitation Centers. They say she had been unconscious since 8am that morning, yet Blair was not called until late that evening? They didn’t think it was “that serious”… really? What is wrong with people? When she was finally rushed to the ER her blood sugar was close to 800 and they were unsure if she had suffered a heart attack. Long story short, she is still in the hospital recovering, they think she is going to pull through. It broke my heart to see her that way and to know that we were the only ones there for her. Mom drove home as soon as Blair called her so that Blair didn’t have to go through another possible death alone and Uncle Bub & Brenda drove home from the OBX in the middle of the night. Our family may be small, but everyone is always there for one another in a heartbeat. Once Aunt M was settled, Blair and I went on home to let her rest.

Enough depressing stuff…Ohhhhhh snap! All Along the Watchtower came on Pandora radio. I know how much you love Jimi Hendrix!



So more on the weekend, Saturday, was crab feast day down at Pam S.’s house in Fredericksburg. We had such a great time!! Blair drove Pappy down and it took them two and a half hours because traffic around here blows on the weekends. We ate crabs, spent time with Pam’s family and friends, drank some beers, and pretty much laughed the entire time. It made me miss you though, I know how much you wished you were there.  Marilyn came up after work and Pap was surprised to see her decked out in her cop attire. He wanted her to handcuff & frisk him. HAHA. So funny. Sunday was FINALLY my “chill day” that I had been craving all weekend! I went to spin and then hopped right back into bed and cuddled with the pups and watched movies for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. I went up to Mom’s house for dinner and I have been there ever since!







Always a blast!

 

CRABS!




Cop lovin' for PAP!



LOVE this

Motorcycle Drive By

Good morning Dad! Happy Saturday, it is the day before Father’s day, I have come to dislike this time of year, for obvious reasons.  I am watching the sun come up and came to the conclusion that I am up way too early for a Saturday but I have been unable to sleep the past few days, too much on my mind I guess. I am having a BBQ down at my house today, first one of the summer without Kel. I am nervous because he is usually the grill master, I am not even sure how to turn the stupid thing on…. I am going to have to get some help from the guys.

Blair is coming down this morning to spend the day with me, and then later in the evening we are having a bunch of friends over for some burgers and beers. I wanted MamaJ to come down but my townhouse is not exactly wheelchair friendly and given that I just took the banister off the stairs to paint, it probably would not be a smart idea, so she is going to catch us next time.  I really wish that you were here to hangout with us; everyone always enjoyed your company. I am sad that you only got to see where I live one time and you never made it inside. Remember the day we took the road trip to drop Ace off? When you dropped me off on the way back to your house, I said, “Dad, come check out the inside of the house”!  And you told me that your legs were bothering you and didn’t think you could make it up the stairs. I tried to convince you to come see the bright red family room that Kel painted and you said, “I will be back down and see it then, I just want to get back and relax.” Who would of known that would have been the last time you drove down my way.  Wow… makes me think ya know? I really am trying to live for today, live in the moment, just as it says on my wrist. You never know when your opportunity to do something may be your last. You would be pleased with all the home improvement projects Kel and I have done on the house; I think you would approve of our bright colors and modern décor. We always had the best-decorated house growing up, you and mom did such a great job making it unique and dynamic, I wanted to follow in those footsteps! You know what I have realized over the past couple of years? Painting is a pain in the ass! I don’t know how you did all that painting at both houses, especially the most recent house.

Your girls!
In addition to making the house awesome inside, I have finally set the deck up just the way I like it! I think I sit outside more than I do inside now! I bought a ton of flowers to make it bright and colorful, the flowers I bought attract butterflies, yup, got those for you! I also just bought a bird feeder and I don’t think the birds are too fond of it. I don’t really have a place to hang it up so it is just sitting on the table, no birds yet…. the pups have managed to get into already though! Who would of thought, my dachshunds like birdseed, tehe. Speaking of the pups, they are growing up so fast, almost two years old! Hard to believe they are already two. You would love these guys, especially Tuff, he is such a cuddly thing. Tootsie is cuddly to but she is a princess so cuddling is on her terms, when she isn’t busy. LOL.

BABY GIRL!

I am listening to my Itunes and there is a song that came on that I didn’t even realize that I had, it is by Third Eye Blind, “Motorcyle Drive By.” I don’t know why but I think of you whenever I hear it, I think it is because I just picture you riding your Harley on the open road in a music video for this song or something. Haha, you in a music video,  that is a funny thought!  I don’t feel like starting my day quite yet, but the gym is calling my name. Enjoy your day Big Daddy and don’t forget to help me out with the grill tonight! I don’t want to have a blonde moment when trying to grill burgers and dogs… lol 

The Sound of Sunshine!



Birthday celebration in the Islands!



Hey there Daddy, from your 25 year-old daughter, did you hear that…25! I feel old! I wish you were here to celebrate with me. Birthdays and holidays are not the same without your big hugs, amazing dinners and handwritten, heartfelt cards. This weekend mom and I went to the BAHAMAS to celebrate; gosh it was perfect out there. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort in the Grand Bahamas Island. It was only a two and a half hour plane ride! We got there on Thursday afternoon and left on Sunday morning. Poor MamaJ found out a few days before that she had a broken ankle and ruptured a bunch of ligaments in her foot, but that did not stop us from living’ it up in the Islands! Her doctor said the only way she could go to the Bahamas was if I pushed her in a wheelchair, she is not supposed to have any pressure on her foot. I wheeled her around everywhere; I even got her out to the ocean and into a kayak, I wish someone had a video camera! It was quite an adventure getting a wheelchair down to the ocean and then getting her out of the chair and down into the kayak. I told her that she could not pass up the beautiful warm water, so we were doing’ it no matter what! We succeeded and went all the way off the resort’s private beach; you know mom and her kayaking, go hard or go home! HA. The water was absolutely gorgeous and it made me think of you…especially when I stubbed my toe on a huge piece of coral rock down under the sand! I knew you were looking down and laughing, of course! I wish you could have been there; Mom and I talked about you a lot. We talked about how much you would’ve loved to be there, enjoying the free drinks, good food and hot sun. I know you were with us in spirit though. We miss you so much, Dad. Everything we do we always wish you were there.   We came home on Sunday and had a great dinner and an amazing cake that Blair made. Triple layer, Oreo cookie cake. She is so good at everything, I love it! The cake was probably the best cake I have ever had….well right up there with the Elmo cake Mom and Pam made me for my birthday way back in the day! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from the BAHAMAS, I love and miss you SO much DaddyJ.

Acting goofy as usual!

Mom is so cute here!

Check out that cocunut that almost nailed her in the head!

Spending the evening down by the water!

Mom in her YAK! Loved when you used to call it "YAKING"

So pretty!

Smile! It's my birthday!

Gift from my pups! Blair helped them out, a little :)

Every gift we give now has a butterfly in honor of you! See the green sparkly one?!

Tour De Cure Recap-Team BIG DADDY RIDERS

Hey Dad! How are you today? Hope you are out riding your Harley and enjoying this cooler weather!  I wanted to write to you yesterday and let you know all about the ride we did in honor of you on Sunday, but I got caught up with work stuff and when I not too long after I got home,  I called it a night. I did however read some of the first book I wrote to you before falling asleep. I haven’t read that in over a year and a half, so it was fun to re-read and get some laughs out of what I wrote.

Back to Sunday…I know you were out there riding with us, all 35 miles of it! Gosh it was such the PERFECT day for it too. We had a team of eight of us riding and we collectively raised $2,235 to donate to the American Diabetes Association in your honor. Blair never ceases to astonish me; she was the team captain and did amazing job putting all the fundraiser together, making the team shirts, ribbons, etc…She does everything whole-heartedly, that is why she is such a great person and friend to so many. Not to mention, we had such a fun group riding, you would have had a blast with all of us. It was such an inspiring day for me, I always feels like I should be doing more to contribute to certain aspects of life, this ride only made that feeling stronger. I think I may go back to volunteering for the ADA on a more continuous basis. There are so many out there with diabetes, or at least knows someone with diabetes, I feel like I would make a laudable advocate for diabetes prevention and awareness by sharing your story.



The best part of the ride was when I was asked, “Who is Chris Johnson.” Blair put your name on the back of our team shirts, which sparked people’s interest. It made me very proud and happy to talk about you! Here are some pictures from that perfect day!



Our team, our family, your fans! Alli brought her good friend Mick (the one between Mere and Mom) you would of loved him, he is such a fun person to be around!

 

I suprised Pouvee with a team captain shirt, to show my
appreciation for all she did for the team!

We miss you DAD!

Your girls!

Mick, Justin, Pouvee and Mere! Such a fun group!



All for YOU