Tuesday, June 28, 2022

5 Year Journal Day 361

      Today's prompt is "What's your favorite cereal? My favorite cereal is frosted mini wheats.

     I am almost done with this 5 year journal book. I was not impressed with the questions asked. I guess I was expecting something more revealing in the prompts. In any case, I will not be continuing the journal for another 4 years like I am supposed to. The idea is that the same question gets asked on the same day every year for 5 years, and when done, you have a collection to look back on. You can see where you have grown and things of that nature. I liked the idea, so I bought the journal. I bought other journals too, so I think I will give them a try once I finish this one in a few days. I hope to leave my blog to my son one day. I hope he loves to read as much as I do. As of right now, it's hard to tell if any of these blog entries will mean much to him, but I sure hope so. 

     I was just thinking about how I stayed in the Army for as long as I could to make sure my college education was paid for, at least 4 years of it. I enlisted the first time in August of 2006. I was discharged in November of 2010. Completing my first 4 year enlistment was a challenge, but so worth it. I actually re-enlisted at the end of 2008 I think. Or maybe it was the beginning of 2009. I re-enlisted for another 4 years, thinking I could do both : be a full-time soldier, and a full-time single mom. I was wrong. 

     I wanted to either be a nurse, or a logistics warrant officer. I tried to go to college online while I was serving in Korea. I couldn't keep up with all the reading, plus a baby, and a non-stop 0430-1700 job. 

     The Army gave me a greater purpose, a mission. That is one good thing I can say about serving in the Army as a woman. It wasn't easy. There are alot of old warriors who are still serving who don't agree with women being in uniform. I had to face some of them when I served. 

     I hoped Caleb would be the fourth generation to serve in the armed forces. My Pepere, my mom's dad, served in the Canadian Air Force. My dad served in the Army. I served in the Army. My brother, and half-brother served in the Army too. I was hoping Caleb would go into the Army. I am not so sure anymore about that. He has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I do not know the regulations on that in trying to enlist. 

     Overall, it was a good experience. I was always being trained for new things. I always had a roof over my head. I always had food and water. I worked hard everyday. I could pay my own bills for once. I was financially independent for a time. I remember I bought my own first laptop computer when I went to the PX in Yongsan. I  had health insurance for the first time ever. It was my first full time job that I didn't quit for petty reasons. I traveled by plane, bus, LMTV, and humvee. I never had to wonder if what I was wearing to work was ok, because everybody wore uniforms. I never had to worry about the next thing coming because of the leadership. I just had to do what I was ordered to do. Things got complicated with my pregnancy. 

     I bought my first car in Korea. I made life-long friends. I want that for my son. I want him to learn leadership skills, learn about a job he is interested in, and have structure and goals.

     Christinia is moving out today. She is going to be living 3.5 hours away. It's a long -ass-drive to get to where she is going. I know it will be worth it for her and Harlee though. I just know it is the right decision for them. My house is just too small for all of us. Harlee does need a room for herself, separate from Christinia. I wish them well, and will send them off with hugs and love. 

     My dad's photo came up in my Facebook newsfeed a few days ago. I miss him. He makes me laugh so much. He also hurts me too. That's why I can't just call him on the phone. Neither he nor Dona Sharon respond to any of my text messages. I am only trying to help where I can. I can't just give them access to all my credit card accounts. I can't. I don't know why that is an acceptable request in their eyes. 

     I talked to my mom yesterday. I was glad she called. It has been awhile since I have heard her voice. We chatted while we both had food on the grill for dinner. LOL Christinia was laughing about us talking about meats. I told Christinia that I could talk about meats for days!

     I still have a runny nose, and yesterday I had a headache. I was tired all day too. I think we have all gotten through the worst of the Covid-19 already. Harlee is much more like herself. Christinia is still awfully tired, much like me. Caleb was feeling funky yesterday. He said he felt like vomiting. He felt better towards the end of the day. 

     Bubba is growing. I hope to see that he has put on some weight since his last vet visit. He is a handsome puppy! 

     Bella has started to play with him recently. It's nice to see them getting along so well.

     I got my Post 9/11 GI bill certification letter in the mail yesterday, scanned it, and emailed it straight to my admissions officer! Woop-woop! I have 3 months and 9 days left to use before 2025. It's so close to expiration. 

     I am waiting for the next steps in marketing my book. I have no money, so I can't spend on advertising. I think I will be doing a podcast interview or something.

     Big changes are happening. The environment will be different. I hope that Caleb and I recover from Covid-19 quickly so I can focus on getting him on the schedule for schoolwork. He has a lot of catching up to do based on his end-of-year testing. I want him on a routine before August, when I start school online. I also am finishing up my Reiki Master class in August. I graduate in mid-August I think. I also think that is when the Ignite Your Light program ends. 

     We are still waiting for TEACCH to tell us if they are going to help Caleb with Autism specific therapy. I don't know why it is taking them so long to make that decision.

     I am excited and scared to start school again. I have never succeeded at online school before. I am scared that because it is a Masters level course that it will be sooo much harder to do. I don't know what to expect as I have never done it before. I have high hopes though. 

     I have fallen behind in my Reiki practices. I owe Colleen a few different Reiki sessions. I haven't been taking notes either. That is a requirement for graduating, so I need to be doing that.

     I just haven't been getting much done lately because of Covid-19. I mean it's horrible for me, and I have had a vaccine and 2 boosters! Geez! I don't even want to know what it is like for those who don't have them. I mean, I have seen Christinia and Harlee, and I wouldn't want to put myself in that situation with all my underlying health conditions.

     It is now 0515 and I have been up roughly since 0330. I am getting tired. I don't know that I want to go back to bed only to have to get back up at 0700. Everybody is waking up at 0700 today because the girls are moving and need to pack everything up.

     Yeah, so we cancelled our tattoo appointments we had for July 7th. Neither one of us has any money for that right now. $600-$700 is alot of money. It's alot of money I don't have. LOL

     My anti-tragus is still healing. I don't know why it is taking so long. It hurts though. I try to keep it clean. It's like healed in one ear, but not the other. Makes no sense whatsoever. 

     Caleb and I still have Spring cleaning to do. I got a whole bunch of books delivered before we got sick, and was not able to put them away, so they are in boxes scattered in the living room along with the rest of stuff we have not put away yet. 

     I am considering cancelling my contract for the window installation. I just don't see a future where I will be making enough money to cover it the way I had planned. I can do it at a later date, when I have the extra money to spend on the house. It's not a cheap job. I would still have to hire movers to move the furniture away from the windows on the installation date. So there's that too, and then move the furniture back to the positions they were in. I'm broke. No joke. I need to sell my books to make sure I can put food on the table. For real. Buy my book! LOL

 



     

     

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