A Light at the End of the Tunnel.....Maybe

We are making progress...or rather I should say the military is making progress...slowly, very slowly. After the ruckus regarding the lost paperwork on Wednesday, John spent all day Thursday trying to get ahold of various higher-up muckety mucks to see what needed to be done about the situation. He was finally told that he would have to take the PT test again if the appropriate paperwork could not be located. Finally, he was told to report to the testing area at 0400 hours on Friday. That's 4am for the non-military folks. I call it prime sleeping time because who in the gay hell wants to be up at 4 in the morning (well technically that's the time I used to be getting home especially if I had a really good evening, but that's another story)...Anyway, I digress. So this morning he was up and getting ready to retake a test that he had already passed. Then, miracle of miracles, just as he was getting ready to start - someone showed up with the missing paperwork!!! Woo-hoo! Of course, this saga is far from over. I bet they have to call the President of the United States and get his approval that all the forms are filled out correctly. Then they'll have to make a copy of his approval, and then they'll lose it. Because that seems to be the norm for the military. Oops, I'm digressing again.  Hopefully on Monday the necessary steps will be taken to start the outprocessing process...again. But this is the military we're talking about it - and they certainly have their own timetable. We're still not sure when he's going to be able to come home, but with a little luck it should be some time next week.

But I'm still mad at the military.

Guess What the Military Lost?

I think I'm in a little bit of shock right now. This was the week that John was supposed to come home from military training. Actually, he was supposed to be home on or around October 13th. He made it through AIT and graduated yesterday, October 11th. He has passed all the tests, patiently moving through each part of his specialized training. Today he was supposed to get his ticket and finish outprocessing. Unfortunately, the MILITARY HAS LOST HIS PAPERWORK! Yes, they lost it. Not all of it - but a specific portion that is needed in order for him to be released. They told him of this issue an hour before he was to get on the bus to go get his plane ticket home. The missing paperwork is regarding a PT test he took 3 weeks ago - a test that he passed. The military has no record of him ever taking the test. He took it with 25 other guys, surrounded by all types of other military personnel. They know he was there, they saw him taking (and passing) the test, but they can't find the paperwork to prove it. So because the appropriate paperwork does not exist (according to the military), he has been flagged. Which means he cannot leave until at least 5 days after the flag on his paperwork is removed. However, no one seems to know what to do at this point in order to get the flag removed. Does he have to take the PT test again? If so, when? And what the hell does it matter at this point? He has already graduated from AIT!!!

John is very upset, as are the girls and myself. After all, we spent months planning for this day and talking about how great it would be when we were all reunited. But now that day has been delayed indefinitely. He might be home next week, he might be home the week after next. All because of a paperwork snafu that wasn't noticed by multiple military personnel until the hour before he was supposed to get his plane ticket. Big, fat fail, miltary. Big, fat FAIL.

Sometimes living in the moment isn't all it's cracked up to be. (See previous post, lol.)

But damn, he is handsome. So I shall wait.

Life

Summer is long gone and now we are well into fall. It has been about five months since John departed for military training. So much has happened in that time period, both good and bad. I quit my job and returned to school. I have gotten in touch with extended family and sadly, a cousin of mine recently lost her life at way too young of an age. Maya is stable and doing very well, but she is on two extra medications and I have had to make two trips to Cincinnati Children's Hospital with her for some unexpected tests. Laely has been missing her father like crazy, but she is excelling at school and has been a huge help to me. The girls and I went on an adventurous and fun weeklong roadtrip, which also included a pukefest and an epic storm. It has been five months of ups and downs, questions and answers, tears and laughter. But I know we have mostly been lucky. I'm so happy that John is coming home next week. We don't know how long he'll be home because deployment overseas is a real possibility. But for now I'm not going to think about that. I'm going to live (and love) in the moment as opposed to worrying about the future. If the past five months has taught me anything, it is the fact that life is short. It passes by so quickly and we don't always get a second chance. And although sometimes life hands us pukefests, epic storms or other types of tragedies it also gives us love and the capacity to remember the good times.

Privacy. Oh How I Miss Thee....

My girls ask a lot of questions. What I cannot understand is why these questions need to be asked when I'm in the bathroom. At what age will they be before I can use the toilet or take a shower or (God forbid) talk on the phone without being interrupted multiple times by them, asking such gems as....

"Why does Max (the cat) have fur and we don't?
"Why don't you like minivans?"
"What's for lunch?
"What's for dinner?"
"Can we go out to dinner?"
"Can two Barbies marry each other?"
"Can we get a dog?"
"Can we get a hamster?"
"Where are my shoes?"
"Why do you drink wine?"
"When can I get a cell phone?"
"What's your favorite song?"
"Whats your favorite color?"
"Do you remember when I was a baby?"
"Do you remember when you were a baby?"
"Why are babies in bellies til they're born?"
"Why do we burp?"
"Is a fart a burp from the butt?"

Good times. Really.

Five Years Later....

You know how we all have certain dates that are ingrained into our memories? They often include birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones. September 21, 2006 is one of those dates I will never forget. That was the day that Maya was definitively diagnosed with Biliary Atresia. We had been at Cincinnati Children's for 6 days at that point. She had undergone numerous tests including x-rays, ultrasounds and daily blood draws. The surgeons met with us and told us the only thing they could do now was to open her up and do a test called a choliangiogram.

Open her up?
My two month old daughter?
What?

But the alternative would have meant certain death in a short period of time, so off to surgery she went. The choliangiogram proved she had Biliary Atresia so they performed another procedure called the Kasai. It lasted a good 4 hours, which was about 3 hours more than they initially thought it would last. I was a mess.

But let's fast forward 5 years. I look at Maya today and marvel at what she has become. She has gone through so much in such a short period of time, yet she always has a smile on her face. Five years after being diagnosed with what is often a fatal disease, she is still here. We've gone through a liver transplant and numerous other surgical procedures since her initial diagnosis. There have been times when I wondered if she would make it. Hell, there are times when I wondered if I would make it. But we did it. Or rather, she did it. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe how lucky we are.

And So the Journey Begins....

If anyone would have told me six months ago that I would be quitting my job by the end of the summer and returning to school I probably would have looked at them like they had two heads. Who quits a job in this economy to devote time and effort to finish a BA in Creative Writing and English Literature? Oh, that's right, me! But you know what? I'm happy with the decision I've made. I thought about staying at my job and attending school at the same time, but when would I see my kids? Plus I had to think about  all of the money I would spend on babysitting. Changing the amount of hours I worked or my work schedule wouldn't have been an option either, so I basically had to choose between higher education and staying at a job that wasn't really making me happy, a job that offered no room for growth. Once I looked at my options, the decision was easy. Thanks to some freelance writing gigs, I have income. My children and I have health insurance. I have the support of my partner, along with encouragement from many friends.

Of course, there are a few naysayers, a few pessimists that have tried arguing that right now might not be the best time to quit a steady job and embark on the journey of higher learning. My first inclination to those types is to say piss off. My next thought is to ask the question of when IS it a good time to go back to school? We only get one life. Figuring out what makes us happy and then forging the path to that happiness should be something that is high on the list of our priorities. Will this degree lead me down the yellow brick road to riches? Probably not, although anything is possible.  But I do think it will enrich my life in ways that I probably can't even comprehend yet. And really, how is that a bad thing?

Maya's First Day of Pre-School!

Today marked a momentous occasion in this household: Maya's first day of pre-school. She has been waiting for this day for months. I have alternated between sadness, joy and absolute fear regarding the beginning of her school career. After all, this is the child who was deathly ill and spent the first three + years of her life in the hospital due to a rare and often terminal liver disease. This is my little girl who received a life saving liver transplant at 19 months as she was on the edge of death. This is my little girl who was too sick too learn to crawl, walk or talk until she was two years old. This is my little girl who almost died a year after her transplant from the virus that causes pink eye. This is my little girl who has fiercely battled death so many times and has learned to not only endure, but to thrive. This is my little girl, who is growing up so quickly and who wants to experience everything she can. And as of today, this is my little girl - the proud, happy, often zany 5 year old who loves life and is moving full throttle ahead, because she is already well aware that every day is a gift to be treasured.