I have come to the recent realization that I could start every single blog entry that I write with the words, "Well, I . . .". I have been trying to break myself of that habit. One thing that I try to do is to not write just for the sake of writing - to not fill this thing up with a bunch of boring, tedious stuff that is so far beyond the realm of actual 'good writing' that it is the equivalent of mass produced cotton candy.
You know what I'm talking about, that cotton candy crap that they sell at the video store? That you think is going to be so good because it's been so long since you had cotton candy, and you're desperate for it - and you think somehow by spending a $1.43 that you will be able to call back a part of your childhood where you were happy and free. Instead you crack open the bag of industrialized spun sugar and find a dry lump in the bottom of the bag. A stale remnant of cotton candy that is a shadow of its former self. You force yourself to eat some of it anyway, mad that you wasted your dollar+, and you swallow your disappointment with every single dry and crunchy bite.
I don't want this blog to be your stale cotton candy, okay? LOL. I don't want you to come here with excitement and anticipation - and then walk away disappointed and say to yourself, "Why in the junk did she write about THAT?". Seriously though, I have lots of stuff that I 'could' talk about, but there some things in life that I have learned to keep private. There are tons of wonderful things on the horizon for Al and for me in the very near future - but I am making the choice to not post about them until they actually happen. I am going to blame OPSEC and PERSEC for my decision - but also, I guess you could call it being 30 and learning a few things along the bumps of life. Color me a cynic, but I try very hard to not work myself up into a frenzy about things and get super excited until they actually happen. But when I am ready to write about them, you guys will be the first to know.
In Al-land, they had a brief reality check yesterday --- everything was smooth sailing as far as I knew, he and I had emailed back and forth before lunch --- I got a wonderful lunchtime phonecall (Siiiiiigh, I looooooove talking to him!) --- and he was supposed to go to bed. Well, I kept getting emails from him (forwarded jokes, etc.) so I kind of figured that something was up, but then I thought that it might be a server delay or something. Unfortunately though, I got an email from him at 1500 my time - midnight his time - telling me that the generators to their cans (where they sleep) went out. Imagine if you will, a little metal box sitting in the hot sun with no air conditioning. Trying to sleep in one would be torture. Soooo, instead they were all assembled at the COC - hoping and praying for the generators to come back online.
And they did. Thank God. I know that he is a soldier and that it is his job to "suck it up" and keep moving --- but I still can't help imagining what his life must be like in my Americanized, 'I don't know what awful really is' kind of way. Anyway, I have now added "Not whining about the heat" and "Not complaining about the rain" to my list of things to not talk to him about. Which is kind of funny, but not funny "ha-ha" - but instead just it's just funny sad.
On a side note, I always send him stuff from the dollar aisle in SuperTarget. I find the best fillers for care packages in there. Anyway, I sent the man a poncho. And I got to hear about it for a good ten minutes yesterday. Questions that were posed to me were: 1) What am I supposed to do with a poncho in the desert?, 2) Okay, let's say it actually 'did' rain, why wouldn't I just wear my government issued Gore-tex jacket then?, 3) Honey, the poncho is BRIGHT YELLOW - do you know what a target I would be in BRIGHT YELLOW?
LOL. I told him that I guessed that I had watched one too many MacGyver shows where MacGyver is able to save the world using two matches, a stick of chewing gum and a bright yellow poncho. Too funny, huh?
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7 comments:
Yellow poncho? I think it is a great idea.lol. What do us woman know.;) I bought the same one for my husband to wear when he is grilling in the rain. I swear that man will grill in any weather.
Nothing stale about your blog girl. Keep on writing, and keep us guessing what's going on in the Al and Melinda world.
Yellow poncho and MacGyver, I love it. You are by no means boring or stale. You know I was reading something on the net night before last and Homecoming Operation on TLC looking for soldiers to write about their deployment. You aren't a soldier of course, but you write really, really well. Maybe you should check into it. Told ya I would keep in touch. Shelia
huhum I can hear you.
I think there are a lot of "deployment family" experiences that are just totally universal. The dollar aisle... I sooooo feel that one! My sister sent hubby a little battery operated fan that squirted water. He looked at it and called, "It's 115 degrees here. The fan melted as soon as we opened it!"
And then there was the time I sent them wax lips for Halloween. Yeah, they didn't make it.
I don't think you're stale cotton candy! And, hey, by the way, we all still eat that cotton candy even after it's stale, so no harm in it! LOL
Yellow poncho, huh?
My husband laughed when I told him I'd sent him a set of sheets--he was lucky enough to have a bed to put them on--and he thought I was nuts. However, I vacuum sealed them with a Bounce sheet inside. He opened 'em, caught a whiff of "home" and almost cried, I'm sure!
Let's think of some uses for that poncho! I'll put on my thinking cap!!!
waiting patiently for a photo.....;)
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