Daily Life of a Marine Mom

So much has happened for me in the last few days.   My company, hit by the financial crisis made some critical decisions in order to stay in business and my tech job was cut in the process.   So I am out of work for the first time in many, many years.

I see this as an opportunity for me to advance in my chosen career though.    Thank goodness I don't have many bills so that I can actually live on unemployment if I need to for a while.    I feel for those that have lost jobs and can't manage to survive afterwards.   

In any case, I am exploring my options on returning to college and actually getting some kind of degree in my field which is Information Technology.   Indiana has many programs and grants available for those who lose their jobs due to no fault of their own and may have trouble finding a comparable position elsewhere.   Due to the fact that I am self-taught in my field and have no actual degree, my chances of finding a decent position are negligible.   So hopefully WIA Adult grants for education will help me get that sought-after degree.  I am thinking of getting one in computer security systems which is VERY needed at this time although with my experience I could get a job anywhere with ANY degree in Computer Sciences.  I have almost 10 years of hands-on experience as an MIS Assistant and IT Coordinator for manufacturing companies.  I am well-versed in Network and Database administration, hardware and software troubleshooting and creating manufacturing mods using Access database as well as being very familiar with Quality Assurance procedures and other things concerned with QA.  But I NEED that degree (even an associate degree would help) to get decent pay and not have to actually work up to the same position I have held for the last four years.

My ex-boss gave me an excellent reference letter.   But I am getting too old to have to prove my capabilities at ANOTHER company.    So I am going to try very hard to get the funding for that degree.   Please pray for me if you get a moment.    I have faith in my own ability to pursue this dream but believe me when I say I am praying for it to work out too.

Eric and his little family are all doing well.    He has an education grant from his service in the USMC and should be starting school in early spring. 

I do want to share this photo that my mom took of my great-niece Aalyah and Landon.   To prepare you the caption is "Girl Gives Boy Valentine Day kiss and Boy Gets Sick"  *grin*.    You'll see why it has that caption LOL.

 
Girl Gives Boy Valentine Kiss; Boy Gets Sick !!

Well with everything that has been happening this winter: making a new type of home with the addition of Eric, Patty and Landon, getting to know and completely fall in love with my new grandson, holidays to get through and new things to do at work just so we can stay in business, I haven’t had much time to blog.   Just so you know, we are all doing well and I certainly plan on getting some updates here soon for everyone that has followed this blog these last 4 years.  I certainly hope everyone is doing okay in these current tough times.

But … I got an email that I just had to share with all my friends who support our USMC and our military as I have always done on this blog.  So here it is:

Cemetery Escort Duty

I just wanted to get the day over with and go down to Smokey's.  Sneaking a look at my watch, I saw the time, 1655.  Five minutes to go before the cemetery gates are closed for the day.  Full dress was hot in the August sun. Oklahoma summertime was as bad as ever--the heat and humidity at the same level--both too high.

I saw the car pull into the drive, '69 or '70 model Cadillac Deville, looked factory-new.  It pulled into the parking lot at a snail's pace.  An old woman got out so slow I thought she was paralyzed; she had a cane and a sheaf of flowers--about four or five bunches as best I could tell.

I couldn't help myself.  The thought came unwanted, and left a slightly bitter taste:  'She's going to spend an hour, and for this old soldier, my hip hurts like hell and I'm ready to get out of here right now!'  But for this day, my duty was to assist anyone coming in.
Kevin would lock the 'In' gate and if I could hurry the old biddy along, we might make it to Smokey's in time.

I broke post attention.  My hip made gritty noises when I took the first step and the pain went up a notch. I must have made a real military sight: middle-aged man with a small pot gut and half a limp, in marine full-dress uniform, which had lost its razor crease about thirty minutes after I began the watch at the cemetery.

I stopped in front of her, halfway up the walk.  She looked up at me with an old woman's squint.

'Ma'am, may I assist you in any way?'

She took long enough to answer. 'Yes, son.  Can you carry these flowers?  I seem to be moving a tad slow these days.'

'My pleasure, ma'am.'  Well, it wasn't too much of a lie..

She looked again.  'Marine, where were you stationed?'

'Vietnam, ma'am.  Ground-pounder. '69 to '71.'

She looked at me closer.  'Wounded in action, I see.  Well done, Marine. I'll be as quick as I can.'

I lied a little bigger:  'No hurry, ma'am.'

She smiled and winked at me.  'Son, I'm 85-years-old and I can tell a lie from a long way off. Let's get this done.  Might be the last time I can do this.  My name's Joanne Wieserman, and I've a few Marines I'd like to see one more time.'

'Yes, ma 'am.  At your service.'

She headed for the World War I section, stopping at a stone.  She picked one of the flowers out of my arm and laid it on top of the stone.  She murmured something I couldn't quite make out. The name on the marble was Donald S. Davidson, USMC: France 1918.

She turned away and made a straight line for the World War II section, stopping at one stone.  I saw a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek. She put a bunch on a stone; the name was Stephen X. Davidson, USMC, 1943.

She went up the row a ways and laid another bunch on a stone, Stanley J. Wieserman, USMC, 1944.

She paused for a second.  'Two more, son, and we'll be done'

I almost didn't say anything, but, 'Yes, ma'am.  Take your time.'

She looked confused. 'Where's the Vietnam section, son?  I seem to have lost my way.'
I pointed with my chin.  'That way, ma'am.'

'Oh!' she chuckled quietly.  'Son, me and old age ain't too friendly.'

She headed down the walk I'd pointed at.  She stopped at a couple of stones before she found the ones she wanted.  She placed a bunch on Larry Wieserman, USMC, 1968, and the last on Darrel Wieserman, USMC, 1970.  She stood there and murmured a few words I still couldn't make out.

'OK, son, I'm finished.  Get me back to my car and you can go home.'

Yes, ma'am.  If I may ask, were those your kinfolk?'

She paused. 'Yes, Donald Davidson was my father, Stephen was my uncle, Stanley was my husband, Larry and Darrel were our sons.  All killed in action, all marines.'

She stopped.  Whether she had finished, or couldn't finish, I don't know. She made her way to her car, slowly and painfully.

I waited for a polite distance to come between us and then double-timed it over to Kevin, waiting by the car.

'Get to the 'Out' gate quick.  I have something I've got to do.'

Kevin started to say something, but saw the look I gave him.  He broke the rules to get us there down the service road.  We beat her.  She hadn't made it around the rotunda yet.

'Kevin, stand at attention next to the gatepost.  Follow my lead.'  I humped it across the drive to the other post.

When the Cadillac came puttering around from the hedges and began the short straight traverse to the gate, I called in my best gunny's voice: 'TehenHut!  Present Haaaarms!'
I have to hand it to Kevin; he never blinked an eye--full dress attention and a salute that would make his DI proud.

She drove through that gate with two old worn-out soldiers giving her a send-off she deserved, for service rendered to her country, and for knowing duty, honor and sacrifice. I am not sure, but I think I saw a salute returned from that Cadillac.
Instead of 'The End,' just think of 'Taps.'

As a final thought on my part, let me share a favorite prayer: 'Lord, keep our servicemen and women safe, whether they serve at home or overseas.  Hold them in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us.'

Let's all keep those currently serving and those who have gone before in our thoughts.
They are the reason for the many freedoms we enjoy.

'In God We Trust.'

Sorry about your monitor; it made mine blurry too!
If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under!

Sorry to my friends here that I have been so negligent about posting.    But I have been busy getting to know my expanded family again!

I have been debating if I should change the title of these since as of the middle of October my son is a RETIRED Marine.   But they say that 'once a Marine, always a Marine' so I haven't decided if I should give up the title of Marine mom yet.   What do you think?

Anyway ... I have pictures!   Landon is a sweetheart and I am so glad to have him in my life and home as well as having my son back safely from four years in the Corps and two tours in Iraq.   And I have a new daughter to spoil in Patty!   Lots going on but I have had time to take some pics :)

 
This is when Patty and Landon first got to my house .   Everyone stayed up too late as you can tell by Eric's yawn lol~

Two proud new grandmas!   My baby sister,Julie and Aaliyah (my great-niece, 4 months) on the left, me and Landon (5 weeks) on the right.

Such a sweet little boy!

There will be more pics soon.  I thought I had some of Landon smiling but they must have not taken like I thought they did.   Having lots of fun here though :)    Hope everyone out in Spaces land is well and as happy as I am!!

God bless you all and Semper fi to all our Marines out there!

Baby Update:

After an extremely LONG labor (over 24 hours) Patty and Eric have a new son!!   Patty and Landon are both doing well and Patty managed to give birth to him naturally (Good job girl!).    Landon definitely takes after his dad too since Eric is a big guy (6'4").   Landon is 9lb 7oz and 22 inches long.   And he has blonde hair.   He was crying when Patty called me about 5 minutes after he was born because they were checking and cleaning him but when I talked to Eric (Patty was too tired to do much more than tell me I was a grandma and how much he weighed) - Eric said whenever they would stop messing with him he would calm down and look around.   So hopefully he takes after his dad that way too since Eric was probably the best baby I have ever seen.   Patty and Eric both are already in love with this beautiful boy.  Eric said he looks great and I could tell he was so excited to finally meet his son.   He said "I made that!!" and you could tell he's a proud as a peacock lol.  

Will post pics when I get them (hopefully soon).  Wow .. I'm a grandma! 

God Bless and Semper Fi from this new nana!

Baby Update:

We quite possibly have lift-off!!!    I got a call from Patty at 4:30am this morning (1:30 their time) and it appears that she is now in active labor with no outside help.  YAY!!   Well other than the fact that she was at the playground on base last night swinging on the swings with her friend Meghan hehe.  That had to be a cute sight as big as she is right now.  Meghan is their neighbor and Patty's official birthing coach since she thought she might hurt Eric when he was cheering through her contractions like a cheerleader pom-poms and all - which knowing Eric I can just see that haha - anyway thank you Meghan for being there to help them do this!!!  

Anyway I will definitely let everyone know when we finally get to see Landon.  I really want to be there but I know Patty is in good hands so we all just have to patient.   GRRRRRR.  NOT EASY!!!!

God Bless and Semper Fi!

On the seventh anniversary of an awful day in the history of our nation, my prayers and thoughts go out to all of those that lost loved ones on 9-11-01.   Believe me when I say, you are not forgotten.

Still no Landon -  Doc something said in a comment he posted that I really got a kick out of yesterday (even Patty laughed at it).  Thank you for the laugh haha!  Here's doc's comment:

September 09 8:45 AM
(http://docblood.spaces.live.com/)
Congratulations to all!  I don't think I'd stand that close to Patty, though.  She looks like she might explode at any moment.
Peace, Doc

So hopefully this baby won't do like his dad did and be THREE (yes -3) weeks late or Patty may just actually explode!

There's something that JustinsAuntPatricia of 'Welcome to the Insanity' asked for my help in and I really don't know what to do other than send email to government officials and pass this on by blog and email which is what I am doing.  Please pass this on and contact your congressmen/congresswomen asking why can't the government accept this generous gift so our lost soldiers can be honored in the manner they should be.  I am redoing the entire blog post that Patricia posted on her site and I am also emailing it to my Marine parent contacts.

We're the Government. We'd Rather Pay for It

Tomb of the Unknowns

By Nancy Lofholm The Denver Post
Aug 17, 2008

Retired Glenwood Springs car dealer John Haines' hope of donating a giant chunk of snow -white marble to the federal government to replace the cracked Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is stalled again.

Haines' hoped-for donation, which has sat outside the Yule Quarry near Marble since it was cut for the tomb in 2003, didn't even rate a mention in a 34-page Department of the Army report to Congress this week on replacement and repair options for the deteriorating tomb.

Haines' donation creates problems for the federal government because it is free and has not gone through a pricey bidding and specification process. A quarry in Vermont has expressed interest in submitting a bid.

This week's report — the latest in a string of tomb reports done since Arlington officials decided the marble needed replacing 18 years ago — estimates the cost of replacing the tomb's marble at $2.2 million — $80,000 of that for seeking bids, $90,000 for buying and transporting the marble and the remainder for sculpting.

Haines made the final payment for his $31,000 piece of marble last week. He also has lined up donated transport for the rock on a flag-decorated flatbed truck. He did all that after receiving a letter from an Army major general five years ago thanking him for his "most kind and generous donation."

"It's not doable. A citizen can't just give us any piece of marble and say, 'This is what we'll use to replace the tomb,' " said Thurman Higginbotham, deputy superintendent of Arlington.

But Haines' marble isn't just any marble. It was cut from the same Yule Quarry where the original gold-veined marble for the Tomb of the Unknowns was mined nearly 80 years ago. The marble on the outside of the Lincoln Memorial also came from that quarry. The tomb replacement piece was cut after a nearly five-year search for an unflawed piece that would look like the original.

"It was a very emotional moment when they separated it from the wall and it got the thumbs-up," said historical filmmaker David Showalter, who filmed the cutting for his "The History of Marble" DVD.

Showalter said the fact that there were veterans working on the cutting made the search more poignant.

The original marble monument sits on a vault containing the remains of an unknown World War I soldier. Remainsof unknown World War II and Korean War soldiers are in nearby crypts. The crypt for the Vietnam War sits empty after remains placed there were later identified.

The marble tomb itself, carved with laurel wreaths and Greek figures and also called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, has come to symbolize the sacrifice of all soldiers. And that has raised an emotional debate that has delayed its replacement.

The tomb developed two cracks in the 1930s. Reports were done on the problem in 1967 and 1989. The second report recommended replacement or encasing the tomb in a weatherproof structure.

Since then, two repairs with grout have been attempted, but the cracks have continued to grow. They are now nearly 48 feet long and span each side of the tomb. A third crack has shown up on the base of the monument.

Arlington was ordered to do another study this year after historians and veterans critical of the plan to replace the tomb's marble protested enough that an amendment was added to the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. That amendment, sponsored by veterans and Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia, whose district includes Arlington, and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, required a detailed report on how Arlington has tried to repair the tomb and how it proposes to replace it.

The new report does not make an outright recommendation but does reiterate that even if the tomb is repaired for now, it will eventually need to be replaced.

Higginbotham said Arlington owes it to the public to make the tomb right again.

"I would rather see us do the right thing so that someday when we have 10,000 people watching the changing of the guard we won't have a piece of marble fall off," Higginbotham said.

Arlington can't take any action for 180 days or without congressional approval. If replacement is the decided course, there will be a lengthy period of drawing up bid specifications and going through more historical study processes.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, a Manassa Democrat and veteran who has worked with Haines over the years to make the donation a reality, will be taking a close look at the report, his spokesman Eric Wortman said.

"We would think the government should seriously consider any donations to the taxpayers," Wortman said.

Meanwhile, the free, room-sized block of marble gracing a hillside near Marble draws some curious tourists who snap pictures in front of it. Haines said if it can't be used for the tomb, he has the option to sell it back to the quarry, where it would be cut up and sold for other projects.

"I understand how the government works," Haines said. "But there comes a point when you just say 'to hell with it.' "

Follow up Blog

September 10, 2008, 8:52am

Retired Glenwood Springs car dealer John Haines' hope of donating a giant chunk of snow -white marble to the federal government to replace the cracked Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is stalled again.

Haines' hoped-for donation, which has sat outside the Yule Quarry near Marble since it was cut for the tomb in 2003, didn't even rate a mention in a 34-page Department of the Army report to Congress this week on replacement and repair options for the deteriorating tomb.

Haines' donation creates problems for the federal government because it is free and has not gone through a pricey bidding and specification process.

[...]

This week's report — the latest in a string of tomb reports done since Arlington officials decided the marble needed replacing 18 years ago — estimates the cost of replacing the tomb's marble at $2.2 million — $80,000 of that for seeking bids, $90,000 for buying and transporting the marble and the remainder for sculpting.

Haines made the final payment for his $31,000 piece of marble last week. He also has lined up donated transport for the rock on a flag-decorated flatbed truck. He did all that after receiving a letter from an Army major general five years ago thanking him for his "most kind and generous donation." 

Better that the government spend $170,000 merely to solicit a bid, then another $2.2 million on the actual marble, because who knows what kind of bargain marble Haines is donating?

Except...

...Haines' marble isn't just any marble. It was cut from the same Yule Quarry where the original gold-veined marble for the Tomb of the Unknowns was mined nearly 80 years ago. The marble on the outside of the Lincoln Memorial also came from that quarry. The tomb replacement piece was cut after a nearly five-year search for an unflawed piece that would look like the original. 

The only problem with Haines' marble really does seem to be the fact that he wants to donate it.

"It's not doable. A citizen can't just give us any piece of marble and say, 'This is what we'll use to replace the tomb,' " said Thurman Higginbotham, deputy superintendent of Arlington. 

[...]

Meanwhile, the free, room-sized block of marble gracing a hillside near Marble draws some curious tourists who snap pictures in front of it. Haines said if it can't be used for the tomb, he has the option to sell it back to the quarry, where it would be cut up and sold for other projects.

"I understand how the government works," Haines said. "But there comes a point when you just say 'to hell with it.' " 

Haines should use the marble to construct a monument to government waste.  [Ohhh I SO agree with this one!! - marine mom]

Hmmm ...  Still waiting :)  Here's a picture of a VERY pregnant Patty and her beautiful mother taken this past weekend.    Come on Landon!   We are all anxious to meet you!

So what else is new with this Marine mom?   I'm engaged!  That's something I really never thought I would say again LOL!   But sometimes the right one comes around and when that right one does - you need to jump - and this one is definitely the right one!!

  Right now the plan is that we are going to Gatlinburg TN in the late spring or early summer to get married.   He keeps trying to talk me into going to Las Vegas and getting married now but I have previous commitments since I need to supply a place for Eric, Patty and Landon to stay while they get settled here this winter and I need to do this for them.  Plus we need to add onto his house or buy a bigger one before we get married since there definitely isn't enough space where he lives.  But things are going EXCELLENT and I am excited to start a new life with my man when we do get married.   So I am in love, happy and about to become a new grandma.   Life is GREAT!!

Also ... still keeping the 3/7 in my prayers since they left for another overseas tour recently and Eric has a lot of friends in harm's way again.   May they all come home safe and sound in seven months!

God bless you all and Semper Fi!

Busy summer but I wanted to put an update out there on Patty, Eric and their soon-to-be born baby.   All things are on course to a healthy boy and Patty is doing great.   She is going with an epidural during the delivery but I can't say that I blame her.

For a little while Eric was considering re-enlisting due to some medical bills they still owe from Patty's brain surgery last July.  He's pretty sure though that if he re-enlists they will send him overseas again and he doesn't want to leave Patty OR his son.  But thank goodness that crisis was diverted and he is still coming back here in September.   Patty is staying with her grandma and mom till Oct 22nd so they can spend some time with the baby before the move and she can heal up from the birth then flying here to be with Eric (who hopefully will have a job by then).

I'll try to actually write up a post later this week but for now - this is the latest pic of Landon Davis in her belly.   Poor girl!   She's a real Marine wife that's for sure cause she doesn't complain about the fact that she is stretched to the max lol! 

That's my grandbaby in there!

Semper Fi and God bless you all.