Talking to Chris right now. He is on top of a mountain as we speak. He is looking out for bad guys coming in from Pakistan. He said the Taliban come out after 8pm...so he said then it is all fair game after 8pm. He is the only American there at the moment. He is there with a bunch of Czech Army guys whom are a part of the Czech sniper unit. He is pumped because he just hit an abandoned house at 1000 meters in high winds...hit his target spot on. How is that for precision?
Chris said the guys are really good people. They are just hanging out talking.
Everyone else will come out there tomorrow.
I love it when we get to really chat on the phone. Most days we only get a few minutes but today, the stars were aligned and we got some more time. :)
Love you mister.
I miss him every single second. I know it seems lame to whine about him being away when this is just how it is...no one like a whiner, right? Well, today Colin said, "Mommy, I miss my Daddy". Ouch. That just gets me everytime. My reply was "I miss your daddy too buddy".
For the first time in the deployment, I am afraid. I am normally not like this but I feel like I have so much to lose now. I love him like crazy and my goodness, he is my best friend. so there, blog for the day...not so upbeat but what can I say?! I love you Chris.
p.s. My heart goes out to Jeremy Johnson who was recently flown back to the states for surgery after surviving an IED attack in Afghanistan. According to a good friend, He sounds great and his speech is improving by the day. His mind is still with his platoon overseas but day by day he fights to recover as fast as possible. The extent of his injuries are still unknown. It was good to hear to know that everyone else in the truck is also recovering. My heart is with his wife and kids and Sher, if you are reading this...I am here for you anytime!!
"SAPPERS LEAD THE WAY"!
So, Sandra has gone home and life on Columbia Avenue returns to its normal insanity. I obviously wouldn't have it any other way. Here one of many highlights from the visit:
Sandy is a blessing. xo
I even got in on the action:
In other news:
Emma is cutting teeth so owwwwww...the poor girl is in some pain. She is still a happy little lady and chanting "Mom Mom Mom" in her throaty deep voice. The, there is Colin who is as comedic as ever. In fact, today we were at Aunt Heidi and Uncle Todd's and we are still potty training Mister Colin. Well, the dogs were running around and we saw a 'wet spot' in the living room. We punished the dogs by crating them only for Colin to confess it was him on the way home...it was too funny. I mean yeah, it was wrong but I felt he was brave enough to admit it and so I just had him call Aunt Heidi and let Little Miss Ginger out of the doghouse (pun intended).
So kids are good.
I am doing great as well. Thanks to Heidi for making me feel better about Algebra 2. This is the last class I have to complete for my Associates Degree. Now, I need to decide what to major in. I am a totally different person from the day I decided to go back to school over 2 years ago. I have completely different expectations of myself. I feel like I have to make a choice that will not only make ME happy (and not please a current employer - which I currently do not have) but support my family if I ever needed to. So, I have quite a few ideas, and have received advice from some, but I am still kind of confused. Majorly confused actually. So, there in lies my latest dilemma. I need something online for now...any ideas? Feel free. oxox
Well, June 1st. That's awesome. This deployment has actually been going by pretty quick. We're almost at the half way point. I figured sitting behind a desk would slow time down, but it hasn't been that bad. So, tomorrow, 2 June, I'm rolling out into the mountains. Should be fun. I picked up a Barret .50 Cal sniper rifle this week. So, while most people don't even have one sniper rifle, I actually carry two. Yes, I'm that awesome. I was hitting 3X3 foot rocks at 1300 meters. And the rifle can shoot about another 1000 meters accurately. So, I'm pretty pumped about that. Now, I know alot of friends and family read this, so I'm going to ask that everyone stop sending me e-mails. I'm gonna be very busy. Yes, the Internet will be set up out there, but I will only be able to check it every so often. I'll have my cell phone with me(gotta love modern wars) so I will be in touch with Tammy. So, after you read this, no more e-mails. Thanks.
So, Tammy asked me for the question of the week what skills I have learned in the Army that everybody could benefit from. There's actually quite a few. So, in no order here we go!
-Be on time. Actually be early. Whatever time your given, you better show up 10 minutes early, at a minimum. If not, it's your head.
-Accept responsibility for you actions. Right or wrong. If you made the call or acted in a certain way, you better fess up. If you try to pawn it off, it will only make things worse. And don't take credit for what others did.
-Look people in the eyes when talking to them.
-Treat everyone with respect. Everyone.
-Don't talk with your hands. This isn't the godfather. Very rude.
-Do your job. No matter what. If your assigned something, no matter what it is, you better get it done. And do it it the best of your abilities. No one is good at everything, but half-assing it makes you look stupid.
-Everything is earned. You may be friends with someone higher ranking, but that doesn't get you promoted. Only your actions do. If you want to move up, act that way. That's the only way how it happens.
-Shut your mouth. I'm your boss, and I don't want to hear about how you don't want to do this. You might not want to. We still have to do it.
-Heart will get you every where. I would rather have 10 guys with all the heart in the world to keep pushing themselves at accomplish anything than 1 guy who is smart as hell, but quits on everything.
-Quitting is the easy way out. Be man. Finish what you start.
-Get thicker skin. We as a country get offended by everything. Well, too bad. If you suck at something and you need to improve on it, 99% of the time, I'm not tell you it's OK. I'm gonna tell you you suck and fix it. We don't give trophy's just for showing up.
-If you believe in something, say it. If you think your partner did an awesome job and you want him to get awarded for it, stand up for him. If you think this is the worst idea ever and ou have a better one, tactfully bring it up. If your Wong, we'll letcha know. But at least you tried.
-Pick and choose your battles. You won't win all of them.
I think that's a good start. I think our culture today has turned everyone into a bunch of self centered jack-asses. But, the Army has stood by the same values and way of doing things for 200+ years. And that's why we're so successfull. Keep that in mind.
OK, so this will be the last post from me for a while. Be good everyone and I'll chat with you later!
Slan,
Chris
