A Home Of My Own

My son left home on July 7th, thirteen weeks ago.
Day by day, in different parts of the country,
we opened our lives to change.
It's his voice, not his face, that tells me when
he is stressed and unhappy, and when things are
going well.
This week things are going well.
For me too.
My son and I are adjusting to life without the
intimacy of living each day somewhere within the
sphere of the others.
As he grew, I moved from center of his world, to
off center, and later to the periphery.
Now he calls me once a week from Boloxi :)

His life has changed, and so has mine..

My home is going through some changes too.
There are touches of lace where there weren't
any before.
Lace.
Why go girly now?
Because I don't have to be strong anymore.
Not like I felt I needed to be for the past 18
years..while I raised my son alone.
It was a job decently done.
I have no regrets.

Fill Er' Up

Gasing the Ninja up yesterday morning it came as
a surprise that the price of fuel had gone up so
much over night.
And what makes the gas a station already has in
their storage tanks so much more expensive over
night?
I can see if they have to buy it at a higher price
to sell to us, but I think we are taken advantage
of on a regular basis by the oil companies while
they rake in HUGE profits every year.
Glad it wasn't the car I had the nozzle in, or I'd
have had an even bigger shock.
The bike gets over twice the MPG as the Escort and
I count myself quite lucky that both are gas sippers
compared to most wheeled vehicles.

Stayed busy all weekend.
Took practice up at Whitehall Saturday morning and
made some improvements I was very happy with.
A few hours later I attended the Team picnic and that
was fun.
Sunday I met a new riding buddy/friend off an internet
dating site and this one looks to be a keeper.
We headed up to Jim Thorpe, walked around, had lunch,
then rode south to Lake Nockamixion where we took our
boots off and cooled our feet off lake side.
Usually I keep first meetings to a few hours but this
one went easily over 6...

Finding His Way

It was obvious during the short phone conversation
I had with my son late yesterday afternoon, that he
isn't very happy in Tech School right now.
And there isn't a dang thing I can do about it.
For 2 weeks he has had a room to himself, and now he
must share it with a roommate.
"They" failed the latest room inspection, (my son
passed every inspection before this), and so he is
stuck in "Phase One" for another week, which means
the loss of much anticipated privileges.
Away from the head games of BMT, with the taste of
more freedom on his lips, he resents being failed for
what he calls imaginary faults.
And there isn't a dang thing I can do about it..

Company Benefits

Lucky me!
Everyday I get paid to work out.
But few people where I work know about this
perk.
With a 10lb dumb bell in my office,(I brought it
from home), when there are lulls in my day, I do
bicep curls and such.
Today I found a foot high plastic "chute" box,
(a decent sized container that small automotive
parts are shipped to us in), and figured it was
plenty strong enough for me, at 130lbs, to use
as a plyo-box.
Put it upside down on the non-skid carpet in my
office, and volia!, I'm doing plyometric jumps.
Woo! Hoo!
The one small section of clear wall space by my door
has just enough space for me to place both hands on
it at shoulder height, and putting my feet out behind
me so my body is at a 45 degree angle, I can do the
"punches" I learned about during my short stint with
Velocity Sports Performance.
And every time I needed to go up to the second floor
office, which is several times a day, I sprint up as
fast as my arms and legs allow.
Good stuff!
And I get paid to do it :)

Digging It

August 30th I declared it finished!
(if I've counted correctly)
I've made it through peri-menopause, menopause and can now say
that I am no longer a breeder.
And I feel like a 10 yr old again :)
It might not seem a big deal to the guys out there, but then
they haven't had to purchase, use, and dispose of 41 yrs. worth
of sanitary products.
(I have definitely done my part to support the economy..)
Having your period is like getting the flu every four weeks, for
seven days at a shot.
You know it's coming, and you know your going to feel like crap
when it does.
You can count on it.
Like the mailman showing up with a boat load of bills right
before Christmas.
And it can ruin your day.
But not anymore!!
Lol
Though I am thankful to be a woman, and I loved being pregnant
and raising my son, it's a joy to have moved past that part of
things and on to the next stage of my life!

It's Back

Indoor skating practice!
Well, once aweek.
Saturday mornings with the Whitehall team is the only practice
I can get to time wise, but I am delighted to be getting back
to work :)
The Bethlehem portion of the SOS Team, whom I normally train
with, is still working and racing solely outdoors, with several
big races to attend in the coming weeks.
They'll go back in the rink next month.

After Nationals this July, I pretty much gave up skating
in favor of taking a break.
It was the right thing to do.
Oh, I put in 6 miles here, and 9 miles there, but my heart
wasn't engaged.
Taking a brief pause from serious training helps keep things
from turning into a grind.
At least it does for me.
And somehow, I dropped a jean size in that time frame...
:)
How?
Without my son living at home, I'm no longer buying Oreos,
or half gallon containers of mint chocolate chip ice cream..
lol!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

My son graduated Air Force BMT two weeks ago and stood proud
in Flight 529 of Training Squadron 326, the "Bulldogs".
(in this BMT group there were twelve "flights" of approx. 48
young men or women from 3-4 different squadrons).
His received not only the title of "Honor Flight" but they were
also awarded special streamers to carry on their guidon during
that Saturdays graduation ceremony.
One each for Academic, Fitness and Drill excellence.
A rare achievement for any single training flight..

It was so good to see him after almost 7 weeks!
And yes he had changed, and thoroughly embraced the Air Force
way of life, which is as it should be.
Ensconced in the Tech School "pipeline" for the next 4 months
at Keesler AFB in MS, he was disappointed that the start of
classes had to be postponed for a week due to hurricane Gustuv
rolling through.
Keesler literally sits right on the Gulf and is the Air Forces
largest joint training facility.
Now that he can use his cell phone again, I've recieved a few
calls, but his life has changed and I will never play the role
in it that I did a short few months ago.

So goes the way of raising children into men and women.