The Other Blog (Kinda like The Other Woman, but not.)

I'm cheating on Off To See The Lizard.

Dad asked me to set up a website about my Mom, and I did. It's obviously a very different blog than the one you're reading now, but it tells stories like this one does, so there you go.

I thought once I got into the whole "Navy Wife" thing that I'd spend more time blogging.

Well, that was before the puppy... and before she peed on EVERYTHING we own.
And before we bought a condo and moved to Connecticut.
And before Greg deployed (he's been out for 2 months).
And before Mom got brain cancer.

So, I've had a rough couple of months, but I can finally say that I'm feeling better for the first time since Greg left at the end of February.

My job got postponed for several weeks, so I had about a month and a half of serious alone time, which was not good for me. I read alot, and watched too much TV, and played with the puppy. Yup- that was my life for a month and a half. When I say it, it sounds like that would be pretty cool- to have all sorts of time to hang out, decorate the house, teach Maggie all sorts of cool tricks. In reality, it was awful. I spent WAY too much time asleep or lying on the couch, ate terribly, got nothing done around the house, and Maggie still isn't totally housebroken.

BUT! I'm finally working at the company I wanted to work for (even if people keep mistaking me for a receptionist based on the placement of my desk... my title is Training Coordinator), and I'm enjoying being busy again. My coworkers are great, and my workload keeps me very busy. It's odd being an hourly employee after being salaried when I worked in New York. The concept of overtime pay is COMPLETELY foreign to me, as is leaving at 5:00 and being required to take lunch. These are all good things, but I'm now learning how to prioritize projects when I HAVE to stop working after 40 hours in the week, instead of getting absolutly everything done in 60-70 hour weeks.

I miss Greg. A lot. Like crazy, actually. As much as I enjoy talking about my husband and his crazy career, I'm not going to discuss details of his deployment on this site. They say loose lips sink ships, but they can sink submarines, too. Any discussion of dates that I heard from Greg or where he called from could endanger him and his shipmates. I can say though that I haven't heard a peep from Greg for a while, with the wonderful exception of a beautiful, hand made backgammon board arriving in the mail yesterday. Hooray for anniversary gifts!!

I am very glad that I didn't have to spend our first wedding anniversary alone. I've made friends with two other Navy couples: Christine and Andrew, who I met once in Saratoga, and Kendra and Joe. The four of them came over the night of Greg and my anniversary- they brought food to make dinner and a homemade anniversary cake. We had a great dinner, played with Maggie, and enjoyed a spirited game of Scattergories. Good times.

Christine and Andrew came over again last night, and again brought dinner with them. I found out yesterday that my Mom is going to need more surgery (more explaination below), and I needed to get some things in order before leaving town. (Which we thought yesterday would be this weekend, but it now looks like it's going to wait a week.) Christine cooked dinner and Andrew played with Maggie while I did laundry and tidyed up the den, kitchen and living room, all the while talking about what was going on with my Mom, which was like therapy. It was a godsend. Nights like last night are signs that you've found some really good friends.

So... Mom. Yeah- she has brain cancer. It sucks. Alot. If you'd like to hear more about what's been going and how the past five months have unfolded, check out http://www.christypadin.blogspot.com/. I don't want to talk about it too much on this blog, because I want these posts to be more upbeat, but between Mom being really sick, Greg leaving, and six weeks of lonely unemployment, I haven't posted because I didn't have anything to say that would be fun to read. That and I wrote 4 single-spaced pages on her cancer last night for the other blog.

Anyway, my life is getting a little easier. I'm much happier now that I'm working, and I have a lot more energy to get things done around the house. I've made valances and a throw pillow for the den, and redone a chair with the same fabric. I built a set of four low bookcases- each 4' long, to run along the knee wall of our den (the long, low wall that the barn ceiling comes down to.) This afternoon I moved all the furniture from the kitchen and dining room onto the back porch and cleared out the living room as well as I could. I vacuumed and shampooed the carpets in the living and dining rooms- Maggie has had accidents 2 days in a row, but after 3 hours of cleaning, the stains are gone. Phew. Tomorrow I hope to wash all the windows and the glass doors. Our house has a glass front storm door and double sliding glass doors in the dining room and master bedroom... and every single one of them has a row of nose and paw marks about a foot off the ground.

That's about it for tonight. I'm emotionally and physically spent, and I'm anxious to cuddle up under a cozy blanket.

Best to all.