36 years ago......

Wellllllllllll...it's been 36 years since I came to California!  I had joined the Army National Guard a year before I came to CA, went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for boot camp in July of 1975....

and then on to Fort McClellan, Alabama for Military Police training.

 Joining the Army opened up the world for me! I met and worked with people from all over the country. 

The training was strenuous and sometimes grueling, but I sure grew up during that time, and I was in great shape! Later in the year, 1975, I decided to go "regular" Army. 

So, I signed papers and my orders sent me to Presidio, San Francisco!  I vividly remember my ride from the airport to the base on January 6, 1976.  I asked the person driving to please stop at the beach...annnny beach....because I wanted to see the ocean!  I had come from Minnesota where is was cold, cold, cold, and in the middle of the country!  It was probably 50 degrees in San Francisco, but it felt warm to me!  We stopped at a beach (I don't remember which one it was) and I took my shoes off and walked in the water! The person I was with thought I was looney-because he was freezing!

On we drove to the base.  This is a picture of one of the barracks buildings I lived in:

From the base we could see the Golden Gate Bridge! At night we would listen to the fog horns.....which is very soothing.

I would ride my bicycle or drive down to Fort Point and just sit and watch the waves and have lunch!

I would jog across the Golden Gate bridge at times too! What a beautiful site.  The weather there seems to be opposite of the norm. It is very nice in the spring and fall, but summers can be very chilly!

Ahhhhhh.....memories.........the past 36 years have flown by!

So many nice people in the world!

Today was a "normal" day at work, not too busy, which was nice!  This morning I trained a new person for a few hours. Andrew and I were able to talk on the phone for a few minutes on my last break at work. Because they're 9 hours ahead it's been tough finding just the right time to connect...

When I got off work I ran over to the auto parts store to get a new headlight. Thank goodness one of my coworkers (thanks Eric!) noticed it was out....The guy at the store was so nice, he actually put it in for me!  I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes!

Afterwards I had an appointment at Kaiser that took about 30 minutes. Then I drove over to the cleaners and dropped of probably 100 empty hangers to recycle!  Susan and I talked about our move and she was telling me she and her husband are contemplating going to another country to serve as missionaries. Prayers for them as they make their decision. After the cleaners I swung by the Post Office to mail a box off to Kevin. Thennnnnn...I went and got a "Lion King" sushi roll!  Oh myyyyyy, it's delicious!  That and a cup of tea-I was in heaven for a few minutes!

Lots to do.......

Yesterday I received an e-mail from our realtor here in California. She told me that she will need two weeks to video tape the house for a virtual tour to get everything put on-line. So, last night I was racing around packing some things, putting more things in the garage and generally decluttering.  Everything that is being sent overseas is in a pile, I just need to find out if we can have it sent to an address or if it will have to be picked up at the port in Amsterdam.  It hasn't rained much here, so I've been having to water the lawn.

Andrew and I were able to talk during my lunch break. He will be spending the night at the house tonight. He had just returned from the grocery store and was putting the bed together and setting up the internet when I called.  Lots of things for both of us to do!

It's been difficult going back to work after my vacation.  Sometimes this job is too sad.......we get people calling in at some of the worst moments in their lives.......I'm finding that the older I get the more difficult it is to let those calls go and not pull at my heart strings.....After dispatching emergency services for over 33 years, I am soooo ready to retire. I stopped by the retirement office today to ask some questions, but they were all in a meeting. So, tomorrow I will send out an e-mail!

My son Christopher had shoulder surgery today. He and his wife and daughter live in Georgia. It's so difficult to be so far away, I wish I could've been there beside him.  His wife, Denise, is a sweetheart. She texted me after the surgery and then called me as they were driving home. When she called I was in my car in a parking lot close to home.  He was pretty "out of it".  After I got off the phone I started to cry uncontrollably, it's so hard being so far away....The doctor said his shoulder was a mess, but the surgery went well. He'll have to have his arm in a sling for a month to heal. Denise took a test for a promotion today, but won't know for at least a couple of weeks if she got it or not.

My father-in-law (from my first marriage) is in a facility in Emeryville right now. He's dealing with some depressions issues. He's scheduled to have his gallbladder removed in the next week or two. They're trying to have him build up his strength a bit before they do the surgery.

Amanda called me earlier just to say "hi"!  She's doing well in her job. She commutes against traffic, so it's not too bad!  James left for his new job in Portland, OR a couple of days ago. Amanda said her Mom spoke with him earlier and he made it up there okay-that's all we know right now!

Jackie and Allen are doing well-working, working, working and taking care of their pets and their son!  Kevin is in Afghanistan which has been very difficult for me. I'm just trying to stay busy so I don't dwell on it.  Jon is doing well in Texas. He just got a new job and is working through recovery.

Oh oh, I'm locked inside the house!

Andrew called and said he was at the house earlier working on putting furniture together. As he was preparing to leave (at around 0500 hrs!), he found that he was locked inside the house!  Luckily, the front door has a little window that can be opened!  He peeked out and Lo and Behold, there happened to be someone walking by!  He passed the key out to that person who unlocked the door from the outside to let him out!  The landlords have already replaced the lock!

Helloooooo...anyone out there?!?

Last day of vacation

Today is my last day of vacation from work......back to getting up at 0330 hrs. tomorrow morning....

 This morning I swept out the garage and took everything out of the garage that I could carry so I could scrub the floor later in the day.

I had a dental appointment at 1230hrs. to have a bridge replaced. One thing led to another and I ended up sitting in the chair for 3 hours having two root canals done on top of getting a new bridge!

When I got home, I took out the power washer and sprayed and scrubbed the garage floor. After a couple of hours of work, it looks pretty good!  As I was putting everything away, I stepped out into the back yard and saw the most beautiful sunset!

Leaving is bittersweet....

Last night I spent a couple of hours scanning my favorite recipes into the computer and printing copies so I can bring them to the Netherlands with me when I go again in February.  Andrew and I spent the past week preparing things around the house for his departure.  The house will be put on the market in a few weeks so we wanted to get all of the heavy work done before he left.  We took a couple of trips to the storage locker together and put away more of our belongings.  Amazing how comfortable you can be with less......hmmmmm.....

Andrew left this morning for the Netherlands. His leaving is bittersweet..... It's so difficult to say goodbye, even if it's only for a short time....In the meantime, I will be cleaning, decluttering, and polishing things in the house to prepare it for the market. We're hoping a nice family will find it to be just the right house for them!

As I look around I have so many memories from the past 22 years that I've lived in this house.  This chapter is difficult to finish and put to rest as I contemplate and embark on the next new chapter of my life!