http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15towns.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

THE LITTLE TREE

This past Christmas was one of the strangest holidays that I’ve spent.  For the first time in 31 years I had no children at home to celebrate Christmas and my dad and step mom were unable to come up for the holiday either.  Erik and his family were visiting Amy’s family in Northern Virginia ,  Alexander was in Shanghai, China and my step-mom, Lois, had just gotten out of the hospital.

Sometime in middle November Jim asked me if I was going to decorate for Christmas and I sadly said no, because there was no reason since we were not going to have any company or family here for Christmas.  After pondering this statement for a few moments it suddenly hit me that something was terribly wrong with my thought process.  It seems that I had bought into the whole “home for the holidays — celebrate and spend money” thing and completely forgot the real reason for the holiday.  Perhaps I was wallowing in self-pity because I was “alone” at Christmas but when the realization hit me that I was more worried about  not having my  family surrounding me at Christmas then the real reason for Christmas I suddenly got in the spirit of things.

Somehow in my self-pity I forgot about my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Christmas is a celebration of His birth, not a celebration of my family.  Once it hit me that I totally missed the point this year,  I began decorating the house with renewed enthusiasm.    As I put up the tree (I cheated a bit and put up the small tree…but it is beautiful and a reminder of His birth) I found myself thinking about how even when we feel alone Jesus is always with us and the joy came back to me again proving to me that Jesus lives and will ALWAYS be home for Christmas!

I know that next Christmas, even if none of my family can share the day with me, that I will always have that one special person to share it with…..Jesus!!!

I am an avid dog lover!  For those of you that don’t know, Jim and I rescued two dogs.  Terri (our little one) came from the Pet Assistance League in Stafford, Virginia and Malachi (our border collie) just showed up at the door one winter day and never left.

I received the following from a friend and it made me laugh.  It is so true I can almost imagine my dogs thinking these things!  ENJOY!

MEMO TO:  God

FROM:  The dog

Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?
Dear God:  When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?
Dear God:  Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar the mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the ‘Chrysler Eagle’ the ‘ Chrysler Beagle’?

Dear God:  If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God:  We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent ID’s, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?
Dear God:  More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God:  Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good dog.

1. I will not eat the cats’ food before they eat it or after they throw it up.

2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.

4. The sofa is not a ‘face towel’.

5. The  garbage collector is not stealing our stuff

6. I will not play  tug-of-war with Dad’s underwear when he’s on the toilet

7. Sticking my nose into someone’s crotch is an unacceptable way of saying ’hello’.

8. I don’t need to suddenly stand straight up when I’m under the coffee table.

9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house – not after.

10. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt.11. I will not  sit in the middle of the living room and lick

11. The  cat is not a ‘squeaky toy’ so when I play with him and he makes that  noise, it’s usually not a good thing

Our first rescue dog..Terri

I remember it was December of his Senior year of high school when my son, Erik, came to me and told me he was going to join the Navy and the recruiter was going to come over that evening and talk with us.  Of course, as a mother, my emotions were a mixture of pride and fear.  I grew up in a Navy family, so service to our country is nothing new to me, but when it is your own son this is something that pierces a mother’s heart.  That night the recruiter came, and Erik informed him the only way he would enlist was if could be a Corpsman.  Well, the rest is history…. it has been 11 years, and Erik became a Corpsman in the U.S. Navy.  For those of you that don’t know what a Corpsman is, he’s the “doc” for the Marines.  It has been said that when a Marine is injured he calls for 3 things….1.  God ** 2. Doc (corpsman) ** 3. Mom.  Needless to say, I am a very proud mom to know that my son is willing to put his life on the line to save that of another on the battlefield.  For those of you that do not know what a Corpsman does, watch this video as this is the essence of a Corpsman. 

On a beautiful, sunny, spring afternoon in 2007 I got a phone call from Erik.  He stated that he was being deployed in September with the Marines 1/8 to Rimadi.  This was the call that most mothers dread.  The notification that their son was going to war.  The fact that Corpsman have received more Medal of Honors than any other billet speaks volumes, but it also speaks to the danger of being a Corpsman with the Marines.

15 September 2007, Erik and the Marines 1/8 left for Iraq.  As a side note, this happened to be the exact same day that his younger brother, my other son, Alexander, was being sworn into the Naval Reserve at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.   This day, was by far the most bitter sweet day of my life.  Alexander was so proud of his brother’s service in the Navy, that’s all he wanted to do as well.  Alexander is currently in school, and is planning to fly helicopters for the Marines or the Coast Guard, so that he can follow in his brother’s footsteps.   Through the prayers of my friends and family and with the Grace of our Lord, I am happy to say that my son was returned to us safely on 12 April 2008. Below is a photo when he showed up at his son’s school and surprised him with his return from Iraq. I believe that the looks on everyone’s face shows the emotions.

I know from what he’s told me that other mother’s, father’s, wife’s and son’s and daughter’s lost their loved ones and there was no happy reunion for them; but I also know that as long as there are brave men and women who are willing to fight for our freedom, and as long as their are Corpsman, who are willing to risk their life under fire to tend to the injured on the battlefield our Country will remain as great as it is.

It is with all my heart that I say THANK YOU to my son, Erik and all the other members of our Armed Forces for defending our way of life and it is with every ounce of love in my body that I say to Erik….WELL DONE SON. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!

During the drive I had a lot of time to think about how things are going at KP.  The final exam grades were posted and I found out that a dear friend of mine son failed 2 classes.  It felt like I had been kicked in the ribs when she told me this.  What this means is that he will have to take a set-back to the class of 2012 and start all over again next summer.  This came as such a shock because this young man is very bright but apparently had a struggle with Calc and Physics.  After talking with others today, it seems that there are quite a few set backs and even a greater number of dis-enrollments.  Whew,,,sure was not prepred for this kind of statistic.  I’m thanking God that Alex is able to study and focus.  He ended up with a 3.24 GPA for the trimester, and I’m hoping he can keep up the good work.  My prayers are with the families of the plebes who have a big decision to make over the next several months…..and that is weather to come back to KP and start again with the class of 2012.

 I found a poem that basically sums up my thoughts on life….wanted to share it here:

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl. 

One was an optimistic soul.  The other took the gloomy view
“We’ll drown,” he cried, without more ado;So, with a last despairing cry
He flung up his legs and said “Good-by.”
Said the other frog with a plucky grin, I can’t get out, but I won’t give in;
I’ll just swim around till my strength is spent, Then I can die with more content.”
Bravely he swam till it would seem
His struggles began to churn the cream.
At last on top of the butter he stopped, And out of the bowl he gladly hopped

What is the moral? ‘Tis easily found—When you can’t get out keep swimming around

 The past several months have been busy and very emotional as well.  Alex reported to the United States Merchant Marine Academy to begin his 4 year education on 5 July 2007.  Around the same time, my oldest son found out he was being deployed to Iraq as a Corpman with the Marines.

Alex graduated from high school the middle of June 07 and that left him about 4 weeks at home before leaving for college.  He spent the time relaxing and visiting with friends.  On 3 July we packed up the car with all the necessary items for indoc and headed for New York City.  Alex’s dear friend and sister flew in from California on the 3rd of July and we spent the next day enjoying the sites and sounds of New York City.   On September 15, Alex participated in the acceptance ceremony at KP and was sworn into the Naval & Merchant Marine Reserve.  On the same day, Erik was deployed to Iraq.  Talk about an emotional time for a Mom!  UGH!

 It’s now November first and Alex is home on fall leave after finishing his first trimester at the Academy.  He found out his grades last night, and is totally bummed.  He missed getting an academic silver star by a tiny bit.  His GPA for the trimester was 3.22 and a silver star is 3.25.  For those of you that know Alex you can imagine how unhappy he was about this!

We went to Virginia Tech yesterday to visit with Jess.  Alex was a bit sad when he visited with a lot of his friends that are attending Tech.  As some of you know, he was accepted in the Va Tech School of Engineering and awarded a 4 Year Navy ROTC there, but decided to accept his appointment to the Merchant Marine Academy, so it was a little hard to see how “regular” college kids live.