Most of you know I'm a self proclaimed Meteorologist. I've been fascinated by weather since I was 6 years old and never stopped loving it. If you don't know me, you may get upset by my excitement when it comes to severe weather. I will say things like "YEEEEHAWWW" or "Git-R-Done." I don't mean this in any disrespect. It's just the way I show my feelings for something that gets my adrenaline pumping.
I've seen many tornadoes. Some up close, others far away. Some I only see the debris falling from the sky due to an insane tornado 30 miles away. Either way, tornadoes are my favorite. Not in the, you just had your house and everything you owned blown away, but in the WOW what an amazing act of nature. Something no one can completely predict.
I've always been home. I've always been able to walk outside and FEEL if a tornado was going to hit. I would even dream about it the night before. It's crazy, I know. But I did. Maybe that's why I love tornadoes so much. Any time a tornado came through, we always helped. We cut up trees, we cleared debris, we made meals, we donated clothes... we helped. I've seen it up close. I've never lost anything in a tornado, but I've had plenty of friends and family who have. I know. I understand.
11 days ago, I watched as a storm rolled in to central Oklahoma. I was doing this all late at night here in Sicily. I watched as a tornado formed over Lake Thunderbird (AKA: Dirty Bird) and raced east. I knew in my heart when the tornado hit our friends neighborhood. There was huge, multiple power flashes at one time. And I just knew it was them. I had alerted a friend before the storm hit her house via facebook, but I'm not sure she got it. I messaged another friend as soon as I saw the power flashes. I knew.
Sure enough, 2 military FAMILIES lost their houses. Yes, families. You don't hafta be bluuud to be familee. (Imagine me saying that as redneck as possible). The tornado raced towards many others that I know and love. Luckily, they were spared.
The next day, May 20, is the tornado everyone knows about. The EF-5 that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma killing innocent men, women, children and babies. Just devastating news. I stayed up until after 4:00am my time waiting to hear if one of the guys Chris worked with at TAFB found his family. His wife and kids were missing. I couldn't sleep until I knew they were found. Safe.
I can't explain the emotion I went through during those two days. As soon as the storms turned tornadic, I began to cry. I cried big, huge tears. They streamed down my face and soaked my shirt. I was constantly updating my facebook weather page and praying. I've never felt so helpless in my life. At home, we did help. As soon as the storms passed, we were there. Here, I was nothing. I was a person, half a world away, crying. And typing on Facebook.
I felt really guilty about the May 20 tornado. I still do. I'm always on here typing away about storms on stormy days. I get a lot of flack from people about my constant texts and updates about storms that people obviously know about. But for some reason, I have this tug in my heart that I just HAVE to tell them. Because WHAT IF I don't. What if I don't and they didn't know and something bad happens. That happened on May 20th. We had some people come over to our house and I shut my laptop. I turned my phone on silent. I didn't pay attention. I posted an update on my personal page from our school at home, LCA, about school closing early. I should have known when that happened, it was serious. I now know what it feels like when I don't. It's heart wrenching. The school closed 2 hours before the tornado hit Moore. They were following the Mid-Del and Tinker school closings. That's what I always hated about storms in Oklahoma during April and May. It's always when school is getting out or when you're getting off of work. I've driven around to 3 different schools getting 4 children (none were mine, btw) before school has let out because of the threat of storms. I wish I would have been home to do that for people. I wish I would have told our guests how happy I was to have them but to please excuse me, I have weather to attend too. I wish... What if.... I turned my laptop on and within 10 minutes the tornado started to form and was on the ground. The rest is history.
This is what Okie's do. We come together and fight. You're either a Sooner or a Cowboy. But you all love OKC Thunder. You drive across the state to help a family you've never met pick up their pieces. You hold the door open for others. You say "Yessir" and "Thank ya mam'." We say "ya'll." We pray before our games. Our teachers look at their children they're holding in from a tornado and tell them "I LOVE YOU." (I'm crying now, btw). We CRY. Grown men WEEP at the generosity of others. We drive BIG trucks. We wear boots with everything. Our children learn how to shoot a gun. How to be around a gun. PROTECT their families with guns. We give our only shirt we own to someone else who lost theirs. OKIE'S come back. We come to our home state and GIVE. I am BLOWN AWAY at how many people call Oklahoma HOME when they aren't from there. I've noticed when you ask people where they're from you'll get "State Name. But originally from Different State Name." The true Okie's will always say they're from Oklahoma. And if you're not originally from Oklahoma but call Oklahoma HOME, you're an Okie too. We eat watermelon with salt on it while sitting under the tree. We leave our trucks and houses unlocked. We don't knock and wait for you to answer the door, we knock alerting you that we're coming in so you can grab your shorts because more than likely, you're in your underwear watching TV. We never meet a stranger. Our kids learn to drive a "stick" at the age of 5 sitting on your lap. Everything is a "COKE" when you're thirsty. You just have to specify what flavor you want. Yes, we measure distant in time and when we go shopping we're going to "town." All those little things you read, is true. It is.
I've watch where celebrities from OK have donated, helped clean up, visited hospitals. I mean, that's so awesome. The Thunder players are posting on their facebook about helping their HOME. It's so amazing to see. I really wish I could have seen the Healing in the Heartland tribute. It sold out within minutes of going on sale. I had a lot of friends who attended and everyone else watched it on TV. Apparently it was a big tear jerker. I hope I'll get to see it soon!
This past week the most amazing feeling happened. I realized I was a
"Born and Bred Okie." And that's one of the best feelings in the
world. I watched online as everyone started to come together. I was
texting people who were racing to our friends houses to help. I watched
as everyone starting coming together. People who aren't from Oklahoma
suddenly became Okie's. And it's very true GOD blessed OKLAHOMA.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Come passa il tempo....
Where did the time go?
Really? Where did it go?
It's funny to me. Time. Everyone says "If I have time." "I don't have enough time." "Man, time stands still." Or..."Oh my gosh. Time flies. Where did the time go?"
Chris made the comment the other day in the kitchen, "Can you believe we've been here for almost 6 months? Seems like we JUST got here."
UMMMMM.... Yeah. It seems like we've been here for 6 YEARS to me. He says it's because I don't get out and do anything. I, of course, completely disagree with him. Maybe that's why time DOESN'T fly for me and it seems like we've been here for such a long time. Because I actually do a lot.
I have a pretty busy schedule when you think about it. For all those naysayers who think us SAHM or homeschool moms don't do anything, I'd like them to spend a day in my shoes. I get up in the mornings and hit the gym. It opens at 5:30 but I have to be back at home by 6:30. Now, NO, I don't do that all the time...but at one point I was doing that 5 days a week and then still running on Saturday's or Sunday's around Mariani (our neighborhood). If it wasn't for my recent health problems, I would have never quit. So my day starts at 5:30. When I get home I do my Pilates and then get ready for the day. Sometimes I'm done with Pilates in 30 minutes, sometimes 45. Just depends. Then I homeschool.
Homeschooling. What a reward. Probably one of the hardest jobs I have ever had. And I'm not sure why I allow what other people think to define my life and who I am. Homeschooling is just different. It's different than anything I expected it to be. I've watched my kids excel in their studies. And it's an AMAZING thing to see. Think back... when your child came home from school and was reading. Or they were doing multiplication tables. SOMEONE sat down and taught them that. And it's HARD. Remember potty training?? Yeah. It's like that. Your first one was a pain! Took months! The second one was a breeze! That's how homeschooling is. Not saying teaching in schools isn't like that (because imagine having a room full of potty trainees...15 of them) but when it's your own child, it's scary. LOL. Not that it isn't scary as a school teacher, but at some point, you pass the child off to their parents and the parents have to step in and take over. Which is another thing I think is hilarious in all of this. Everyone wants to rave about "socialization." "OOOOhhh... you're poor children. They won't have any friends. They won't learn how to overcome hard issues in their lives if you don't allow them to go to school!" Apparently the only way a child will learn how to correctly interact with their "peers" is to go sit in a classroom with them 8 hours a day. But ya know what, last time I checked, the parents are the ones who TAUGHT their children how to act around other human beings. And not only that...but to act around dogs. And cats. And ... oh my gosh.. bugs! Seriously. Think about it. "Socialization" is all about how someone acts, participates in their own society. Right? How to talk to other people. How you treat other people. How you handle really tough situations. So please explain to me how they are taught that in school from a teacher. Not saying a teacher doesn't contribute to it.. but from the time your child first starts interacting in this world, you're the one there doing it. What happened when your toddler told you "NO!" for the first time? Did you run them into a school building and ask a teacher what to do? No, you didn't. YOU, the parent, taught them NO, you can't say that! Or when they fought with their sister or brother. Or with a friend who has a kid kind of the same age. THE PARENTS taught them that. They should be socialized BEFORE they start school. And, BTW, taking my children out of school here hasn't hurt them in any way, shape, or form. Matter of fact, I believe it has helped them GROW as individuals. And they are being SOCIALIZED with not only kids their age (::gasp:: what a shocker, huh?? Kids their OWN AGE) but with kids younger, older, and of a completely different culture!!! Could I homeschool them forever? YES. Absolutely. I would love that. Am I going to? No. Why? Because I'm HAPPY with my school at home. I agree with the teaching methods, the way the school is ran, with the school in general. I'm happy at home. I'm NOT happy here. I wasn't happy with what was offered to my children. And since I couldn't pick a different school system, I chose the best thing. ME. So remember when you start talking bad about homeschooling, you're talking bad about my children's teacher. And I take great offense to that. Especially when you have no idea what goes on in my "classroom." Which by the way, isn't in a room with a bunch of desks with a chalkboard. Today it was outside on our patio and then inside in our "tent" under the table. And it's also up on the top of Mt. Etna because we're learning about how rocks are formed. And guess what, some rocks are formed by volcanoes. The hot MAGMA is inside the earth. When it flows out of the volcano it's called LAVA. And those big black rocks that we picked up and held in our hands that we called "lava rock" is actually BASALT. Yeah, maybe your child already knew that. And they got to hold a piece of basalt in their hands in their classroom... but my kids learned about it and was on an ACTIVE volcano when they did. To me, that's reason enough to homeschool while I'm here. So off my homeschooling rant. I know. But that's who I am. And it's a very hard job. Especially when I'm not getting the support I need here to do it. But I'm not backing down. And I've decided to put my name in the pot for the board of the homeschool group here in Sigonella. I told them I'm even willing to be named President of the Sigonella Homeschoolers. Then I'd actually have to "play nice" with people. Eeeek. That might not be such a good thing!
So I deal with that every day. 3rd grade and PreK. It's fun tho. And it's great 1 on 1 time or even 2 on 1 time with the girls. We learn a lot together. Then every Mon & Wed we all pack up and head to Matti's ballet class. That's from 4:00-5:30. Chrissy is in gymnastics from 4:30-5:30 on Tues & Thurs. And of course we have to have dinner after that. We also squeeze in grocery shopping either at the commissary or out in town. We've gone to the Italian grocery stores and we've also gone to the actual "farmers" markets. The kids love that because last week, on our way home, they got to eat the big juicy strawberries we just bought. Along with groceries, I'm doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning the house. Ya know, the stuff everyone else does. Or most everyone else. We volunteer at the FFSC when we can. We also go to the library. We have as many play dates as possible.
Here lately we haven't gotten to do as much. Which is ultimately why I'm blogging. I'm going to have an EGD done tomorrow morning. Not that it's a big procedure or anything. But it still scares me. And this is the first time I'm doing it alone. No family around. My good friend is taking me though. And I can't thank her enough. And another good friend will watching the kids for us. Which is another blessing. My children won't do any schooling tomorrow, BUT they'll be "socializing" with other kids and visiting a butterfly farm. HOW COOL IS THAT?? (Yay for field trips!) Chris has a motorcycle course he has to take. So he can't be there. And that's one of the things that scares me the most. He knows how my body works. And most people don't understand how hard this stuff is on me until they experience it. And he won't be there to help me if it's bad. It's just scary.
(I'm crying now so I'm going to add more emotional stuff into this). I wanted to hop on a plane and head back to the states this past week. I would have if it wasn't for my EGD tomorrow. Friday is LCA's senior graduation. The seniors graduating this year are like my "babies." I became SO CLOSE to so many of them while I was there. I can't even believe they're graduating. I had wanted to fly home and surprise them all at graduation. There's a flight heading to the states tomorrow, too. I really wish I was heading to the airport instead of the hospital. It was hard not being there for all the homecomings, senior trip, junior/senior prom... but not being there for graduation is just like punch in the gut. I can't get the knot out of my throat when I think about it. I just have to let the tears fall.
We all have the same amount of time in the day. We have 24 hours. How we choose to spend that is entirely on ourselves. It's about your priorities. Not all are the same. And that's not a bad thing, at all. It's just different. I love how Facebook has changed a lot of peoples lives. Some for better, some for worse. Mine has turned "for worse" here lately. Not in the "why you talkin to her? Who is she??" kind of crap, but in the "look at what I'm missing at home" sort of way. It's hard being so far away from your family and friends and missing out on what's going on. When you're surrounded by those people, you don't think about the ones who aren't there. Sure, I post pictures or write about what's going on in our lives over here A LOT, but it's because I'm trying to help my family & friends see what we're doing. It makes me feel closer to them. It helps me stay connected. But it's different when they don't do the same. I'm not blaming them or pointing fingers AT ALL. I get it. You're at a birthday party, you status update it, but that's it. No pictures. Why? Because everyone is there. And you forget. You're busy. TIME has flown by. And because of that, I'm starting to get worse. I'm getting sad. I know what it's like to have a BFF move away. Slowly the phone calls, emails, text message start to go away. And that makes me sad. I'm learning how to "let go." But the bad thing is, I don't want to learn to let go. I still want to be there. And right now when I see the status updates or even the pictures when they are posted, I cry. I cry because I'm missing it. Because in a year I don't want the phone calls, the emails, the text messages to go away. I don't want to become so busy that I "don't have time."
Which really comes back to the beginning ... Where did the time go?
Really? Where did it go?
It's funny to me. Time. Everyone says "If I have time." "I don't have enough time." "Man, time stands still." Or..."Oh my gosh. Time flies. Where did the time go?"
Chris made the comment the other day in the kitchen, "Can you believe we've been here for almost 6 months? Seems like we JUST got here."
UMMMMM.... Yeah. It seems like we've been here for 6 YEARS to me. He says it's because I don't get out and do anything. I, of course, completely disagree with him. Maybe that's why time DOESN'T fly for me and it seems like we've been here for such a long time. Because I actually do a lot.
I have a pretty busy schedule when you think about it. For all those naysayers who think us SAHM or homeschool moms don't do anything, I'd like them to spend a day in my shoes. I get up in the mornings and hit the gym. It opens at 5:30 but I have to be back at home by 6:30. Now, NO, I don't do that all the time...but at one point I was doing that 5 days a week and then still running on Saturday's or Sunday's around Mariani (our neighborhood). If it wasn't for my recent health problems, I would have never quit. So my day starts at 5:30. When I get home I do my Pilates and then get ready for the day. Sometimes I'm done with Pilates in 30 minutes, sometimes 45. Just depends. Then I homeschool.
Homeschooling. What a reward. Probably one of the hardest jobs I have ever had. And I'm not sure why I allow what other people think to define my life and who I am. Homeschooling is just different. It's different than anything I expected it to be. I've watched my kids excel in their studies. And it's an AMAZING thing to see. Think back... when your child came home from school and was reading. Or they were doing multiplication tables. SOMEONE sat down and taught them that. And it's HARD. Remember potty training?? Yeah. It's like that. Your first one was a pain! Took months! The second one was a breeze! That's how homeschooling is. Not saying teaching in schools isn't like that (because imagine having a room full of potty trainees...15 of them) but when it's your own child, it's scary. LOL. Not that it isn't scary as a school teacher, but at some point, you pass the child off to their parents and the parents have to step in and take over. Which is another thing I think is hilarious in all of this. Everyone wants to rave about "socialization." "OOOOhhh... you're poor children. They won't have any friends. They won't learn how to overcome hard issues in their lives if you don't allow them to go to school!" Apparently the only way a child will learn how to correctly interact with their "peers" is to go sit in a classroom with them 8 hours a day. But ya know what, last time I checked, the parents are the ones who TAUGHT their children how to act around other human beings. And not only that...but to act around dogs. And cats. And ... oh my gosh.. bugs! Seriously. Think about it. "Socialization" is all about how someone acts, participates in their own society. Right? How to talk to other people. How you treat other people. How you handle really tough situations. So please explain to me how they are taught that in school from a teacher. Not saying a teacher doesn't contribute to it.. but from the time your child first starts interacting in this world, you're the one there doing it. What happened when your toddler told you "NO!" for the first time? Did you run them into a school building and ask a teacher what to do? No, you didn't. YOU, the parent, taught them NO, you can't say that! Or when they fought with their sister or brother. Or with a friend who has a kid kind of the same age. THE PARENTS taught them that. They should be socialized BEFORE they start school. And, BTW, taking my children out of school here hasn't hurt them in any way, shape, or form. Matter of fact, I believe it has helped them GROW as individuals. And they are being SOCIALIZED with not only kids their age (::gasp:: what a shocker, huh?? Kids their OWN AGE) but with kids younger, older, and of a completely different culture!!! Could I homeschool them forever? YES. Absolutely. I would love that. Am I going to? No. Why? Because I'm HAPPY with my school at home. I agree with the teaching methods, the way the school is ran, with the school in general. I'm happy at home. I'm NOT happy here. I wasn't happy with what was offered to my children. And since I couldn't pick a different school system, I chose the best thing. ME. So remember when you start talking bad about homeschooling, you're talking bad about my children's teacher. And I take great offense to that. Especially when you have no idea what goes on in my "classroom." Which by the way, isn't in a room with a bunch of desks with a chalkboard. Today it was outside on our patio and then inside in our "tent" under the table. And it's also up on the top of Mt. Etna because we're learning about how rocks are formed. And guess what, some rocks are formed by volcanoes. The hot MAGMA is inside the earth. When it flows out of the volcano it's called LAVA. And those big black rocks that we picked up and held in our hands that we called "lava rock" is actually BASALT. Yeah, maybe your child already knew that. And they got to hold a piece of basalt in their hands in their classroom... but my kids learned about it and was on an ACTIVE volcano when they did. To me, that's reason enough to homeschool while I'm here. So off my homeschooling rant. I know. But that's who I am. And it's a very hard job. Especially when I'm not getting the support I need here to do it. But I'm not backing down. And I've decided to put my name in the pot for the board of the homeschool group here in Sigonella. I told them I'm even willing to be named President of the Sigonella Homeschoolers. Then I'd actually have to "play nice" with people. Eeeek. That might not be such a good thing!
So I deal with that every day. 3rd grade and PreK. It's fun tho. And it's great 1 on 1 time or even 2 on 1 time with the girls. We learn a lot together. Then every Mon & Wed we all pack up and head to Matti's ballet class. That's from 4:00-5:30. Chrissy is in gymnastics from 4:30-5:30 on Tues & Thurs. And of course we have to have dinner after that. We also squeeze in grocery shopping either at the commissary or out in town. We've gone to the Italian grocery stores and we've also gone to the actual "farmers" markets. The kids love that because last week, on our way home, they got to eat the big juicy strawberries we just bought. Along with groceries, I'm doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning the house. Ya know, the stuff everyone else does. Or most everyone else. We volunteer at the FFSC when we can. We also go to the library. We have as many play dates as possible.
Here lately we haven't gotten to do as much. Which is ultimately why I'm blogging. I'm going to have an EGD done tomorrow morning. Not that it's a big procedure or anything. But it still scares me. And this is the first time I'm doing it alone. No family around. My good friend is taking me though. And I can't thank her enough. And another good friend will watching the kids for us. Which is another blessing. My children won't do any schooling tomorrow, BUT they'll be "socializing" with other kids and visiting a butterfly farm. HOW COOL IS THAT?? (Yay for field trips!) Chris has a motorcycle course he has to take. So he can't be there. And that's one of the things that scares me the most. He knows how my body works. And most people don't understand how hard this stuff is on me until they experience it. And he won't be there to help me if it's bad. It's just scary.
(I'm crying now so I'm going to add more emotional stuff into this). I wanted to hop on a plane and head back to the states this past week. I would have if it wasn't for my EGD tomorrow. Friday is LCA's senior graduation. The seniors graduating this year are like my "babies." I became SO CLOSE to so many of them while I was there. I can't even believe they're graduating. I had wanted to fly home and surprise them all at graduation. There's a flight heading to the states tomorrow, too. I really wish I was heading to the airport instead of the hospital. It was hard not being there for all the homecomings, senior trip, junior/senior prom... but not being there for graduation is just like punch in the gut. I can't get the knot out of my throat when I think about it. I just have to let the tears fall.
We all have the same amount of time in the day. We have 24 hours. How we choose to spend that is entirely on ourselves. It's about your priorities. Not all are the same. And that's not a bad thing, at all. It's just different. I love how Facebook has changed a lot of peoples lives. Some for better, some for worse. Mine has turned "for worse" here lately. Not in the "why you talkin to her? Who is she??" kind of crap, but in the "look at what I'm missing at home" sort of way. It's hard being so far away from your family and friends and missing out on what's going on. When you're surrounded by those people, you don't think about the ones who aren't there. Sure, I post pictures or write about what's going on in our lives over here A LOT, but it's because I'm trying to help my family & friends see what we're doing. It makes me feel closer to them. It helps me stay connected. But it's different when they don't do the same. I'm not blaming them or pointing fingers AT ALL. I get it. You're at a birthday party, you status update it, but that's it. No pictures. Why? Because everyone is there. And you forget. You're busy. TIME has flown by. And because of that, I'm starting to get worse. I'm getting sad. I know what it's like to have a BFF move away. Slowly the phone calls, emails, text message start to go away. And that makes me sad. I'm learning how to "let go." But the bad thing is, I don't want to learn to let go. I still want to be there. And right now when I see the status updates or even the pictures when they are posted, I cry. I cry because I'm missing it. Because in a year I don't want the phone calls, the emails, the text messages to go away. I don't want to become so busy that I "don't have time."
Which really comes back to the beginning ... Where did the time go?
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