"Time, we just need a little more time with the ones we love. "
"Life changes in one second, the blink of an eye. "
"Make a choice "
"The plague"
You see the point right?
It was just not what I needed right now. It's been so up and down around here. Highs like our trip last weekend:
or receiving an honor like the NMFA Family Award and capturing the moment with Asher's finger up his nose:
Lows like Terry breaking down at the mere sight of the Iwo Jima photo or Asher asking every time Terry leaves if he's going to Iraq, if I'm going to Iraq, if Gabe's going to Iraq.
Mostly though the family has been very good. We're like a baby, just on the verge of walking. We take a couple steps, fall, take a couple more and I'm sure before we know it we'll be running together again.
Speaking of running, I ran six miles in 90 minutes and before you break down into complete hysterics, I couldn't even run two miles a couple of months ago and I've gotta finish a 10 miler in at least a 15 minute mile in a few weeks so I'm feeling pretty good.
News flash - I'm watching the new JJ Abrams drama 6 Degrees and one of the characters' husband was killed in Iraq - as a reporter. Weird.
This has nothing to do with anything, but I'm in a stream of consciousness kind of mood. I'm working on the classics I somehow missed in college and high school, just finished Jane Eyre and I'm now reading A Farewell to Arms. I'm going to read another Hemingway soon, but I want a break between them. Any suggestions?
14 comments:
I love the baby walking/family reconnecting analogy. And way to go on the running milestone!
Once in awhile I get in the mood for some classics, too. Have you read any plays? I'm thinking Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" or anything by Tennessee Williams. I'm also a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan.
"The Sun Also Rises" if you want Hemingway. My personal Hemingway favorite is "A Farewell to Arms". I would never watch the movie because I truly believe the book to be a masterpiece, as only Hemingway could write it. Also, I just re-read "A Bright Shining Lie". In short, it tells the story of John Paul Vann and America's involvement in Vietnam. I don't exactly know what kind of books you like, but I also highly recommend "Mao - A Life". It starts from his childhood and continues on to the Communist revolution, The Great Leap Forward, purges, etc etc. Mao was a bad guy, but it is a fascinating read on his Machiavellian approach to forming a communist China.
As far as the other stuff goes, if the good days far outnumber the bad days, then isn't that reason enough to be optimistic that the future holds great promise for your entire family? No one who reads your blog and comments lives in your shoes. Only you and your husband know what's best for your family. One day at a time...
WPJ
Read The Scarlet Letter if you haven't already. It's very good.
...and it's good to know that things are moving with your family. I'm glad to know that you're all together again.
Sending warm fuzzy feelings and tequila. LOL
Pride and Prejudice has always been my favourite read of the classics short of a few from Shakespear.
Jess - I tried to read A Raisin in the Sun and it was hard to get into the format, but I did see it on Broadway a couple years ago with P. Diddy in Sidney Poiter's role! :)
William - I will read the Sun Also Rises and I was thinking The Old Man and the Sea. Nice car btw!
Nikki - oooo. The Scarlet Letter. That's a good suggestion! Never read it. How did you know Tequila was our drug of choice??? :)
HH6 - P&P is definitely one I want to read, but I've seen the movie (all versions) about 100 times. Will that ruin it for me?
The book is much better than most of the movies (except the Colin Firth eyecandy). Aren't they all?
Honestly the book often touches the mental notes of the character that is often left out in movies. So I'd say give it a try. I just picked up the Count of Monte Cristo to read.
I recently read Richard Wright's "Native Son" as part of my classics catch-up -- a nice counterpoint to the Richard Powers jag I've been on.
As someone who loves an OEF/OIF veteran, I can relate to seeing tears at unexpected times. Hang in there; I can't promise you it will get better, of course, but I believe it will. It has for us.
I'm a sucker for To Kill a Mockingbird or any Stephen King book. Quite a difference, but variety is the spice of life they say!
ER always makes me cry. EVERY DAMN TIME. *sniff* Twice this week. Reruns.
More of a modern classic, but I just re-read "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and loved it even more the second time.
My dad was on a hospital ship off the beaches of Iwo Jima the day that flag went up on Mt. Surabachi. He'd been wounded on D-day+2 and couldn't make it up the ship's ladder without help, so one of his buddies helped him get up on deck a few days later so he could see it. He said it was truly an inspiring sight. He'd lost many good friends on that island and considered himself to be lucky just to be wounded. The day the ship set sail for Guam, he and his buddy stayed on deck and watched the flag and the island disappear from sight.
As for books, right now I'm reading The Blog of War, a collection of posts from different military bloggers. A friend, one of the bloggers, sent me a copy...it's not exactly a the kind of book you're talking about, but it's well worth reading.
Um, this is totally shallow and has nothing to do with your post...but man, you are so beautiful! You are literally shining on that picture! You can literally see how your life has brightened...it's so nice to see happy families when their soldiers come home, albeit with the baby steps of reconnection.
hh6 - yes, the count is one I want to read too. I love the movie - I don't sound like a reader do I? I watch all the movies first!
Mel - so Robin wrote a book too? I didn't know that. I don't think much of her husband though.
bette - I can never hear too many times that it gets better. Sometimes I am afraid that we will always be in this fog. My husband received a Purple Heart, so without going into details you know he was injured and what he went through was awful, yet, he knows guys that had it a lot worse and lost a lot more than he did. That's what plagues us more than anything, the thoughts of friends or even any soldier over there now.
CTW - Yes! I have read TKAMB. I love it too, and the movie. LUV Gregory Peck!
Sweatpants mom - That is familiar to me. The title alone makes me want to pick it up!
kbug - Ohhhh. I don't know if I can read a war book yet!! I hesitated to even start A Farewell to Arms. Even WWI lingo is too familiar. But I'll keep it in mind. And how amazing about your dad! Isn't it amazing what the flag means to us? Thank you kbug's dad for your service! :)
callivalleygirl - Oh, if you only saw the other photos! But thank you so much. I'll give credit to my new Origins products that I've been using; Plantidote serum, Modern Friction scrub, A Perfect World white tea skin gaurdian, APW mosturizer and some nighttime mask I can't remember the name of :)
Not everyone is ready for war stories, but I grew up on them. As little kids...my brothers, sisters, and I would sit entranced on the floor around Dad's feet listening to him talk about Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima. We loved hearing about all his adventures and his Marine buddies. Maybe that's why I love war movies and books so much..... :)
Okay. This is weird. I have a picture of MY kids at that same dinosaur egg spot--Busch Gardens?
This is really very six degrees of separation. I wonder who else I have been in contact with has posed there? Interesting. OUr world is so small.
That IS AT Busch Gardens, right?
Post a Comment