I'm a bank robber....Well sorta

My brain woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday. All day I had been having moments of being an airhead. Kept forgetting things, going back to the house 3 times before leaving in the car, and then forgetting the check that I needed to deposit, but not the deposit slip, and had to drive all the way back to the house.

The biggest airhead moment was when I got home from the bank. It was my last stop of the day and I started to grab all of the stuff on the passenger seat. AAAAACK!!!!!!!! Sitting there nice and shiny was the pneumatic tube that the bank uses in the drive thru. I felt like I had just robbed the bank. I tore out of the driveway and hauled a## back to the bank. Luckily the bank was closed and the tube was sitting open so I put it in there, pressed the button, and got the h@## out of there. Ugh!!!!! Talk about humiliating.


I realized that when I was getting my stuff out of it I got distracted when the teller walked away. I hadn't finished what I was doing and needed to get a question answered. Annoyed and tired I finally got him back, got my answers, and then drove home.


After that heart attack I just stayed home and figured I should be safe until my brain gets back on the right track. Hopefully today will be better.

Being a Marine Mom

Early this morning (3 am) the phone rings and I ran to get it because I knew of only one person who would be calling me at that ungodly hour. My son, who is a Marine, was calling from Afghanistan. He just graduated from boot-camp in June and is already in country. He was calling to let me know that he finally made it after a very long journey compiled of some long plane trips, a boat ride, and another long plane ride. He said that he is still in shock over the jet lag and the culture shock of being there. He knew what it would be like from talking with my friends and his recruiter, who had become a close friend, but was still not prepared for the reality of it. He said that the desert gave him a welcoming party in the form of a huge dust storm. Talk about getting a rude awakening..

It was surreal talking with him and picturing him in my mind still as the baby that I fought so hard for. Not long after he was born he contracted a long term illness and was in and out of hospitals for over a year. We almost lost him a couple of times. I stayed with him in the hospital day and night and would only go home every other day to shower and get a change of clothes. I became an expert in sink showers and sleeping in a recliner.

Later when I got divorced the kids would go back and forth between their dad's house and mine. When I moved to Arizona the kids decided that they wanted to stay with their dad because of their friends. I hated not having them with me but my primary goal was whatever made them happy despite my feelings.

Later on Max got into the usual teenage troubles. One day his dad called me and said "I am done. He is your problem now. He will be at the airport tomorrow morning" WHAT???? Well I was shocked and not at all prepared for that. I picked up at the airport a VERY ANGRY teenager. He and I fought and darn near killed each other the first year. I just kept thinking somewhere in there is that sweet boy that I raised. After a couple of wake-up calls he changed into a wonderful son. He made up his classes he failed and went to online school to get extra credits. He ended up graduating early from school and enlisted into the Marines. We fought about that to but I knew that his happiness came first despite my wanting to protect him.

We became best buds and went on many road trips together. We had tons of laughs and I made him try new things. I have so many fond memories like the time his eyes bugged out when he saw firecrackers for sale in New Mexico. He was like a kid again. Yes, we bought some and he had a ball setting them off in an empty field. The first road trip without him was hard. Way to quiet and I kept remembering our trips together.

It was actually harder for me than I expected when he left overseas because all through training and boot-camp he was still close enough that I could bail him out if he got into trouble. There I have to leave him to the care of his Master Sergeant. Talk about feeling helpless.

We talked so much about everything and he was unsure about a lot of things. By then end of the phone call he was feeling much better.

Guess he still needs his Mama...:-)

One persons definition of Adventurous

ad·ven·tur·ous

[ad-ven-cher-uhs]

–adjective

1. inclined or willing to engage in adventures; enjoying adventures.

2. full of risk; requiring courage; hazardous: an adventurous undertaking.
An adventure is an activity that is perceived to involve risk, danger or exciting experiences.

I was reading the other day on a forum what a person defines as adventurous. It was quite funny how each person's definition was so different. It seemed like the person's background had a lot to do with it. I define it as doing something outside of your normal day to day life.

For some people it would be riding a rollercoster (done that too many times). Some would say it is taking a trip to another country (done that too). Or doing something that you never in your life thought you would ever do. For some rare people, it's just jumping in the car and just driving til you feel like stopping to smell the roses.

My latest adventure was taking a last minute trip to El Paso,TX. I had been working 21 days straight and was totally burned out. About 4 am Friday morning I woke up, tossed and turned, couldn't get back to sleep, and finally said I need to get outta here. I packed my bags, fed the cat her daily treat, put out extra food and water, and got in my car.

I got on the road with my trusty Ipod and just cranked the music. So here I am just rolling down the road, rocking away, and thinking nobody I know would do this.

It was awesome to get away and forget about the real world for a while. I even called my mom on the road and asked how she was. She said "Good. Nothing much is going on here. What about you?"  Me, "I am on the road to El Paso and won't be home for a few days".  She blurted out "WHAT????? What do you mean you are on the road to Texas?"  I told her what happened that morning and that I was feeling great. She just laughed and said that she hoped I had a great time and to call when I get there safe and sound. It was so much fun to just get on the road and disappear. 

I got into town and then sat there thinking "I'm Hungry!" I called a buddy of mine in town and said "You are a foodie like me. Where in town is a good place to eat?" He started to rattle off places by my house. I told him, "NOOOO, where is a good place here in El Paso to eat?". SILENCE......"HUH?"
I am laughing and explained what happened. He couldn't believe that I just woke up and drove 450 miles to get away. He took me to the most awesome BBQ place, Smitty's BBQ. Gotta go there if you are ever in town. Best BBQ I have had in a while. That trip was a blast and just what I needed to recharge my batteries and it also gave me ideas on what I could do in the future when I need a pick-me-upper.