I am going to start my juicy tidbits from childhood and work my way up to the present. You have been warned.
1. My first childhood memory is of a 3 or 4 year old me in a snowsuit in New York trying to cover my brother Orion in snow. He is 2 years younger than me. As far as I can remember, he was standing up and I was systematically covering him in snow so that my mom would mistake him for a snowman and leave him outside. I did not think she would notice that he was missing. This would eliminate so many problems for me... but alas, according to my memory, she caught me. Oh well. I like Orion just fine now, so I guess it worked out great.
2. I deeply wanted to be anything other than myself from a very young age. When we were living in LA (the city, not the state.) we had a black nanny. My mom used to have a nanny for us. They would live with us. (I don't remember ever having a nanny who didn't have kids.) Our black nanny had daughters. They were beautiful. They had those cute little twists in their hair with the little colorful plastic barrettes at the ends. I wanted to be black too. They were so much prettier than I was. So I started to include (silently) in my nightly prayers a request to be black by the time I woke up in the morning. This never happened. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized why...
3. I found out about the birds and the bees when I was 5. It was an accident involving my moms boyfriend at the time putting the wrong tape in the VCR. I thought I was turning on daffy duck cartoons. Not so much.
4. We left LA in the middle of the night. We threw everything we had into our car and the cars and trucks of a few trusted friends and ran. To Brea. I thought it was another state. It was only an hours drive. I didn't know why till I was much older. Turns out the boyfriend mentioned in #3 did something scary and so we disappeared.
5. One of the men who helped us move became my moms next boyfriend. He was an ass. He used to beat my brother and me when my mom left us alone with him. I used to put myself between him and Orion. Better me than him. I was bigger and stronger and already had a box I could hide in inside my head. So I got beaten and my mom never knew cause I was such a klutz that she believed me when I would tell her that I had fallen again. (mom if you ever read this, I am sorry that you found out this way, but there you go.)
6. One of the people who worked for our apartment complex that we lived in until my mom and step dad got married tried to rape me. He failed. When I realized what he was doing I kicked him in the balls and ran home to mommy while he laid on the floor wondering if I had burst one of his testicles. I told my mom what had happened. She told the apartment manager. I never saw him again.
7. I met my step dad, Gary, before my mom did. I had a huge crush on him. The moment my mom started dating him I stopped having a crush on him and desperately wanted him to be the dad my biological father never was. He did not disappoint me.
8. My mom and dad asked Orion and me for permission before they got married. We were of course thrilled.
9. My dad is my hero. He was young and could have lived up his young bachelorhood. Instead he fell in love with a woman 3-ish years his senior who already had 2 kids and he decided that he wanted to keep us. To my knowledge he has never regretted that choice. He has done all of the things I always dreamed a dad would do with/for me. As far as I am concerned he is my real dad.
10. I hated my elementary school. I was teased. They called me the brown cow. I was not a toothpick (although not fat. My childhood pictures are posted here) and I was brown. Brown skin, brown hair, brown eyes. I still hate the color brown to this day and I cried when my son called me a cow. (he saw it on a TV show and had no idea it was a bad thing to do. You should have seen his little heart break when I collapsed into tears on the floor.) Some wounds never heal.
11. My parents asked us if we would mind if they had another child before my mom had the surgery to reverse having her tubes tied. They wanted a baby. Inside I wanted to die cause I wasn't enough for them to be happy. On the outside I smiled brightly and asked if the baby could live in my room. I was in 4Th grade.
12. I was wanted to kill myself when mom told me she was pregnant and would I help her surprise daddy with the great news. I was in the 5Th grade. I helped with dinner. I did not attempt suicide.
13. I helped my parents remodel the house that they still live in. Mom was pregnant, so I had to help dad as much as I could. The house had pepto pink walls and tricolor tangerine shag carpet from the 60's. I loved every minute of helping. I want to buy a piece of crap house like my parents did and turn it into a beautiful family home like they did.
14. One day on the way home from church my parents were gushing on about how perfect the new baby was going to be. I felt sick. I quipped up from the backseat "what if she is not perfect? What if she comes out with no ears, or she is retarded, or she only has 9 toes. Do you really think it is fair to her for you to expect so much from her?"
15. I was home from school "sick" the day that my mom found out that she was going to have my sister two weeks early. My allergies were so bad that day that they sent me home. Mom had a leak in her amniotic sac. Not big enough for her water to just break... just enough for her to leak, and possibly let in a baby killing infection. I secretly hoped it was already to late.
16. My whole world changed the second I saw Rachel for the first time. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Even the large red birthmark on her face did not Mar the perfection that was Rachel. I was totally and completely in love and I would never look back. For a long time I hid the memories of my original hatred in the same box I used to hide in inside my head. I forgot about them until I was pregnant with Aeddon and I wondered if Alexander felt the way I had...
17. I wanted to hold Rachel in my arms at my 6Th grade graduation. I saw nothing wrong with having her in my arms as I walked across the stage. My mom said that maybe that was not the best idea. I didn't understand why at the time.
18. I loved sharing a room with my sister. If she would wake up in the middle of the night I would go pick her up and she would spend the rest of the night sleeping on my chest. Eventually, once she was old enough to climb in my bed herself, I would find her next to me every morning.
19. During the summer between 6Th and 7Th grade my Nana had several heart attacks. Mom Rachel and I went to Arkansas to help care for her. At one point my mom and I got in a fight and I barricaded myself in the room that I was staying in by putting the dresser in front of the door to the room. I fell asleep crying. Several hours later I woke up to my mom pounding on the door. I moved the dresser from in front of the door and opened the door. Mom was furious. Somehow the words "fuck you" had been scratched/written deeply into the wall of the room mom was staying in. I was blamed. I have no memory of doing it. I wonder if I moved the dresser in my sleep and vandalized and then put the dresser back. I still have no idea what really happened.
20. I had my first boyfriend in Jr high. His name was Jere. I snuck out of the house one day when I was left home alone (I was grounded) to go with him to see his brother do a civil war reenactment. There was a little carnival at the park that day. Jere and I went to the carnival instead. He never kissed me, except on the cheek. I thought I was unlovable. Turns out Jere was gay. He figured it out shortly after I dumped him for agreeing with me when we were having a fight and I sarcastically called my self a bitch. ( he did have one more girlfriend after me... but I think he already knew by then anyways...)
21. While Jere and I were still dating my dad caught us talking on the phone at 1am when he came downstairs to get a roll of toilet paper for their bathroom. I was still grounded at the time for sneaking out. Dad was so mad that he cut the phone line off deep inside the wall in my room. As far as I know it has still not been fixed.
22. During that year (8Th grade) I was in love with another boy. His name was Jason. I was going to tell him I loved him when he quite suddenly told me that he had a thing for my friend Mikki. I set them up as a couple and then told Jere I would date him while I was still totally in love with Jason. Mikki and Jason's relationship lasted longer than mine and Jere's did. Jason talked to me more than he did to Mikki the whole time they dated. I put together his birthday present that she gave him. When they broke up I told him how I felt. He informed me that he could not date me cause we were to good of friends and he needed me to badly to jeopardize that.
23. A few weeks latter Jason started dating my best friend secretly. When I found out I was devastated. I ended my friendships with both of them. Ginny and I made up at the end of that year when there relationship ended. I was still in love with Jason. He was oblivious.
24. I ran for student council for 9Th grade at the end of my 8Th grade year (You ran for student council at the end of Jr high so that you could go to student council camp in the summer.) I did not win. I don't even thing anybody voted for me. I didn't vote for me.
25. I walked at Jr. high graduation, but never received a "diploma". They thought I lost one of my text books and held my diploma hostage until I returned it or paid the $65 to replace it. I refused to pay for it cause I knew I had turned it in. My brother was assigned the book in question two years later. I never got my diploma, although my name was cleared when I went in to the office with my/Orion's book in tow and said "see I told you so!"
The next segment will be all about high school folks.... so stay tuned....
Monday, June 30, 2008
Inspiration from Franklin.
I have been spending a lot of time in the last few days (avoiding the reality that our whole life is going to change locations again) reading the blog known as The Panopticon. From the beggining. 622 posts to catch up to the present time. ( I have a thing about this that I will explain at some point, but not now lest I become distracted.) In the first year of his blog (2005, for the record.) he did a meme in which he listed 100 juicy tidbits of information about himself. He broke his up into 4 equal posts. I am inspired and shall do the same. Maybe someday if I am lucky he will see my blog and know that he inspired me to share 100 peices of my true self with the world, a task that scares me to death. It is much easier to keep the real me hidden and give you happy bits of fluff. But in honor of his amazing blog, I will expose myself to you. (not like that you perv!) My list will follow on a seperate post momentarily.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I am in LOVE!
Ok... as soon as I finish this post... I promise that I will start (and finish) a post with some sort of content that actually has something to do with something other than a youtube gem. I promise. Until then.....
I am in love, Ladies and Gentlemen! Her name is Regina Spektor and she is a singer from New York. She reminds me of what would happen if Tori Amos and Fiona Apple had a love-child... ( I know it is not biologically possible... but this is my head damnit! SO either accept it or don't. I will remain deranged either way!)
These are my three favorite of her videos availiable on youtube....
1. Samson~ This song literally gives me the chills.... big fat goosebumps!
2. Fidelity~ So sweet. So poignantly accurate to the way Owen makes me feel!
3. Somedays~ This is not her official video. I do not believe that she has an official video for this particular song. This is a fan made video. Still effing amazing!
She also has a website, which can be found here.
Don't worry. She will not be replacing my beloved Tori in my heart, nor will she replace the Pumpkins..... Instead she will have her very own apartment in my heart, on the floor right under the floor containing the penthouse suites occupied by Tori and the Pumpkins.
See I told you I was in love, and when I love it is all or nothing.
I am in love, Ladies and Gentlemen! Her name is Regina Spektor and she is a singer from New York. She reminds me of what would happen if Tori Amos and Fiona Apple had a love-child... ( I know it is not biologically possible... but this is my head damnit! SO either accept it or don't. I will remain deranged either way!)
These are my three favorite of her videos availiable on youtube....
1. Samson~ This song literally gives me the chills.... big fat goosebumps!
2. Fidelity~ So sweet. So poignantly accurate to the way Owen makes me feel!
3. Somedays~ This is not her official video. I do not believe that she has an official video for this particular song. This is a fan made video. Still effing amazing!
She also has a website, which can be found here.
Don't worry. She will not be replacing my beloved Tori in my heart, nor will she replace the Pumpkins..... Instead she will have her very own apartment in my heart, on the floor right under the floor containing the penthouse suites occupied by Tori and the Pumpkins.
See I told you I was in love, and when I love it is all or nothing.
Opinions, people, I need opinions!
Ok.... So at the beginning of June I cast on the Cashmere Arm Cosies from Lionbrand Yarn. I completed the first one...
and now I am stuck. I really like it. I love that the yarn that I used is varigated so from a distance you cant see the cable.
I think of it as an extra surprise detail for people who choose to get close enough to see it! Here is my problem. The cosy is opera length. I dont know how practical an opera length armwarmer is (I refuse to call it a cosy anymore.... cosies are something you put on a teapot or a mug... not an arm!) for me. I know that in a few weeks I will live in Washington, and that it is considerably more chilly there than it is here.... but still, opera lenth? are there alot of days when I will be comfy in a shortsleeved shirt if I have most of my arm covered (that would be nice since I really only own tanktops for the most part. Well tank tops and some empirewaisted 3/4 length sleeved tops.... and I wont be able to afford to fix my wardrobe right away) See here is my problem. I have two skeins of this yarn, which by the way is Goth Girl by Doodlebirds Creations in BFL worsted weight. I think that the first armwarmer took a little over half of the skein. Each skein is about 240 yards and I have (and used) a trim skein that matches that is 2oz of worsted weight yarn (yeah I have not been knitting long enough to know the yard aproximation on that one.) So here is the thing: if I keep going I will have to use a little of the other skein. I am worried that if I do that, I wont have enough of it to really make something worthwild..... unless I made a hat with a cabled border out of the trim skein and the body of the hat out of the varigated yarn.
Something like this hat, which I never finished. That way I would need slightly less than a full skein of the varigated yarn..... but I am just to new and unsure of a knitter to make a decisive choice on this. So please tell me your opinions, especially if you are a knitter, or live somewhere cooler than El Paso, Texas, or just have a really strong opinion about it....
and now I am stuck. I really like it. I love that the yarn that I used is varigated so from a distance you cant see the cable.
I think of it as an extra surprise detail for people who choose to get close enough to see it! Here is my problem. The cosy is opera length. I dont know how practical an opera length armwarmer is (I refuse to call it a cosy anymore.... cosies are something you put on a teapot or a mug... not an arm!) for me. I know that in a few weeks I will live in Washington, and that it is considerably more chilly there than it is here.... but still, opera lenth? are there alot of days when I will be comfy in a shortsleeved shirt if I have most of my arm covered (that would be nice since I really only own tanktops for the most part. Well tank tops and some empirewaisted 3/4 length sleeved tops.... and I wont be able to afford to fix my wardrobe right away) See here is my problem. I have two skeins of this yarn, which by the way is Goth Girl by Doodlebirds Creations in BFL worsted weight. I think that the first armwarmer took a little over half of the skein. Each skein is about 240 yards and I have (and used) a trim skein that matches that is 2oz of worsted weight yarn (yeah I have not been knitting long enough to know the yard aproximation on that one.) So here is the thing: if I keep going I will have to use a little of the other skein. I am worried that if I do that, I wont have enough of it to really make something worthwild..... unless I made a hat with a cabled border out of the trim skein and the body of the hat out of the varigated yarn.
Something like this hat, which I never finished. That way I would need slightly less than a full skein of the varigated yarn..... but I am just to new and unsure of a knitter to make a decisive choice on this. So please tell me your opinions, especially if you are a knitter, or live somewhere cooler than El Paso, Texas, or just have a really strong opinion about it....
Saturday, June 28, 2008
You know how sometimes....
the lyrics to a song just hit a cord in you at a certain point in your life?
well right now that song is Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger. Go ahead and Youtube it if you want to. Here are the lyrics. (acutally if you click the title of the song... it will take you right to the video.)
I had visions, I was in them,
I was looking into the mirror
To see a little bit clearer
The rottenness and evil in me
Fingertips have memories,
Mine can't forget the curves of your body
And when I feel a bit naughty
I run it up the flagpole and see who salutes
(But no one ever does)
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
and I'm so hot 'cause I'm in hell
Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don't even own a TV
Put me in the hospital for nerves
And then they had to commit me
You told them all I was crazy
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, Goddamn you
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin, to live so well
I wanna publish 'zines
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue
It doesn't hurt, it feels fine
The trivial sublime
I'd like to turn off time
And kill my mind
You kill my mind
Mind...
Paranoia, paranoia
Everybody's comin' to get me
Just say you never met me
I'm runnin' underground with the moles
Diggin' big holes
Hear the voices in my head
I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me, whoa!
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin to live this well
(One, two, three, four!)
Tell me what your song is and I will look it up.... or you can even post the lyrics or a youtube link to the song.... I would love to hear it!
well right now that song is Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger. Go ahead and Youtube it if you want to. Here are the lyrics. (acutally if you click the title of the song... it will take you right to the video.)
I had visions, I was in them,
I was looking into the mirror
To see a little bit clearer
The rottenness and evil in me
Fingertips have memories,
Mine can't forget the curves of your body
And when I feel a bit naughty
I run it up the flagpole and see who salutes
(But no one ever does)
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
and I'm so hot 'cause I'm in hell
Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don't even own a TV
Put me in the hospital for nerves
And then they had to commit me
You told them all I was crazy
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, Goddamn you
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin, to live so well
I wanna publish 'zines
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue
It doesn't hurt, it feels fine
The trivial sublime
I'd like to turn off time
And kill my mind
You kill my mind
Mind...
Paranoia, paranoia
Everybody's comin' to get me
Just say you never met me
I'm runnin' underground with the moles
Diggin' big holes
Hear the voices in my head
I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me, whoa!
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin to live this well
(One, two, three, four!)
Tell me what your song is and I will look it up.... or you can even post the lyrics or a youtube link to the song.... I would love to hear it!
Friday, June 27, 2008
You may or may not have noticed...
I took the music player off of automatic start. I thought some people might find it annoying.... so I put it on manual start. If you enjoyed my music player ( or Jaclyn's crapshoot radio as Owen calls it...) it is still there and all you have to do is hit the play button and it will start. Just thought I would let you know.
(also as a side note.... I know that I have already posted one blog today.... I may post several more as the night progresses... it just feels like one of those nights. You have been warned! Love you!)
(also as a side note.... I know that I have already posted one blog today.... I may post several more as the night progresses... it just feels like one of those nights. You have been warned! Love you!)
And now for something completely different.
A man with a tape recorder up his nose.
Seriously. I love that skit and it makes me laugh every time. So there.
Seriously. I love that skit and it makes me laugh every time. So there.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Myself through Flickr Meme...
Jessica over at Yarnmonster posted a Flickr Meme. For some reason I felt the need to participate. Well anyways here it is.... my mosaic:
The rules:
Using fd’s Flickr Toys,
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Jaclyn
2. What is your favorite food? Shrimp Scampi
3. What high school did you go to? Brea, California
4. What is your favorite color? Purple
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
6. Favorite drink? Chai Tea Latte, with Vanilla.
7. Dream vacation? Greek Isles
8. Favorite dessert? Creme Brulee
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Serene and Blissful
10. What do you love most in life? Dreams
11. One Word to describe you. Multi-faceted
12. Your flickr name. jaclynbailey
Tag yourself if you want to play! If you do decide to play, let me know by leaving me a comment with the link to your blog or flickr page so I can see!
The rules:
Using fd’s Flickr Toys,
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).
The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Jaclyn
2. What is your favorite food? Shrimp Scampi
3. What high school did you go to? Brea, California
4. What is your favorite color? Purple
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
6. Favorite drink? Chai Tea Latte, with Vanilla.
7. Dream vacation? Greek Isles
8. Favorite dessert? Creme Brulee
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Serene and Blissful
10. What do you love most in life? Dreams
11. One Word to describe you. Multi-faceted
12. Your flickr name. jaclynbailey
Tag yourself if you want to play! If you do decide to play, let me know by leaving me a comment with the link to your blog or flickr page so I can see!
Vocab Quiz
Take the quiz... but dont cheat by looking up the answers to questions that you are unsure of..... I would love it if you would leave your results in my comments so I can see how you did!
Your Vocabulary Score: A |
 Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person. |
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day
I have not lost a soldier to war. I am lucky like that.... But I do have a wonderful spouse who is a soldier and knows that at anytime he could be informed that his unit is deploying and he will have to go with them. So on this Memorial Day, I choose to memorialize my husband, my soldier, my Hero.
This is Owen squeezed into one of those little quarter car rides.... Owen is tall. Almost 6'5 worth of tall.
This is Owen and one of his best friends. Her name is Annie. She just got out of the Army. The funny thing about this is that at the time of this picture.... if you had asked Owen if he would ever have enlisted... he would have laughed hysterically and said a hearty "HELL NO!!!"
This is a picture of Me, Owen and a person who shall remain nameless..... We were all on our way to The Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California. We were not a couple yet, in fact he was casually dating both of us. What a pimp. About three weeks after this he tried to tell Nameless and me and the other chick he was casually dating that he was going to take a break from dating and get his head straight. I helped him with that and told him that since he had waited to dump me until last.... that he and I were not going to be stopping seeing each other, in fact we should become an exclusive couple. He attempted to protest, and within a week... we were a couple.
A couple of months after we got together.... We were engaged by this point.... when you know, you know.
This is us just outside of the little chapel that we were married at in Las Vegas. It was sunny, and hot, and yes I wore red.... I was about 4 months pregnant with Alexander. It seemed inappropriate to wear white.
This is my parents and his parents and his grandmother. These are the only people we invited. We were supposed to have a big "real" wedding on our 5th anniversary. That was this year.... and I still don't even have a ring. In his defense... He has tried several times to buy me a ring... and I always tell him that it can wait cause we have bills to pay...
This is us.... with towels on our heads.... His aunt gave them to us for a wedding gift. We are silly... it is part of what attracted us to each other.
This is Owen playing Daniel Boone for out friend Annie Winston. She wrote a book called Heroical Storicals I dont remember if Owen got paid for this... but even if he didn't... She is our friend, and he would have done it no matter what. See little Alexander in his lap. He managed to play with Alexander and stay in character the whole time!
This is Owen and Alexander at Alexanders first trip to the beach. I like to imagine that he was telling him a story about his first time at the beach.... but I have no idea.
This is Owen with his very first set of piggy tails. I was feeling silly and he was feeling indulgent. He really is good to me. I even have a picture somewhere of him with a green clay masque on cause I was feeling oogie and he asked what would make me feel better and I said giving him a facial.
Owen loves his children so much. I have tons of pictures of him sleeping curled up with one or more of his kids.
Owen was working. He worked at Walmart, and it was right around the corner from our house. It was not uncommon for us to go visit him at work. Here he is playing "head butt" with Alexander.... He had Alexander trained that when he would say AAAAAAHHHHHH a certain way Alexander would headbutt him.
Owen took many a trip around the livingroom of our apartment when he was helping Alexander learn to walk. He would walk around and around for hours. I thought it was wonderful.
This is the boys dressed up as pirates for Halloween. I didnt dress up that year. I was ENORMOUSLY pregnant with Aeddon.
Then Aeddon came and we were really happy.
Or at least we were for about 2 weeks.... Then we were informed by Owen's boss that he was probably going to get laid off in the next month or two. They were making his position at New Horizons obsolete. Lucky for us that he was friends with his boss or we would have had no warning! So Owen started to look for jobs. One day he got a call from the Army recruiter. At the time the Army was using alot of civilian accounting people, and since that was what Owen was doing we thought that that was what they were calling for. We were wrong.
The Army had called to recuit Owen. He sat throught the whole meeting and asked alot of questions. He told the recuiter that he needed to go home and discuss things with me. We talked it over. He called and asked for the answers to questions that I had. Then one day I went in to meet with the recruiter too... But not for me to enlist. I wanted him to meet Owens family. I wanted him to see the kind of man he was trying to convince to enlist. By the end of the meeting I was ready for Owen to become a member of the US Army.
So we rushed to get Aeddon baptisted.... and I shaved Owens head. I wanted to keep his hair. (I still have it in a ziploc bag in a memory box) Then we dropped him off at the recruiting office. It was the last time we would see him until we went to his Basic Training graduation.
Time went by and stuff happened, including a trip to the ER for Alexander after a babysitter did a cruddy job of watching him.... Then it was time to drive to Texas to move to El Paso so that we could be near by for Owen's AIT. Aeddon was only 6 weeks old when Owen left and I didnt want him to miss Aeddons entire first year of life.... So I moved without the Armies permission. (I made the right choice, cause due to some paperwork issues Owen didnt graduate from AIT unil 4 months after the time that he was supposed to originally graduate.)
This was the first time we saw him after he left:
Can you find him? It took me a while too. It wasnt until Alexander loudly said "Daddy" into the silence of them standing there that Owen did something that made him visible to me. He smiled.
Doesnt he look dashing in his Class A uniform?
His family (minus Kester) came out for his graduation.
I was very happy to see him. I missed him so!
And that is how we ended up a military family. My husband wanted to make sure that he could provide for us, so he did something he knew he would not like because he knew that the Army would never let us be homeless and would never let us starve to death. Even now he is still doing it. He missed being home with us this year for Memorial Day because he is at school becoming an LVN so that he will be less likely to deploy to a warzone. It could still happen, but it will be less likely. And if that is not being a hero for our family I dont know what is.
So Owen, I love you and wanted you to know that YOU ARE MY HERO for all the things that you do to provide a good life for us, the family who loves you, whom you love too!
(by the way, I apologize for the cruddy quality of these pictures. They are pictures of pictures. These are all pictures taken with a film camera.... so they are all prints.... and since I dont have a scanner I had to take a picture of the pictures to use them.... sorry.)
This is Owen squeezed into one of those little quarter car rides.... Owen is tall. Almost 6'5 worth of tall.
This is Owen and one of his best friends. Her name is Annie. She just got out of the Army. The funny thing about this is that at the time of this picture.... if you had asked Owen if he would ever have enlisted... he would have laughed hysterically and said a hearty "HELL NO!!!"
This is a picture of Me, Owen and a person who shall remain nameless..... We were all on our way to The Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California. We were not a couple yet, in fact he was casually dating both of us. What a pimp. About three weeks after this he tried to tell Nameless and me and the other chick he was casually dating that he was going to take a break from dating and get his head straight. I helped him with that and told him that since he had waited to dump me until last.... that he and I were not going to be stopping seeing each other, in fact we should become an exclusive couple. He attempted to protest, and within a week... we were a couple.
A couple of months after we got together.... We were engaged by this point.... when you know, you know.
This is us just outside of the little chapel that we were married at in Las Vegas. It was sunny, and hot, and yes I wore red.... I was about 4 months pregnant with Alexander. It seemed inappropriate to wear white.
This is my parents and his parents and his grandmother. These are the only people we invited. We were supposed to have a big "real" wedding on our 5th anniversary. That was this year.... and I still don't even have a ring. In his defense... He has tried several times to buy me a ring... and I always tell him that it can wait cause we have bills to pay...
This is us.... with towels on our heads.... His aunt gave them to us for a wedding gift. We are silly... it is part of what attracted us to each other.
This is Owen playing Daniel Boone for out friend Annie Winston. She wrote a book called Heroical Storicals I dont remember if Owen got paid for this... but even if he didn't... She is our friend, and he would have done it no matter what. See little Alexander in his lap. He managed to play with Alexander and stay in character the whole time!
This is Owen and Alexander at Alexanders first trip to the beach. I like to imagine that he was telling him a story about his first time at the beach.... but I have no idea.
This is Owen with his very first set of piggy tails. I was feeling silly and he was feeling indulgent. He really is good to me. I even have a picture somewhere of him with a green clay masque on cause I was feeling oogie and he asked what would make me feel better and I said giving him a facial.
Owen loves his children so much. I have tons of pictures of him sleeping curled up with one or more of his kids.
Owen was working. He worked at Walmart, and it was right around the corner from our house. It was not uncommon for us to go visit him at work. Here he is playing "head butt" with Alexander.... He had Alexander trained that when he would say AAAAAAHHHHHH a certain way Alexander would headbutt him.
Owen took many a trip around the livingroom of our apartment when he was helping Alexander learn to walk. He would walk around and around for hours. I thought it was wonderful.
This is the boys dressed up as pirates for Halloween. I didnt dress up that year. I was ENORMOUSLY pregnant with Aeddon.
Then Aeddon came and we were really happy.
Or at least we were for about 2 weeks.... Then we were informed by Owen's boss that he was probably going to get laid off in the next month or two. They were making his position at New Horizons obsolete. Lucky for us that he was friends with his boss or we would have had no warning! So Owen started to look for jobs. One day he got a call from the Army recruiter. At the time the Army was using alot of civilian accounting people, and since that was what Owen was doing we thought that that was what they were calling for. We were wrong.
The Army had called to recuit Owen. He sat throught the whole meeting and asked alot of questions. He told the recuiter that he needed to go home and discuss things with me. We talked it over. He called and asked for the answers to questions that I had. Then one day I went in to meet with the recruiter too... But not for me to enlist. I wanted him to meet Owens family. I wanted him to see the kind of man he was trying to convince to enlist. By the end of the meeting I was ready for Owen to become a member of the US Army.
So we rushed to get Aeddon baptisted.... and I shaved Owens head. I wanted to keep his hair. (I still have it in a ziploc bag in a memory box) Then we dropped him off at the recruiting office. It was the last time we would see him until we went to his Basic Training graduation.
Time went by and stuff happened, including a trip to the ER for Alexander after a babysitter did a cruddy job of watching him.... Then it was time to drive to Texas to move to El Paso so that we could be near by for Owen's AIT. Aeddon was only 6 weeks old when Owen left and I didnt want him to miss Aeddons entire first year of life.... So I moved without the Armies permission. (I made the right choice, cause due to some paperwork issues Owen didnt graduate from AIT unil 4 months after the time that he was supposed to originally graduate.)
This was the first time we saw him after he left:
Can you find him? It took me a while too. It wasnt until Alexander loudly said "Daddy" into the silence of them standing there that Owen did something that made him visible to me. He smiled.
Doesnt he look dashing in his Class A uniform?
His family (minus Kester) came out for his graduation.
I was very happy to see him. I missed him so!
And that is how we ended up a military family. My husband wanted to make sure that he could provide for us, so he did something he knew he would not like because he knew that the Army would never let us be homeless and would never let us starve to death. Even now he is still doing it. He missed being home with us this year for Memorial Day because he is at school becoming an LVN so that he will be less likely to deploy to a warzone. It could still happen, but it will be less likely. And if that is not being a hero for our family I dont know what is.
So Owen, I love you and wanted you to know that YOU ARE MY HERO for all the things that you do to provide a good life for us, the family who loves you, whom you love too!
(by the way, I apologize for the cruddy quality of these pictures. They are pictures of pictures. These are all pictures taken with a film camera.... so they are all prints.... and since I dont have a scanner I had to take a picture of the pictures to use them.... sorry.)
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