Jam

Just about every time I write or talk to the boys I ask about the strawberry plants - I was so thrilled to see JG posted a picture. The day I planted the 15 plants (yes, it really holds 15) the boys and JG were having a nerf gun war in the back yard.

Since I've been here, strawberry jam has become my comfort food. Partly because in the two weeks I was at Fort Dix I only got strawberry jam on three occassions. Partly because it's my favorite. And, partly because I have fond memories of going strawberry picking with my family as a kid, then watching my parents make homemade strawberry jam. Here, the only other jelly they have is grape. I know I've elevated the status of jam to "food" but trust me when I say sometime the only thing that looks good to eat is a make-it-yourself PB&J.

Tonight I had barbeque chicken. It was pretty good. Almost ready to declare bbq sauce a food too.

So I've been sending cards home to JG and the boys. They have yet to actually receive one from me here in Kyrgystan. We were told mail takes an average of 2-4 weeks to travel back and forth to the states. I'm just trying to picture being home for a month and still receiving mail from here. I'm running really low on stationary. I actually used my last two cards for the boys then dove into a stack of blank cards with limes on the front. The only sets the base exchange here sells are U.S. Air Force stationary. No thank you. I prefer pink and sparkles and flowers and cute swirls.

In my last post I said that JG would be flying in a KC-135 above Spokane taking photos of the 4th of July fireworks. Nope. The first aircraft broke. The second aircraft broke too. Can you imagine this happening when it really counts? Some of the tankers here at Transit Center at Manas are actually from Fairchild AFB. Day in and day out those work horses of the 1950s are refueling everything that flies above Afghanistan. The Air Force has some amazing maintainers. I'd put any one of them up against a mechanic making a fleet of cars last for 50 years, being driven as hard and as often our our tankers fly.

Hey, it works ...

So this is one of our projects while Jennifer is away:

I was told there would be no math ...

Things just aren't adding up. When I sit down and go over everything I have to do in a day, I'm frustrated there aren't 30 hours in a day. That's about what I need. Of course, that doesn't include requisite video game time, so that will have to be factored in somehow ...

But that's the issue. I can't get everything factored in. I never was any good at math ...

With Jennifer gone, it's not just a drain on us at home, it means one fewer people at work. Which means more to do there with her gone. So after a long day doing the work I have, the work she would have and the work that our soon-to-be-deployed lieutenant has, I'm just drained. I'm convinced Jennifer cloned herself last year and is just hiding them from me ...

So at least to help become a better parent ('cause hell, I'm still new at this (does that feeling EVER go away?)) I attended a parenting class on base. Some folks from the Love and Logic Institute came out last month and gave a few talks that I got a lot out of. Basically it involves making kids more responsible for their own decisions by being assertive about your own. I found that by using their methods, I haven't yelled at them at all. Who knew making your voice lower has just as much impact, if not more ...

So I'm ordering the books for Jennifer and me. Last year, we read a lot of relationship books to become better spouses to each other; this year we're gonna focus on parenting. For that matter, next year might be focusing on parenting too as Jennifer and I are talking about having a baby. Which shouldn't be a big deal, right? I mean, how hard can one baby be? But then again, with Jennifer's penchant for breaking things, what if she splits the embryo and there are twice as many of them? The number of dirty diapers doubles, the number of hungry kids in the house screaming for food doubles and the amount of time there is for video games gets halved. Again, with the math ...

Independence ..... Day

Today was the 4th of July. The wing commander invited local mayors from the surrounding villages out for our festivities and we even invited local Kyrgyz media out as well. I love escorting media - but it was strange having such a back seat with the language barrier. Working with us is a woman named Aigul who isn't only a translator and continuity for the public affairs office that changes its team ever six months, but she is a great communicator and is keen on getting the media what they need. All in all it was a successful day for our team. It was actually the only event we've covered that I wasn't attached at the hip to our photographer and videographer. I spend most of my day transporting media back to the visitor's center when they were ready to leave, hunting down transient soldiers willing to be interviewed by "foriegn" media and just being hospitable. We ate burgers today - my first one in country and my first bag of chips.

Two years ago JG and I spent our first and only Fourth together in New England. We had only been dating for 90 days, exactly, (the same number of days the standard Air Force deployment used to be in the 1990s, but I digress). Our families knew we were pretty serious - we had our first family vacation in May at the home of my now mother-in-law. I'm just excited and looking forward to our first Fourth of July as a married couple. Last year I tried to take the kids to the Air Force Memorial to watch fireworks, but we were walking up as the show was ending. In about twelve hours, JG will fly in a KC-135 during Spokane's celebration while the boys stay with another family we are all friends with. Maybe next year we'll all be together for the holiday.

Waxed

Breakfast is definately my biggest meal per day. Omelet, biscuit, fresh fruit, yogurt and bacon. I can eat this for six months and not get sick of it. I'm usuallly at work an hour or so before I get breakfast and carry it back to the office in styrofoam. This has now become routine.  I have very little other routine right now other then trying to catch JG and the boys when I wake up and when I got to bed.

I finally got waxed today at the little beauty salon here. The woman who waxed me did a better job than then my last two visits at a spa in Spokane. The pedicure was good considering they had to make do with an office chair and a bucket of water. I can see why people make day trips to the Hyatt downtown for their spa. The salon here is definately good for routine maintenance, but to really indulge I'll have to go downtown.

I haven't really found my groove at work yet. I attribute this to being tired. So, I'm going to call it a night while it's a reasonable 9 p.m. bedtime.

Day 10

I celebrated the end of Day 10 with a beer. A local beer that I cannot pronounce let alone spell. It has a big #9 on the front of the bottle and it's 8% alcohol. Although it's 11 p.m. here and my body is just exhausted I cannot for the life of me get to sleep. I should have had two beers.

I was able to break way from the office this morning to go to my dorm room to skype with JG. It was only Tuesday for him but a trying week in the office. I left the conversation feeling needed and wanted and appreciated just by being there for him and listening.

13 Hours

It's 1 a.m. here and I think I just screwed up my body getting used to the time change, but it was well worth it. JG and I finally got to talk for more than 10 minutes. My first week here in Kyrgyzstan has been a disappointment to us both - neither one of us feels as if our relationship/communication needs are being met. And I can't tell you how much that hurts.

His issues: trying to establish a routine with the kids while feeling I'm not respecting his time constraints at home and during the duty day, feeling anger and sadness that my first phone call home didn't come until day four and feeling burdened when I ask him to take care of something back home in every instance of communication.

Both of us were miserable this week. My feelings were also hurt, I felt like I had been wronged. When we finally talked today I was of harsh words and harsh tones. Eventually we were able to have a decent conversation. Something the both of us needed.

It was a late night for me and I realized that I had been keeping up my roommate. I feel like the worst roommate in the world right now. Partly because I forgot her name (I did warn her this would happen), partly because when we talk I have the air conditioner right in my ear and she has a really soft voice and I feel embarrassed to ask her to speak up, partly because I've not made my bed the last few days and my stuff has been scattered on the floor, and partly because I should have thought to bring my laptop to work and have the conversation with JG in my empty office.

She's also a wife, she's also a mom and she's a fellow NCO. At one point she got up out of bed and just left during my conversation with JG. About an hour or so later, when JG and I were finished I had turned out the light and started this blog entry. She popped back in to grab her PT jacket and I said "I'm so sorry about that, I didn't mean to keep you up." With the air conditioner and her trying to be considerate by not turing back on the light (not able to lip read) I caught: "no no no ..... it's okay ..... sometimes my husband and I ......." and the only thing I could think to say was "thank you."