Updates...it's been so long!

Well it sure has been a long time since I last updated anyone about our life in GiTMO.  Everyday I come across stories and events that I want to write about and to share with the family.  Then the days come and go and eventually there are so many things I want to share that I end up sharing nothing at all.  Who ever thought that in a place that is so small and so limited one could be so busy, particularly during the holidays.

There are several holiday parties being planned, a few kid's birthdays on the same day, same time, different place; the Spouses Club Cocktail party, Boat Parade, Float parade, tour of homes, and the unchanging gatherings that come up on a daily basis for one reason or another... are you tired yet?

One thing I have to say about living here is that there is no reason for anyone to be bored or lonely.  Here we have to schedule time to be alone. Turn off the phones and the computer and literally, disconnect from human contact.  But most of you know, that's just not me so busy is good.  A little stress which puts me into action so that's a good thing.

Thanksgiving day was very nice.  While we missed the cold weather we were accustomed to in the North East there was not a lack for families, food, and experiencing a nice day away from those we love.  Having this local family is so important and I hope the people that are just arriving embrace this new family.  We spent the afternoon with the GiTMO Latino Families.  They had a Turkey and a Pig roasting over a fire Pitt in the back yard, teens playing games, kids playing in a bounce house, ladies dancing, guys laughing (at the ladies) and really great conversation with wonderful people.  We all miss our families but it really helps to be able to spend it with many other families also on the same boat.

Soon after we began planning to decorate and participate in the parade of floats.  Not exactly the Macy's Day Parade but definitely a lot of fun and a lot less people.  Our float was really great, the Seabees did a great job decorating it, however, at the last minute we discovered a faulty generator and our lights and music were not working.  We became the "greenest" float that day with lights from the fire truck behind us and our voices singing holiday music for about 1.5 miles.  The fun thing about this parade is that everyone knows everyone so it was cool to see people you know waving you by as we passed them on the road.  They waved, we threw candy, fun times.  At the end Santa and Mrs. Clause were available for the children to visit and get their gifts from Santa and of course pictures.  All in all, it was two hours of fun the kids will always remember.

Now we are planning the department party on Friday night, Santa will be there as well with more gifts for the kids, the spouses club cocktail party at the Admiral's house and from there we will be able to see the parade of boats (pictures to come soon.)  Finally, Sunday we have the Tour of Homes, of which I am a part.  This is a lot like a progressive dinner, except there's no dinner, just appetizers and drinks.  I have a feeling by the end of the night the people touring the homes will be well fed and partially intoxicated.  I don't have to travel, I just have to clean my house, decorate with what I have and welcome guests who come in increments of 10.  I am making a Sangria, Mulled Cider, BBQ Meatballs with mini rolls and a Spinach dip served in a bread bowl.   My house is as decked as it's ever going to be...I'm ready!

December 14th is the day we look forward to the most.  We are traveling to the states to visit family and friends.  I can't wait to see everyone, especially my son Josh.  He turns 20 today and I miss him so much.  I miss making his favorite stack of pancakes with lots of butter, syrup and a candle on his birthday.  We will celebrate next week with a trip to the Mall.  Me, King of Prussia Mall, and four kids~~~ Yikes!  I better take my B12.  We will be home before Christmas, if all goes well.

Whew!!  This doesn't even include the Diving I've done and plan to do before the trip, the kayaking with my morning class, Michael's fishing trips, Emily awesome grades this quarter, Nate's soccer and tennis fun, and Jonathan's.... well everything about him!

Oh almost forgot, you know we have a dog, Honey.  She's awesome.  Best dog ever.  Well, we also have 2 kittens...so darn cute.  Had to rescue them from the needle.  The were born stray and generally they are put down after a while if no one adopts them.  They are very playful and at times very annoying as heck but so darn cute and cuddly.

OK that's all I can give for now.... I'm tired, have to teach Spinning tomorrow could use a little time to just sit and do nothing.  Good Night!!

Terie

The last two months.... whew!

It has been a busy, busy two months.  Crazy busy with the kids going back to school, the beginning of sports, work, and of course, all the social activities that we MUST attend :-)

Dad has been off-island twice and the most fun part about that is that when we drop him off we just stay put have a fun beach day; when we pick him up we look for sea glass and try to spot pretty fish in the bay.  The Ferry brings everyone back from the airport and on the off chance that we get there early, we sometimes ride the Ferry to the Leeward side and wait at the terminal.

Emily (#6) started the year off really well.  She was selected, along with another boy, to become a student liaison or mentor to new incoming students.  They were taken to San Antonio, TX for one week of leadership training, shopping, fun, and homework... that was exciting.  Actually, despite the fact that they had a lot of homework to do on the road, they are now all caught up and doing well.  The training went well and she is really excited to share it with her school.  Emily raised her AP grades from a C to a B! YES!!!!!  Emily is still taking Tennis lessons and is now playing Volleyball with the High School team.  They recently had their first win and it was quite the battle.

Nate is doing really well in 3rd grade.  Her teacher is strict, but fair.  She really puts all the responsibility of getting work done and proper behavior on the students.  She is getting all her work done on time because she knows that no homework means no soccer or skateboard and she can't have that.  This is my very physical, athletic child. She is the one in blue about to bend it like Beckham or at least attempt to kick the ball.

Jonathan is doing well.  He spends a lot of time either at the pool, with friends in play groups or with me.  He is so darn cute and sweet. We are now practicing letters, numbers, shapes and colors.  His favorite line when he's getting yelled at is "I just want to be happy!! Kiss me, give me a hug!!"

As for me, well, I had to bid farewell to two truly great friends.  The amazing thing about living on base and more so in a community such as this one is that you form bonds that are so tight and so profound in a very short period of time.  Isabel is an amazing woman, huge heart, welcomed us with open arms and from day one we spent a lot of time together.  Amy, beautiful person and like Isabel, she too opened her house and arms to us.  We talked daily about everything.  These girls were my partners when I finally decided to become Scuba certified and we did it together.  It was quite the challenge.

I am still teaching 7 classes a week, all in high demand.  I love to spend time planning my classes and preparing for the next day.  I've started running again... speaking of which, we're running a 5K tomorrow and next week we have a 2 mile fun run with the dogs. That should be interesting.  Honey is going to love that.

Josh is doing fine, super busy with school, work, performances.  He was selected to join the Westminster Choir.  That was extremely exciting.  There are only 40 voices in the choir (I think) and I imagine they have very strict guidelines and a rigid selection process.  I am so proud of him.  I can't wait to hear him sing, he really needs to send me a CD soon.

Tomorrow is the Navy Ball and we are planning to begin our festivities around 4 pm.  I will return soon after to show our pictures and share the fun.  This is our date night, we get to dress up and be grown ups... well, ok, we'll call it that ;-)

Have a great weekend everyone.

Until next time!

Terie

...updating, it's been so long!

I'm finding it hard to believe that we've been here almost five months. Time flies amazingly fast when you're busy and catching up is almost impossible. But those days are soon coming to an end for me. In one more week I will turn in my last written paper for my Medical Anthropology class, my last class before graduating college.

At the age of 42, I am finally getting my BS in Social Studies and Humanities with a concentration in Anthropology from the University of Maryland University College. So what am I feeling every time I think that this is it, no more reading text books, no more writing papers, no more communicating with the intellectuals at my school? A little separation anxiety, ok, maybe more than a little. I have been doing this for so long that I'm almost afraid to give it up, although, some downtime would be nice.

The next question I often get is "So what do you plan to do with your degree?" Hmmmm, good one. I would like to be a Cultural Anthropologist who travels to India and other Asian countries to study their culture and discover more than one could ever imagine in societies that are so different than our own. It is enriching, humbling, and has helped me to appreciate all that I have more and more each day. However, I don't know if that's something I will ever do, but I can try... someday, maybe.

In the short term I just want to continue working as a fitness instructor so that I have the flexibility to raise our children and be home for my family when they need me. I will have some time, here in GiTMO, to consider different possibilities for my future job. Teaching PE is appealing as long as I have kids in school and I feel that's the only thing I would ever want to teach, except maybe something in my field, but for that I need experience. I have discovered that there are more jobs than I expected with the government and in the civilian sector, for people in anything related to societies, culture, humanities, sociology, etc. so that's another option. There are many things to consider but I can't stress about that right now.

The one thing I will miss is my graduation. I can't travel to the states to graduate and the one scheduled to take place here was cancelled for reasons I don't yet understand. I wasn't notified until 3 days ago and the only plans to celebrate included a pot luck party at the Directors home. So I had to choose between that and a full body couples massage in my home... what do you think I chose! Yeah! The massage! It was relaxing, soothing and stress relieving.

The list is long but I will give you the abbreviated version of our busy lives these past few months-- Emily has softball and is doing really well, she also has tennis lessons, Natalie also goes to tennis as well as Swim lessons for her and Jonathan. Four days a week I'm at the pool for two and a half hours each time. Yes it gets old and during the off times we just don't go there. Natalie is also doing her first communion this coming weekend, another momentous occasion, another reason to gather our closest friends, pretty much everyone in GiTMO and have a party.

I had to take four classes this semester to avoid postponing the graduation date. The were intense, all required several long papers and more reading then I could fit in one sitting. A lot of analyzing, researching, and worst of all, the slow internet connection that sometimes kept me from posting my homework.

Then there's the matter of cleaning this house. It never seems to be clean. Dust is our friend and so are dirty floors. Thankfully we have Cuban tiles and they are easy to clean but it all takes time. Fortunately I have yard people. I feel so special :-) But they come by once a week to do everything yard related, including watering the grass. This, my dear friends and family, is why I've been too busy to do much, except the occasional escape into the world of FaceBook, which, around here, seems to be the only way to know what's going on around the base -- well, not the only way, but the most reliable way. Wouldn't want to miss a social event, Ha!

I hope to be more active in sending updates, pictures, calling and writing. I'm sorry I have fallen behind but I will catch up. I can't wait to see many of you this summer during our summer vacation in Virginia. I'm very excited about the trip, not so much the beach but certainly mall, real restaurants, Coldstone Ice cream (yum), seeing my family, my first born, and my friends. I can't wait!!

Until next time.... please leave me messages on the blog :-)

Terie