Wow, I can't believe it's almost been a month since one of us last blogged. You know I just don't think about it as often as I used to. I'm so used to Roger doing all the blogging and I don't really think about it. But it has been mentioned recently by some, so I decided I would go ahead and blog for us since I have a little more free time now.
Roger went home on June 11th. Sigh. I miss him a lot. I really enjoyed him being home. Especially since he was on leave, he was home all day. It was nice to come home to him. He worked so hard while he was here. He had a very long to do list. I really appreciated all that he did. He was pretty tired each day. We managed to have fun also. We even went out on a date night. I know, some of you are thinking, no kids and no pets, every night is a date night. But a date night isn't sitting at home watching TV on the couch together. And it sure isn't cooking dinner and doing laundry. We really enjoyed going out to eat, sitting across from each other, gazing into each other's eyes and really talking to each other. While Roger was home, our friends John & Tamra from Virginia came to visit us. They were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area visiting family and came down to Austin for a weekend. It was fun dragging them all over showing them Austin. And the weekend they came was a good one. Among the events held in Austin that weekend was the huge annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally, the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Pride Parade and the usual nightly live bands and other day events. So it was a good weekend for them to see what Austin is really all about. We had fun with them because living here we don't usually go out to those areas to avoid the crowds. And downtown Austin was crazy crowded. We actually drove down Sixth Street during the biker rally. I have never seen that many motorcycles in my life. It was really cool. We caught the Pride Parade as it ended at Congress Avenue while we were waiting for the Congress Avenue Bats to emerge at sunset. It was very cool. We were all amazed at how many bats fly out. No matter how many times you've seen it, it's always neat.
So I'm home by myself now. It's kind of boring without Roger. I've been keeping myself busy with chores and my own to do list, plus my daily walking. I'm up to five miles a day (Monday through Friday only). My goal now is to walk five miles under one hour and get faster and faster. I'm at one hour and 13 minutes now which includes cool down. No amount of chores or activities will make me not miss Roger though. It's been difficult to sleep. It takes me forever to fall asleep then I keep waking up. Roger and I both are experiencing problems sleeping well. But my sleeping problems will disappear soon. I travel to DC next week to visit Roger. I can't wait. I'm so excited! There are so many things I want to do while I'm there. This will probably be one of the last times I'm there, so I have a list of stuff to see and do. I'll also be working while I'm there.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph I have a little more free time now. I started today working part time from home. The project I was hired for is at the end phases so my work load has gone down enough for me to go part time. And since my work consists of tracking only now, there's no need for me to be in an office. So I will save about $50 a week on gas plus I don't have to wear make-up, wear work clothes, style my hair, pack lunches or drive in traffic. Yeah! This is a nice break and I'm going to take advantage of the available time to get lots done around the house and for myself personally. The transfer to part time also gives me the opportunity I've been waiting for to go back to school and finish my degree. I will start at Texas A&M on August 27th. It looks like I will be able to take all my classes this fall on Thursdays which means I will only have to drive one day during the week. I plan to take all the classes that remain for my degree and graduate by next May. I'm very excited about that also.
While I'm in DC I'll also get to experience Walter Reed Army Hospital and what Roger goes through every day. It's still not easy. Every day is filled with more and more ridiculous requests and changes. That place is something else. I truly hope they get this process all figured out soon so all these soldiers don't have to go through all this crap for long. The latest charlie foxtrot discovered last week is mail wasn't being delivered to the soldiers since May of 2006! Civilian contractors were involved and fired but it is still unbelievable. I mailed a package to Roger on May 10th and he received it this morning at his 0730 formation. He said there were buckets and buckets of mail at formation this morning for soldiers. That's quite sad for the soldiers that are there and could benefit from letters and cards from loved ones. I'm still amazed and frustrated how our soldiers who are injured and trying to get well are treated. It's enough to make you mad.
Here's an update on my dad. His leg is about the same. The blood clot is going to take forever to dissolve. His leg still swells up after he walks and he still tires very easily. He started experiencing drainage problems in his leg so my mom made an appointment for him to see Dr. Bond. He basically told us what we already knew, it's going to take a long time and it's not going to be a fun experience. I asked my mom to ask Dr. Bond if my dad should see a specialist. I don't know how my mom asked him so I don't know if he responded in frustration but he basically said he was the specialist and there wasn't anyone else for my dad to see. I don't know if he meant no one in Bryan-College Station specializes in this or if there's not a doctor that specializes in what my dad's got going on. Sometimes I wish I was sitting in those appointments. Anyway, the week after that (last Thursday) my dad had an appointment with Dr. Kirby. I guess the fact that my dad is not gaining weight and still tires so easy came up. So he had an angiogram or a cardiogram done on my dad and it concluded that his heart is only working at 15-20%. Dr. Kirby said no wonder you aren't gaining weight and can't exercise like I want you to. So they are going to prescribe my dad heart medication and hopefully that will help him heal faster and gain weight. And hopefully those results will help my dad's application for disability. He had an appointment and interview last week with a social security disability person. I'm sure he will be denied the first time, but at least the process has been started. I'm sure it would help with a lawyer but I think one denial will help my parents see that a lawyer would be good.
I don't even want to get started on that so I'm going to close now. I hope this long update finds all of you in good health and great spirits. I will try to be better about blogging now that I have some free time. Please keep my parents and Roger in your prayers. Until the next blog, God bless.
