Therapy Dogs

Sometimes I think the therapy dogs are more for the staff than they are for the patients. Rebel made my day!

One of THOSE Days

Sometimes I am really thankful to be wearing a mask so that I might hide my true feelings.

Rainbow

I will take this as a sign that today will be a good day at work.

A rainbow ending on our helipad? That is a good day for me!

Finally Home

I love seeing my family and friends. While I may be horrible at expressing how much I adore my family and cherish my friends, I hope you know how much I love you  and how humbled I am to have you in my life.

 

After a summer of  A LOT of travelling (of which I would do again in a heartbeat), I am finally home for a three week stretch. I think this means I will have a weekend off...my first for the summer without work or travel. Oh, wait, I am oncall on Saturday...I will still count this as a win.

 

One of the side effects of so much travelling is the lack of food in the kitchen when I got home.

The icing on the cake of this picture was that it was midnight when I got home and had to work in the morning. Let's just say that coming up with a lunch to bring to work took some creativity...

Diving in NM?

I have had a difficult time sitting still this summer. Just antsy.

 But thankfully I have a buddy who can convince me to randomly get open water certified for diving.

Diving with Danielle in Albuquerque

Honoring the California Fallen

Army Specialist Kenneth Clifford Alvarez, 23, of Santa Maria, CA, was assigned to 2nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, White Sands Missile Range, NM. SC Alvarez died  in Haft Asiab, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device during combat operations. Also killed was Army Private Jonathon Michael Dean Hostetter.

Day 04

I love my family! However, late nights, early mornings, sing-a-longs in the car make for a grumpy and sleepy Cousin Beth... But I love my family!!!

(I don't know how parents do these late and early hours.)

Day Two



 Yup, that would be me meat tenderizing my left ankle after my first jellyfish sting. I will proudly admit that that actually hurt a little. It felt like 10 bee stings all at once. Not pleasant...

Our family "formal" dinner. No jacket = no food. We are a classy group!

 

And sometimes I just set the standard.

Day One

Finally have been to a Piggyl Wiggly. Being a California kid, I honestly thought this was a Hollywood made-up company.

Let's discuss how hot and humid it was today. Our G3/4 bike ride while a lot of fun, was amazingly hot! I don't know that I have ever sweat through my shorts like that before...

Loading and Dancing

The Burdine family is no joke when it comes to family reunion. The amount of planning and packing involved is quite impressive.

And while the men-folk pack in the hot and humid morning, the ladies dance with Wii!

 

 

A stop for lunch to allow for some stretching of our legs...

 

And after a drive down the road, we arrived to the gloriousness of the suuny beach!

Travelling to the Burdine Family Reunion

Going to the Movies

Yup, I sure did wear that to the movies tonight.

I know, you are all lucky to know me!

At Work

Two-Year Anniversary

There are events in our lives that change us forever. Some we witness directly while others we experience through secondary trauma.

On 06AUG2011, a US Army aircraft Boeing CH-47D tail number 89-00175 call sign Extortion 17 was shot down in the Maidan Wardak province in Afghanistan, an area known to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as Regional Command – East. On board were the crew and a quick reaction force (QRF) composed of:

- 15 US Navy Seals from NSWDG

- 2 US Navy Seals from west coast based SEAL team

- 5 US NSW support personnel

- 3 US Army Soldiers from 7^th BN, 158^th Aviation REG

- 2 US Army Soldiers from 2^nd BN, 135^th Aviation REG

- 2 US Air Force Pararesuemen from 24^th STS

- 1 US Air Force Combat Controller from 24^th STS

- 1 US Military Working Dog

- 7 Afghan National Army Commandos

- 1 Afghan civilian interpreter

The loss of 31 US Military personnel in this incident is the greatest loss of US life in Afghanistan since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom.

I withhold the names of those that were lost out of respect of privacy for the families, specifically the 41 children who lost their fathers that night.

There are times I fear becoming attached to anyone as I have learned that the people leave, they die, they get killed, and I don’t know if I can keep facing that pain over and over again. There are exceptions, but those are instinctual and I cannot explain that rationale.

I choose to believe that I am the only who feels this way. I do not want you to understand what happened or why things hurt because that means you would have to share in my most horrible experiences and memories. I want, I need, I fight for people to remain innocent.

I don’t share this with you for sympathy. In fact, I would hope to get no comments, likes, or messages. I simply want to give you a glimpse into my world. I came home different, not by choice, but out of necessity.

Co-Pilot’s Tattoo:

When I get to Heaven,

to Saint Peter I will tell

"Just another soldier reporting, Sir.

I've served my time in hell.”

When you don't understand, I ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt. My issues aren't about you, they are about me. They are issues that still consume me.

Wedding in GA

Buddy: So, you bored on (specific date?)

Me: Ya, nothing planned.

Buddy: Want to meet me in GA for a friend's wedding?

Me: That sounds like an awesome idea!

 

Yup, that is pretty much how that conversation went. Admittedly not the finest picture of Buddy and I, but it will have to do.