Surprise! It’s only been a few days since my last post so I suspect some of you might be wondering why I’m back so soon. I used to do this every day until my life changed forever when Diane left me. When that happened pretty much all my joy went with her.

Oh, I still have many positive things in my life to keep me engaged, but without her the parameters are different. I’m surrounded by my children most of the time, and I have friends who share events with me. and that’s really awesome, but I miss sharing those events with her.

Sounds like a broken record, right? I’m sure everyone who has to go through this part of life’s journey says the same thing. Unfortunately for you, as I’ve said previously, when those feelings or thoughts get stuck in my head the only way I know how to relieve myself is to type it all out.

Doing that gets my head flying all over the place, ending at places I hadn’t considered. Eventually, I wind up in a happier place thinking about all the fun we had, the places we got to visit, and the family we made . . . .

I got stuck on that last paragraph. Picture me sitting here with my fingers poised over the keyboard, waiting for that next word that seeks relief from my clogged brain, and nothing happens. I’m sure that I’m not the only person that has this problem but it’s disconcerting when it happens. When my fingers are poised over a keyboard, I expect them to be productive. All the sudden they weren’t.

Considering that predicament, I deem it’s time for me to just make stuff up. You know I loved her beyond measure, and I miss her, but I need to move on down the road. So, here I go.

Let’s go back in time to 11/27/2011. Thanksgiving is over, and my head was overflowing with unused words.

Thanksgiving is over and it’s time to get back to work. For me, it’s a trip to the VA for some poking and prodding. I love that part. It’s a simple way for me to get people to touch me for free. Well, there’s a little co-pay, but it’s not much. Worth every penny.

I’ve been scouting around for a new platform to use for my blog and thought I’d give this one a try. Susan recommended it, so it must be a good one. I think I made a couple of entries on Blogger, but can’t remember. There’s an image of a turkey carcass floating around in my head that I associated with that site, but that doesn’t mean anything. The carcass may have an entirely different meaning for me tomorrow. Or in a couple of hours.

I’d tell you what I did last Friday, but I can’t remember.

Yesterday it was sunny and we had a mini-USS Cleveland reunion at our house. In attendance was Gary, Cindy, Brian, Susan, Diane, Ziva, Panzee, Ozzie, and me. Gary & Brian remember each other from their time aboard Cleveland, but I don’t remember either of them. Probably because they were snipes, working below the main deck, and I was a deck rating working above the main deck. Everyone in the Navy understands the unspoken division between the two. We were never allowed to talk with one another, and we were all fed a different times to ensure there was no contamination from one group to the other. Apparently it works really, really well. It’s nice to learn that this division doesn’t translate to relationships in civilian life.

Gary & Cindy live in Washington. Brian & Susan don’t. Neither do I or Diane. But, all four of us who don’t can see Washington from the towns we live in. What a treat that is.

After everyone left I gave Diane a hearing test and we learned that she really is deaf in her left ear. I’ve known that for a long time but she refuses to get her hearing checked. Instead, she’d rather punish me for not answering her questions when she has her deaf ear turned toward me. It probably doesn’t help that I usually don’t talk very loudly. I do that for a reason, of course. Since her ear is already damaged, for some reason, I don’t want to take the chance of making it worse by making loud noises. So, I talk softly. Sometimes I just move my lips when she’s looking at me but that seems to make her angry. Thankfully, I can still outrun her and after 30-40 feet I forget why I’m running and she forgets why she’s chasing me. The dogs love conversations like that.

We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving weekend, and that the turkey was all consumed, or sent home with visitors, so you can eat something “new” tomorrow. Send good thoughts to an old family friend, Jeff K, who is in a coma at OHSU. It’s complicated.

Today we went to church, like normal, but that doesn’t seem to help keep me from getting into trouble. We even took Diane’s Mom, Jean, like normal. We were the last people out of the church, ensuring the doors were locked and the garbage removed, and everything. It was a little ominous, weather wise, when we left the house. Apparently all of the weathermen got together on Saturday and decided it was going to rain at 10:30am sharp and, by golly, it did. There were minor breaks in the downpour so we had to time it right, ensuring it was at it’s heaviest, before heading to the car. We made it home safe and dry, then Diane made me and Jean exit the vehicle before she drove it into the garage. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining very hard at the time, so it wasn’t bad.

We heated up a mess of leftovers that included turkey, chili, baked potatoes, dressing, and salad. I had everything but potatoes and salad. I also had cheese and crackers, and a glass of expired milk. After feeding the milk to me, Diane reported that the date on the bottle indicated it should have been consumed by November 18th. Not too bad, but it suddenly tasted awful and gave me a stomach ache.

Jack & Wynette stopped by for a while on their way home from a funeral in Longview. We had a nice visit and it was good to see them, as always. Wynette’s letting her hair grow long. Looks great. Jack reported that he and Wynette have spent a lot of time, lately, looking for bras. It wasn’t immediately clear who they were for so I found it very informative. I’ve been thinking about looking for bras, myself. Diane doesn’t approve, telling me I don’t need one. In self defense, I never said I was going to buy one. I just wanted to look for one.

I learned that Jack’s hands are a C cup. I also learned that mermaids wear sea-shells because b-shells are too small, and d-shells are too big. I never knew that. I’m always learning new stuff from Jack. I always look forward to seeing those two.

Now it’s dark and nearing time for me to go to bed. We need to leave in before 7am in the morning to make sure I’m at the VA by 8am. It’s a long drive but, since I’m not allowed to sit behind the steering wheel, I can sleep all the way over. And all the way home. Which I probably will.

I hope all is well with all of you. I feel better now that I’ve moved beyond that roadblock in my head.