Cheaper Than Plastic Surgery

Whatever a man's age, he can reduce it
several years by putting a bright-colored
flower in his buttonhole.

~Mark Twain

Foolish Fears

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what might pass,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the rustling of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born --
Out in the fields with God!



~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Smile

Nothing on earth can really smile but man. Gems may flash reflected light, but what is a diamond-flash compared with an eye-flash and a mind-flash? A smile is a light in the window of the face by which the heart signifies that it is at home and waiting.

There are persons so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel, in their presence, that they do you good, that their coming into a room is like bringing a lamp there.

Cheerful people are like sunshine, cheering up everybody around them . . . Good cheer, based upon joy in the heart, gives wings to the feet, sinews to the legs, muscles to the arms, elasticity to every motion.

. . . Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. Grim care, moroseness, anxiety - all this rust of life ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth. It is better than emery. Every man ought to rub himself with it. A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs, in which everyone is caused disagreeably to jolt by every pebble over which it runs.

~HENRY WARD BEECHER~

Beautiful Butterfly

Look at the beautiful butterfly, and learn
from it to trust in God. One might wonder
where it could live in tempestuous nights,
in the whirlwind, or in the sunny day;
but I noticed it is safe and dry under the
broad leaf while rivers have been flooded,
and the mountain oaks torn up by their roots.

~ Jeremy Taylor

What to Expect on an R&R During Times of Deployment

Making the most of a brief visit home

"A colonel describes the common problems he sees during R&Rs:
service members spend out of control, eat out of control, and don't get enough sleep. Here are some ways to avoid such problems and make the most of a home visit:
Communicate ahead of time if possible about how you would like to spend the time that you are together .
In phone calls, emails, or letters, share ideas and plans of what you would like to do.


To read more of this article from Military One Source, you'll need to copy and paste this link into your web broweser. I tried to get the active link feature to work, but I'm having a bit of trouble:

Enjoy!

http://www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/FindInformation/Category/Topic/Issue/Material.aspx?MaterialTypeID=9&MaterialID=7366

Happiness

Rule For Happiness

Something to do,
Someone to love,
Something to hope for.

Immanuel Kant~

Pictures

I wanted you all to see these great pictures!
I finally figured out how to get all 32 of them on the blog all at once! These pictures have already been published - so no worries there! They were taken in the early part of this month. Enjoy!


Blessings,

Tamera

Keep on Walk'in

Comedian George Burns said the clue to happiness is helping others: "If you were to go around asking people what would make them happier, you'd get answers like a new car, a bigger house, a raise in pay, winning a lottery a face-lift, more kids, less kids, a new restaurant to go to - probably not one in a hundred would say a chance to help people. And yet that may bring the most happiness of all.

"I don't know Dr. Jonas Salk, but after what he's done for us with his polio vaccine, if he isn't happy, he should have that brilliant head of his examined. Of course, not all of us can do what he did. I know I can't do what he did; he beat me to it.

"But the point is, it doesn't have to be anything that extraordinary. It can be working for a worthy cause, performing a needed service, or just doing something that helps another person."


"When life gets you down, you know what to do! Just keep [walk'in], just keep walk'in], just keep [walk'in] ... [walk'in] ... [walk'in]!"


Blessings,

Tamera

July

It's July!

As a kid I loved July! It was a month free of obligations - nothing but summer fun!
July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 180 days remaining until the end of the year. Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date, so July is the warmest month of the year as well, and we can enjoy its longest days!






"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."

Today many Americans observe the Independence Day holiday by having parades, picnics, barbecues, or other outings with friends and family. The Fourth of July fireworks are displayed in many large cities and are broadcast on television, and smaller communities have their own celebrations throughout the country.

Even though we celebrate, our hearts are somewhere else today, aren't they? Miles across the ocean . . . on the other side of the world it seems, where our sons and daughters fight for freedom!

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

When John Adams (the 1st Vice President and 2nd President of the United States) made the above statement, he was actually off by two days. Yes, the vote on July 2nd was the decisive act, but July 4th was/is the date of the Declaration itself.

Our freedom was and is worth fighting for! May you have a safe and happy 4th!

Blessings,

Tamera

Operation Khanjar

Be sure to read "Operation KHANJAR" written by Brig. Gen. Larry D. Nicholson on the
2nd MEB site . . .

The link is found on the left hand side of the page here on this blog.

Prayers

As General Douglas MacArthur said in his famous farewell address to the cadets at West Point, "This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

Eternal and loving Father, we ask You to protect those who are currently in, and are preparing to leave for war areas, and who face tremendous challenges over these next few weeks and months. Guide them and direct them in the maintenance of our country's honor and protect them in their hour of danger! Please be with their families, here and at home. Give them Your peace, compassion, and love. Give our fighting forces the rest they need to keep and sustain them - each and every one. Give wisdom to our leaders and strength to those who follow.

In Your holy name we pray, AMEN.

Blessings,

Tamera

MEB Deploys on Major Mission

I thought you all would be interested in seeing this link I found with articles about the operation just launched today, including reporters writing for most of the major news sources embedded with our Marines and Sailors.
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/07/us-marines-launch-major-operat/
The picture (above) is from the NPR photographer David Gilkey and is of Sgt. Maj. Ernest Hoopii and other Marines raising "their weapons in solidarity after an address by [General] Nicholson at Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan."

[Be sure to click on the titles of the articles to read the entire expanded article.]

Blessings,

Tamera

Updates

Check out "Interesting Articles" and "Helpful Links" for the latest updates. If you haven't heard NPR's Tom Bowman's interview from Camp Leatherneck, be sure to click on the link to have a listen. And don't miss the Marine Expeditionary Brigade link to see the information packet - also just NEW!

Blessings,

Tamera

Monday Mornings

For the parents of Marines and Sailors of the 2nd MEB, Monday mornings may have a special meaning. Monday marks the beginning of a new week, which means one week closer to our loved ones coming home! Without fail one of the first things I think of on Monday morning is, “Hurray, it’s Monday, the beginning of another week – I can check last week off now!” (I don’t think of this on Sunday for some reason - the traditional "first day of the week.")

In light of this, I have a proposal to possibly help us through the coming weeks and months:
Most of us have probably heard the English idiom – Monday morning quarterback

(Def) A Monday morning quarterback is a football spectator who, with the benefit of hindsight, knows what should have been done in a situation and points out where the team went wrong.

Obviously this is a somewhat pejorative statement! But let’s put a bit of a positive spin on this for a moment shall we, and on Monday mornings do a little "Monday morning quarterbacking" and with the benefit of hindsight look back at our previous week to see how we can improve on it a bit – with regard to parenting our Sailor or Marine from a distance that is - as well as doing our best to navigate through the trenches of deployment with dignity and honor. I'm not saying we aren't doing that already, but as I see it, we can always improve! And we can start by asking ourselves questions like these about the previous week:

· Could I have written more

· Did I get that care package on its way as requested

· Did I run all the errands on “the list”

· Did I get the emails out to the friends and family

· Did I get enough sleep

· Did I do the things in my life to keep "me" peaceful and contented

What did I do that kept me on the right track!

*Monday mornings are also the time when the coach recognizes the great plays and attitudes, and passes out accolades to the players. What did I do right last week?

. . . and then doing our best to improve during the coming week! Whatever our own questions are, there's no real reason to guilt ourselves into anything, but gently nugde ourselves in the right, serene direction!

Live in the week!

Blessings,

Tamera

Rumors 101

Small talk is a natural as playing on the playground or a walk in the park; as as we say hello to people in line at the post office or to fellow shoppers at the register.
When we engage in small talk with our friends and family, and especially our Marine, it's about this time in the deployment that traditionally the first of the "rumors" begin. Don't be alarmed! This is perfectly natural.

Let's take a look at a couple of reasons why rumors start:

• First of all, with so much chitchatting going on (or lack of it), there's bound to be misinformation. Remember the game of "telephone?" It is also known as Chinese Whispers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_(game), Broken Phone, and Arab Phone! The first player whispers a phrase or sentence to the next player. Each player successively whispers what that player believes he or she heard to the next. The last player announces the statement to the entire group. Errors typically accumulate in the retellings, so the statement announced by the last player differs significantly, and often amusingly, from the one uttered by the first. Take heed lest we become a "broken phone" and, like Humpty Dumpty, can't be put back together again.
  
• When passing information to family and friends, or from the command to anyone else, let's be sure to have our facts straight. If it's not written down in some kind of memo form from the Command, chances are in could be wrong! When in doubt, remember to ask the Family Readiness Officer, Nancy Wike - Brigade Headquarters Group Family Readiness Officer; Office: 910-450-8034; Cell: 910-381-7749 . . . She is our official rumor mill stopper!
  
• The only possible good thing about rumors are the opportunity to turn them into TRUTH!! Chances are if they're negative - STOP - the information is probably wrong and you're in over your head! Occasionally, when the rumor is positive, it "could" be true! But again, go to the "rumor mill stopper!" and turn it into TRUTH!
  
• In my experience (we are now on deployment #7) the main rumors have to do with return dates (on the Navy ship side it was where the ship was going during the deployment, as well)! These rumors usually begin after a couple of months into the deployment (soon enough for all of us). When it happens, and it will, it always does, remember Humpty! And, no matter what you hear do not believe it . . . until it is official from the Command!

Blessings,

Tamera

Care Package Ideas

I'm always on the hunt for good care package ideas. Durning my recent perusing I came across a neat little site and I'd like to share with you. Keep in mind that many of the suggestions may not apply (given our unique situation), but there are so many great ideas and pratical suggestions that do apply I thought it was worth the post. I will add a permanent link to our blog as well!

Here you go . . . enjoy: http://www.militarycarepackageideas.org/

Letters From Home

Nothing is better than a handwritten letter from home! Your Marine can read it and re-read it again and again - just like in the olden days! (ha)

So much history has been learned from letters and diaries that were so carefully and thoughtfully written, but today letter writing is piratically a lost art - replaced by cell phones and email! Sure our lives are busy with very little time to sit down and write a letter; nevertheless, what can replace the thrill of opening a thick envelope filled with news from a relative or friend? There's nothing like it! Especially when you're in the middle of the desert!

Here are a few tips to make a letter nice for your son or daughter (or anyone for that matter) to read. Somewhere in your letter include a part that:

• Tells them what you like about them ("I wanted to write because I think you are . . . ")



• Talks about the interests you have in common



• Talks about what you'll do together in the future
  

Include pictures - who doesn't love that! They can show all their friends and put them on the wall. Questions are good too! Not too many though, that will get overwhelming (I highlighted the questions so that it was easy to go back and answer them in the letters I wrote to my son.)

Sitting down to write a letter after so many emails for so long can feel kind of awkward and maybe even a little uncomfortable - kind of like you're going to run out of things to say. You can always talk about what's going on in your own life. What's happening in your day right then and there. What your plans are for the next few days or weeks.

If you're still drawing a blank - describe where you're sitting, what the weather is like, what you had for dinner, what kind of tea you're drinking at that very moment and what music you're listening to. . . stuff like that.

If you try journaling a little throughout the week, you'll be able to reference some of those entries in your letters and jounaling it helps immensely with your writing practice.

. . . to be continued.

blessings,

Tamera

Finally Back!

It's Wednesday night in North Carolina, but my inner clock still says California time! (ugg) I've spent the past few weeks zooming around Southern California - visiting family and friends, attending my best friend's daughter's wedding . . . and having eye surgery at Balboa Naval Hospital with theeee best surgeon ever! He diagnosed a mystery eye disease some years back while my husband and I were stationed in Japan, and this surgery was the last of the residual repair from that.

So, here I am - my body thinking it's 3 hours earlier and telling me my age (yikes) at the same time! (not pretty) I, like you however, wish I could share my feelings with my special someone far, far away, but alas - it is not meant to be! It's hardest when we have feelings to share - good or bad; happy or sad! I think that's when I miss him the most!

Today we had some very happy news! My husband found out from official email that his next duty assignment is "THE ONE" he's been waiting for his entire career. It doesn't happen until April of next year, but he knows about it (he copied me the notification email), and now I know about it too, but we can't share in the joy together in person. He hasn't been able to call or write much at all and . . . well, you know how I feel! So, these are the tough days. Happy, but tough.

(((hugs))) and blessings,

Tamera

What Is Memorial Day?

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many seperate beginnings. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on seperate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress in 1968 to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19, in Texas, April 26, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10, in South Carolina; and June 3, (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee. In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too,
the Poppy red.
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died searving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms. Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for the war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. And since 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). But most Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day.

Information taken from - http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

It's 10:00 PM and I find myself looking at the big blue clock on this blog many times throughout the day thinking about the time over there and wondering . . . how are they doing? Then I check the weather . . . wow, it's getting hot! Is he sleeping ok? I know he doesn't sleep well when it's hot! It's 0630 for our Marines - well into starting another day. I wonder what this day will bring for them?
I know that each morning and evening my husband prays for all the Marines in the MEB - as do I! He often speaks of the wonderful chaplains and how truly blessed he is to have such an incredible group to work with. They have your Marine's best interst at heart, believe me!
Rest assured this day that they are being well looked after!

And sleep peacefully tonight!



Blessings,



Tamera

Here We Go . . .

Hello Parents,

Well, by now some of your sons and daughters are already in Afghanistan and many will be headed over there in a very short while!
It's strange how we've been counting the months - first 6 months, then three, then one - and now it's a matter of just weeks before they depart! But we try to keep things upbeat, doing our best not to overburden them with trivial unnecessary matters. It's not easy, I know! All those memories come drifting back of Christmas presents being torn open or methodically unwrapped, baseball games and waiting in long lines for the opening of that long awaited movie! That same little boy who at the age 9 got hit in the nose with a stray pitch at his little league game and then rushed off to the hospital in his mother's arms with a broken nose, is far from his mother's arms in a war zone! All the good growing-up times!
Yet . . . they are all grown up now! Where did that time go, anyway?

I know it's hard to see them leave and go away to such a dangerous place. Ironically, our son spent 15 months in the exact same place just a little over a year ago with the 82nd Airborne and now it's my husband's turn. But it's the reason why I feel so strongly about writing to parents. I was just where you are not that long ago and I know exactly how you feel. You will get through this! Sometimes it feels like the parents are forgotten in the hustle and bustle of everything, however, and I want you to know that's just not true! We have a lot of good things planned to get information out to you and this little blog is just one of them.

Please keep coming back to see the updated page and read the latest posts.

I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings,

Tamera

Welcome

Hello, and thank you for visiting the MEB Parent’s Blog! I want to welcome you and let you know a little about “our” space right off the bat. The purpose of this blog is for parents of Marines in the MEB to get in touch, keep in touch with one another – whatever the case may be – to connect with one another all over the country (hopefully) while our sons and daughters are in Afghanistan during the coming months! I'll do my best to have have every link that I can think of on this site to help us (especially a link to our Family Readiness Officer), but mostly I want to keep this a place for us all to share stuff! Cool stuff; my hope being that you'll want to come back here again and again to be motivated and energized! A kind of landing and launching pad of sorts.

This Blog Policy: When posting on this blog, please pay special attention to what is called OPSEC (this stands for Operation Security) and remember that it’s a violation to post about anything having to do with specifics (i.e. when, where, names, etc.) We’ve been concerned with our kids safety since they were babies, and it’s no different now! See, it never stops, does it? Let's be very careful with our words, especially when writing about anything to do with the mission. My personal policy after over 24 years in the military . . . When in doubt? Don’t!!



Blog Purpose: As I stated earlier, this is a way for parents to get in touch with one another. This is NOT the place for any official information! We have other resources for that. And a place to share positive ideas. Like what might be working well for you. What your son or daughter liked in that latest care package, questions you might want to ask me (my son was in the exact same area of Afghanistan for 15 months just a year ago), or maybe even things like what our churches and friends can do to help? My husband should be able to keep a read on that for all of us. Anyway, these are my thoughts right now. But this is my first day of blogging on this site. The deployment brief is tomorrow and I wanted to have this up and running before I drive down to Camp Lejeune in the morning, so that I could pass out this blog address to some of your sons and daughters (big *grin* ).

Ok, before I go, let me tell you a ljust a little about myself. My husband and I have been married for 36 years and have two boys. They are both married with kids of their own. The youngest (now 33 years old) graduated from West Point in 2001 and we thought he was going to make the Army a career, but his plans have changed now. The last 15-month deployment to Afghanistan probably had a lot to do with that decision. John was with the 82nd Airborne at that time, so as we were moving back from Japan and moving to Camp Lejeune we decided to move closer to our granddaughter (oh yes, our son and his wife too - ha!) Unfortunately for my husband . . . that was all the way up near Fort Bragg! But, we thought Chaps (my husband) was deploying right away anyway. Of course he didn't! (big surprise), so for the last two years he's been a geographic bachelor as the 2nd Marine Logistics Command Chaplain, driving home on the weekends. The really cool thing for me, however, is my parents and my other two grandchildren (oh yes, and oldest son (35)and his wife - ha. . . it's all about the grandchildren now! They are such a joy!) have all moved from California to settle here with us in North Carolina. It's very, very wonderful! And now, of course, my husband is deploying!
And, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, he's the MEB Command Chaplain. Or as the Commanding General so aptly put it when introducing him the other day, the "shepherd of this huge flock!" I liked that. There are many other chaplains as well, but his main job is to make sure they're all in the right place at the right time with eveything they need to do their job well.

I have an Australian Cattle Dog named Sherman who is my constant companion and the smartest dog I've ever trained. I enjoy reading, writing, birdwatching, gardening (my newest hobby), and organizing. My husband and I love boating and look forward to more and more of that as we get closer to retirement.
Until next time . . .


(((hugs))) and blessings,


Tamera Pelikan
mebparents@msn.com