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