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