The 80's has returned.

This whole week has just flown by. Although I have been very busy, some things are becoming more of a routine and a little more calm. Every morning I have been able to get up at about 4:30 a.m. in order to get my jogging time in. I have been averaging about 4 miles every other morning. On my off days, I have been able to sneak off to the community center for a good workout.

After my exercise, I have time to, take care of my two dogs, take a shower and get myself dress to go to my 6 a.m. formation/meeting with the rear detachment. By 6:30 a.m., I am back at home seeing Keri off. I quickly have breakfast with her, talk about what ever is on her mind at the time. She catches the bus by 6:45 and I have to be there for Stella. On some nights, Stella might stay over at Karla’s or Alysa and Paige will stay at my house. It always depends on the evening activities and what is practical. This has been having a positive impact on Stella too, but I will explain this a little later.

If Stella stays at my house, Keri or I will have her up and dressed by 6:45 a.m. Stella would then join me for a trip to Karla’s house to help in waking up Alysa and Paige. If Stella is already at Karla’s then it just easy for me to wake up all three. This helps Karla out and gives her a more relaxed morning. One of the few ways I can repay her for her kindness and help. Besides, if asked, I would have to say, I love spending this time with the kids. Getting the girls up is a very slow and complicated process. They are not morning people, especially, Alysa and Paige. While I am waiting for them to get dressed, I am usually letting their 2 dogs out. (1 is a Cocker Spaniel, and the other is a Terrier.) Then I feed their two female cats. By the time they are taken care of, the girls are starting to make their appearance downstairs. Not quite awake, they sit in the living room waiting for me to brush out their hair. Then it on for a quick breakfast and a scramble of finding their bags, homework, making their lunch, having arguments, giving Karla hugs and kisses and climbing into my van. This is all done by 8 a.m. I dive them over to the bus stop and let them sit in the van waiting for the bus. Once we’re in place, here come some of their friends. Within a few minutes, the bus for the Primary School will come by and I will see Paige and Stella off as they wave from the bus window. Alysa and I wait about another 10 minutes for her bus; she has picked up the habit of waving goodbye too.

Every after either I am home waiting for Keri to get off the bus or she will call to let me know that she made it home safely. After she is done with her homework and chores, she asks if Jamie can come over. She is slowly learning to pace herself out with her relationship with Jamie. No matter what I am doing, I always make it back in time to meet Stella coming off the bus. It’s good to note however, that with a single phone call, Karla and Keri both are in place to pick up Stella. It is the beginning of that family care plan I have needed. It is truly amazing how God works. I have been focusing so much on the primary issue of safety and security for the kids, that I just now noticed where he has been helping me. After the kids gets back to Karla’s house, it’s a quick snack and on to homework. Karla and I work together to help them when they need it and to work out the details out for dinner. And this is where the routine ends.

On Monday, November 3rd, I arranged to meet with Linda and her support staff at the hospital to go over her exit plan from the hospital. Mind you this was also going to be the time when Linda would find out about the Protection Order. I went to the meeting with a lot of trepidation. The meeting was set for 3 p.m. and it was over by 3:15 p.m. Her physiatrist noticed that I was hesitating on giving out too much information and asked the question… “Could you explain the legal aspects of why Linda can’t come home?” I could only answer with the truth. “Yes, because I was granted a Protection Order from the Jefferson County Court House.” Linda, sat there for about a few seconds then jumped up to her feet and approached me so fast, I thought she was going to hit me. She stopped herself about a foot from where I was sitting and screamed “I hate you” and ran out the door. Deb, the Social Worker ran out with her and her physiatrist was quick to follow. I sat there for another 5-6 minutes, unable to stop myself from shaking. I have seen her enraged by events in the past, but this really was the worst.

On Tuesday, November 4th, I had my appointment with the Staff Judge Advocate on post. They helped me with the paperwork I needed to start a legal separation agreement. It was my hope to use this step to provide financial security while continuing to ensure Linda’s has continued medical benefits. With a divorce she would loose everything she needs to fix herself. After that meeting, I went home and checked my bank online. I found out about a check for over $300.00 was written by Linda prior to going into the hospital. This crated a negative balance in the account that I was leaving open for Linda’s needs. I was removing my name from all joint accounts. I will be required pay it off in order to get my name off this account. This of course will make it harder to insure that money was being set up for Linda to go to Kentucky and be able to support herself.

Wednesday, November 5th, the day was spent addressing other issues that I have been discovering. Like a loans Linda had taken out by using the power of attorney. I worked to budget them in and arranged to pay off two of them. I typed up a Revocation of the Power of Attorney and sent it out to all the businesses that Linda may have contacted and ensured that a copy was sent to the bank. I met up with Karla and Allison at the Post Exchange in order to do some shopping for dinner. They made some smart comment about me being a good “Army Wife”, and learning how the other half lives. This was made worse by the kids calling me “Mr. Mom”. Karla took us out to her favorite Korean Restaurant for dinner. I had never been there before, but the food was great. It’s also funny to watch people’s faces when we enter a restaurant. With so many kids, they have to shuffle tables in order to make room. It reminds me of the days growing up when I was the youngest of six.

Thursday, November 6th, was a day for getting the house work caught up a little. I managed to get every thing done at my house that I set out to do this week, except the garage. Karla asked me to help her with the kids mess at her house. Her house was in worse shape then mine. When the kids tare through her house, they do it with so many friends from the neighborhood. She has no hope of keeping up. Besides, helping gets me out of having to clean that garage; plus, it allowed me to be with friends. After the dinner, I took the Keri and Stella in for a visit with Linda. This did not go so well. Stella received a picture that Linda had made in craft group and asked: “Where’s Keri’s. It’s not fair that she doesn’t have one.” That caused Keri to shake her head a little and the visit to be tense. Stella didn’t want Mom and I to be mad at each other anymore. Linda was getting upset at the fact that I was in the room and Stella trying to include me in their conversation. Keri and I wound up sitting out in the hall at Linda’s request for the remainder of the visit. Karla and I ended the evening with making plans for the kids dance at the primary school. The theme for the dance is the 80’s

Friday, November 7th, I did my normal visit and routine at Karla’s house, but her girls were not going to school. They needed to get ready for a dental visit. After, they were up Stella and I returned home because Stella wanted to catch the bus this morning at her normal bus stop, and spend time with her other friends. I was able to sit and watch a show for about an hour when Karla called to go shopping. We hit Target, several stores in the mall and Wal Mart. The goal was to make the girls look like they were in the 80’s. I think we did a wonderful job. The kids were all surprised and excited by the time they came home from school. By the time Karla and I were done getting the girls dressed, their hair done and their make-up on it was time to leave. Oh! Yes, for me it was a little weird to be putting make-up on Stella and to change out her ear rings. I’m not a girl; I’ve never done anything like this before. LOL. But, it was fun.

We loaded up all the kids into the van and I drove us all to the school. Karla, Keri, Stella, Alysa, and Paige were singing to Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, take the wheel”, and few other popular songs. You know, they didn’t sound half bad either. I couldn’t help but enjoy the 25 minute road trip. The dance was a lot of fun for the girls and every one of the adults were talking about their years through the 80’s. Some of us actually got down and danced. After the dance, we stopped by Taco Bell for a late snack. Then it was on to Karla’s house for a change of clothes for Alysa and Paige. Those two along with Madison and Emma stayed the night at my house, while the ladies went out again. One Dad and six girls, take a guess on who was responsible on getting all of that hair spray out of the girl’s hair. And Karla had emptied a can of Aqua Net on them! Enjoy the pictures.

-Goodnight, I am exhausted.