proud army mom

Samuel and Benjamin...

Benjamin is 25, Samuel is 18, tomorrow he will be 19. (Happy Birthday, Sam!)

Ben is stationed in Washington state, and will be done with the Army in the fall.

Sam is just starting out in the Army. He is in Arlington Va./Wash. D.C., and called me yesterday. He said he went up on the hill at the base the other night, he had clean-up duty after a re-enactment. He said the view of the capitol and the monument all lit up at night was incredible. He can see Arlington National Cemetery from his barracks. He is an extreme history buff, so this is just his thing. He hasn't started his Old Guard training yet, he is still in seminars and classes. He has been reminded that he is first infantry, and their first priority is to protect the base and the capital. So he feels pretty good about where he is. He was issued his shiny shoes with the clicky things, the metal plates. (watch a you-tube video of the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. When they click their heels together...) Sam says when several of the soldiers march together with those shoes on, it gives goosebumps.

Anyway, he is happy and excited to be where he is, although he knows it will be really hard to pass all the tests, and the level of discipline is incredible.

So what else is going on? Not much. Library yesterday, then Walmart. I needed pool shock, and I couldn't very well not buy a stack of 17 cent spiral notebooks. And the watermelon looked good, and a few cantaloupe, and a bag of cherries. $80 later, I had my pool shock. oops.

Mirielle came over again last night, and once again I stayed up way way too late, but I must say: it is worth it.

Yesterday I had fun with my new vacuum cleaner. I vacuumed for over an hour. It's one thing I actually like to do.

Time to get up and get moving again. There are two cousins here today, and most of my kids are home. Some are sitting out on the deck, perhaps I will join them. Poor me, eh?