Yea for my daughter

My oldest daughter had her "Black Saga" competition. Her team came in second and will progress onward with her next competition being held in Baltimore. She's been working very hard on this and I am proud of her.

Return

Have arrived in Korea and find myself at the airport waiting for the shuttle to my base. The flight presented a pleasant surprise in that it landed an hour early from what my schedule had said. Now I have time to grab a bite to eat here at the airport before the two hour shuttle drive to Osan. Got stuck in a middle seat in the middle of the aircraft, but was still able to sleep for six hours or so. Long flight though. This one seemed much longer than when I first flew over in August, but I know it is a matter of perception.

I had a window seat down to Atlanta and it was a beautiful day as these pictures attest.

I am missing my family. The last few days my littlest girl kept asking me why I have to do this job anyway and why I can't stay for when she goes to the hospital. Hopefully she'll understand better one day.

Foreshadowing

One of my favorite literary techniques is the art of foreshadowing, which I first learned about during Advanced Placement English my senior year of high school. Today was sort of a day that felt like foreshadowing to me. It has been a sad day in many ways as I spent my last hours at home with my wife and children. It had me sort of thinking that this must be a bit what it feels like when one knows he is coming toward the end of his life and has limited time left.

It is harder leaving this time than it was in August. I think I am more aware of what I am missing in my family's life, things that I will not regain. My girls are growing leaps and bounds.

My little one is going through rites of passage like loosing her teeth. My oldest is also growing up fast and I am missing her band concerts and debate competitions.

My kids are not the only ones changing. I grew out my beard when I first got home. Boy has it changed - sort of gray now - hair too - this is the longest I've had my hair in awhile. I couldn't take it. As soon as we got back from Tennessee I shaved it off and cut my hair.

We visited some friends where we used to worship that we have not seen for a few years. They have changed too. The older I get the more I recognize how fast time flies and how little time we do have on this earth. But the upside of that is that the next six months are likely going to pass as quickly as the last six did.

So tomorrow I am on an airplane headed back to duty. And I pray to not have to sit next to some fat movie director who thinks because he is rich and famous he can sit in my seat too.

Yes, being a former fat person myself, I have strong opinions about this story circulating through the news these days. I heard something about a group that is working for "fat acceptance". While there is plenty of room for education and sensitivity so that abuse and bullying, especially in school, becomes a thing of the past - I truly hope that people don't loose sight that being grossly overweight is a harmful thing not a good thing. What Southwest did, in my opinion, was not bullying, but holding someone accountable for decisions he had made about his lifestyle and weighing his situation with the fact there are other passengers in his row. Just my two cents on that.

30 Days

Midtour - a magic word when one is away from family for a solid year. My 30 days home are rapidly drawing to a close. In less than one week I'll be returning to Korea. It has been an eventful month here at home. Here are some of the highlights.

Change - my kids have grown like crazy. I couldn't believe how big they were when I got off the plane in DC. My oldest will turn 13 soon but she already looks like she could pass for 17. My little one is reading incredibly well for first grade. She's reading books I don't think I could have touched until several years later.

My youngest has a horrible time breathing at night. I've sat up many nights listening to her struggle for breath. I found out about a week after getting home that the doctor has decided she does need surgery to remove tonsils and other stuff and to work to open her airway. She is scared to say the least of what is coming. Unfortunately the surgery is scheduled the week after I am to return to Korea. I could not obtain permission to extend my leave for another week so that I could be here with her.

We spent a little over a week in a cabin down in the Tennessee mountains. We had to stay a bit longer than planned due to snow systems that came through that we had to jog around for our driving. But it worked out fine. We met Rascal the raccoon who made a nightly visit to our cabin.

Met my great niece. She's about 2 months old and cute as a little button. Very proud of my niece and her husband. They are working very hard to make a good life for their family.

Made it back to DC in between major snow storms and just in time for the blizzard (snowmageddon they are calling it here) of Feb 2010. Snow is hip deep and in places shoulder deep. I spent one solid day shoveling just to stay ahead of it. I spent one morning digging out the neighborhood fire hydrant.

When we arrived back in DC we were reminded of how great our neighbors are. We had to really fight the snow and ice to get back to the house. The roads turned bad once we hit highway 66 into DC and the local roads were hardly touched and complicated by many people out who have no real clue how to drive in snow and slush. We spent 2 hours sitting on highway 66 because a trucker got in too big a hurry and went into the side that was not cleared and lost control jack-knifing his rig and blocking all traffic. So as we approached the house we were tired and our nerves were frazzled. And there was a mountain of snow down the entire length of the road across the front of our house, at least 7 feet tall, where the plow had been through. I thought, we'll never get to the house and then suddenly we saw the small hole - our wonderful neighbors had dug out our driveway and sidewalk so we could get in.

This weekend have birthday celebration for my youngest and then it will be time to start packing and getting my head right for return to Korea. Five more months.