Ironic Beauty

So, I live in the wooded area of this little base. The other night on the way home from Allison's final farewell, I was walking up the outdoor stairs on the way home. My little BOQ building is pretty much hidden in the brush. I had some tears in my eyes and I was looking down, so I would not trip (me, trip...gasp). ha.

I looked over in the brush and these beautiful flowers were there. I maneuvered myself into the brush and got them. I wiped my tears and all of the sudden I was filled with great joy and peace.

These flowers were a subtle symbol of how beautiful life is and how friendships grow and blossom over time.


~J

"If a great thing can be done, it can be done easily, but this ease is like the ease of a tree blossoming after long years of gathering strength."

- John Ruskin

Good Friends

On Friday my good friend Allison leaves to head back to the states to their next duty station, Scott will follow in a week or so and Mark leaves soon too. In military communities we get "use to" good friends leaving, and we think over time it will get easier to see them go.

I am not sure that it ever gets easy to see good friends leave, but what I do know is it makes you thankful and stronger. You are faced with mixed feelings of sadness, and of happiness with each farewell.

I have come to realize, for me it helps to say see you later, not goodbye. Through this outlook, I am very lucky that I have friends who live throughout the world. With the internet it is amazing how easy it is to keep in touch and how easy it is to pick up where you left off when you meet again.

I am so thankful and blessed that for the past year and three months (but who's counting. ha) Allison, Scott, and Connor (their dog) and Mark (the other member of our "family") have excepted me as part of their family.

Many thanks to Allison for all the wonderful dinners. Thanks you all for the great memories, for the laughs, the inside jokes, the sarcasm, the movie quotes, and the great conversations and the other less than PC conversations... what a crew... I am not going to lie, venting about life just won't be as fulfilling without all of you.

Scott, Allison, and Connor have fun in AMERICA!!! When we meet again you will have baby CJ!! Hooray! Mark, great adventures to you too.

To all my great friends everywhere thanks for EVERYTHING!! I am one lucky girl!

~J

Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.
-- Richard Bach

Giving

Last summer after reading an online post from my friend Rob who was stationed down range (ie the war zone, sandbox, etc), I started a clothes drive at the Child Development Centers here in Japan. The goal of the clothes drive was to send clothes to the less fortunate. So, after jumping through hoops, having the legal dept sign off on papers etc. I began a clothes drive. I put fliers in all the children's cubbies and dropped off donation boxes at all our facilities.

The community went crazy and the project snowballed. I still do not have the final count of how many boxes and pounds I sent but I know it is well over 1000 lbs, close to 2000 lbs. I washed, packed, and sent all the clothes myself except for a day or two of help packing. I will be honest, there were times, I thought, why I am doing this... it was a pain at times. My car was always filled with boxes, and now the people at the post office know me personally.

The Village supported

In November, I checked my work mailbox and there was a flag that had been flown in AFG in honor of all I had done through my humanitarian aid efforts for the people and children of AFG which was very touching. Then, I will never forget, a few weeks after that, I went to my personal mailbox and there was a letter there in a plain white envelope. I was having a bad day and I thought, what the heck... I paid my phone bill (phone bills come in plain white envelopes). My first emotion was anger. I opened the envelope and it was a personal thank you from the base commander in AFG. As I read it tears filled my eyes, it was so moving that something I thought was so small impacted the lives of so many.

I just finished sending boxes in Jan. My friend Rob is now back on safe soil, so I sent them to the humanitarian officer down there. In return I requested some pictures of the drops if possible. She sent the pictures in this blog. Below is the picture that moved me the most.


How many poor American boys wear pink and white striped sweaters to keep warm?

This project makes me thankful and proud, not only for my contributions, but for all men and women that protect our country and impact the lives of the less fortunate in areas of great turmoil in our world.

~J

Sometimes we hold on to our possessions because we fear we might run out- life seems scarce. But when we believe that giving is the way to live, we will produce more in the future- life seems abundant.

- John C. Maxwell

good titles are hard to come by

Hello all:

So I caved. I am finally a member of the blogging community. No promises of keeping it up to date, but I will try. I find that writing a general email to everyone works out, but there is always someone "left out". This way I do not have to worry about that. At any time, anyone can click on the blog and be up to date, that is if the blog is up to date... again no promises there.

Please be patient as I will be slowly working on the blog to bring it up to date.

On Saturday, I went to the city for my birthday with a group of my good friends. I will post pictures and stories soon. Please check back.

Happy lazy MLK Monday to all.

J

Good parents give their children Roots and Wings.
Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and
exercise what's been taught them.
--Jonas Salk