Day 54

OK, let's just clear the air. I'm not going to rehash my "Groundhog Days" for you except for some highlights here and there. You may already be bored silly so I don't want to push you on your way out the door...OK? You know the basics, already...each day is starting with fresh-brewed Italian Lavazza espresso, a bowl of Special K with Red Berries, some fruit/grapes, 2 hard-boiled eggs with ketchup and that's it. You also know I spend the majority of my 10-12 hour day in an office. In the evening, I either run...or I don't. Other than that, I'm in my room. Eventually, the night is capped off in this order: shower, blog, bed. Every night. Okeedokee? Great! Tonight, though, I finally cleaned my room after living in it for three weeks. Thanks to a good friend, I was able to Swiffer it tonight and get some much needed organization done. Thank you! It worked perfectly! So much dust and dirt had made it in.

Being behind a computer and with access to Facebook, I watch many of you go to bed and wake up each day. It's pretty interesting, actually. While you sleep, I have a few friends who are deployed in this area of the world and I chat here and there with them online which is pretty cool. Currently, I have 3 others who are over here. 1 Navy, 1 Air National Guard, and 1 Army. Also on Facebook, I am following how nice it is back home and through favorite restaurant and business pages, I see the indications of Spring and Summer coming soon. Quickly, I realize so much of the material things I miss. I had no control over when I was being deployed but if I could do it again, I'd pick the wintertime! "Kansas" is no fun over the winter. Everyone turns into hermits. The whole area transforms with the arrival of Spring. So tonight...not to be sappy...but I thought I'd rattle off the things I miss...in no particular order:

I miss: green grass, driving my car, washing my car, praying with my girls at bedtime, chasing my cats around the house, mowing and "manicuring" our lawn, doing the budget/reconciling, going to Starbucks, falling asleep while holding Dorothy, laughing with my friends at work, the feel of carpet beneath my feet, DVR'd shows on my cable box, Glee, Chick-Fil-A, Kashi Cereal, bananas, whole wheat homemade pasta, my homemade hummus, Breitenbach Dandelion Wine, the grilled grouper reuben sandwich at one of my favorite restaurants, the trails I run on so often, my running friends, helping Scarecrow with her spelling words, snuggling with the girls on the couch, kissing Dorothy, taking a shower in my bare feet instead of my $1.00 shower shoes, only picking up a weapon to shoot in the woods with friends, watching So You Think You Can Dance in high definition and surround sound, men's breakfast at my church once a month, playing softball with my church family, the state park 10min from my house where I run rarely-run trails near the water, microbrews, driving through Amish Country with Dorothy and the girls...or just us, having homemade/family-made ice cream, authentic Mexican food, having Fridays off and putting the girls on the bus and getting them off the bus, taking my multi-vitamin, watching every step of Spring happen > buds, blossoms, flowers, green; dinner together with my family and Dorothy's cookin', wearing civilian clothes, hugging Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow, quiet when I go to bed, seeing Old Glory outside my garage every day I get up, beautiful sunrises and sunsets (they don't exist here), Starbucks...again, running with my new running partner around my home, picking up my girls from Sunday night AWANA, my older cat sitting on my lap while he gets the royal treatment of back-scratching, taking photos of the trails, fresh kiwis, playing UNO with the girls, sermons from my Pastor...he's awesome, Applescotch Pie made by Dorothy's mom, pouring milk over cereal instead of inaccurately squirting it, listening to the goofiness of Scarecrow, hearing Tin Man's totally off the wall comments...quotable comments, Outback Steakhouse and laughing with Dorothy and the girls.  Yea, I know...just a few things.

Goodnight, everyone.