Gratitude Journal

I am thankful for a busy weekend. I sit here and write this entry wondering where three days went. I hope the next few months go this fast.

Saturday morning was spent at church for the Amazing Race to Serve. As the name indicates, the race is a knock off of the reality show Amazing Race. Teams of two race around three adjoining towns to find clues. The goal is to reach the final destination first. Home base supports help search for answers to clues via internet. I was part of the support team for our small group's two teams. The kids and I hung out at the church campus waiting to cheer the teams across the finish line. A great morning.

I am so thankful deployment is over half way done. It's a reenergizing feeling to have the majority of the separation behind us. It's nice to say things like, "It's all down hill from here" and "We're almost to double digits (on the countdown)".

Saturday afternoon we dropped in at the Half Way (Deployment) Party hosted by my husband's work. The theme was 50s and bowling. I convinced the kids to dress in greaser attire, which really meant roll up your sleeves and put on your Converse. It's enough to not be complete stand outs yet festive.

                                                                                                                       Spending Saturday with new friends and acquaintances made my 'get real' challenge constant. It's so easy for me to put on my front with new people. However, I felt I was true to myself. My fail was allowing my kids to bowl. I normally allow them to participate in all activities available at family events. The half way party was different because the RSVP list was 320+ family units long. I estimated 900 would be in attendance. I wanted to pop in, say hello, grab a cupcake, and get our picture book.

We walk into the bowling alley, found a group of familiar faces, and the dessert table.

One child got excited and asked to bowl.
My reply, "You want to bowl? Ok!"
And I'm standing in line for three pairs of bowling shoes and requesting bumpers on lane 34.
Clearly, I've got work to do on this challenge.