Veterans Day

Hi all!

Don’t let this massive “inundation” of the blog right now fool you, I can’t guarantee how long this trend will keep up. This is just going to be short & sweet b/c I think I’m going to go to bed for an hour & a half before watch from 10pm-2am tonight.

For those of you that didn’t notice, today is Veteran’s Day. We celebrated today at 0600 with Tobey Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue” on the 1MC (our announcing system) during the morning show. (But don’t worry, being the very politically correct Officer of the Deck that I am, I made sure the guys un-cued the mike when he sings where he’s going to put his boot).

I am obviously incredibly grateful for my freedom, but it’s sometimes challenging to quantify that freedom. It’s almost sort of difficult to think about people back home celebrating freedom (or, at least enjoying perhaps a day off work) while being stuck way out here. So, while floating around in the ocean today, I thought of a few things that I am blessed with out here that our veterans of yesterday’s Navy might not have had and how their sacrifice allowed me to do my job out here with added luxuries that they were forced to go without while fighting for our freedom.

So, in no particular order, here are a few things I’d like to thank a Vet for today:

Relatively quick & reliable communications home. No waiting anxiously for mail call (although I do still love packages J) for the only word from home. Thank goodness for email on deployment
iPods & my iHome that allows me to escape in whatever music I want to listen to.
Coke Zero in the vending machines & a cash card that links said coke zero purchases to my checking account w/o having to worry about having coins on me.
Women on ships (albeit the few of us that there are) that give me a few people to bond with over an US Weekly or Glamour Magazine.
Homemade vanilla cupcakes at dinner with homemade piped vanilla icing, thanks to the cook for our wardroom who brings his own cake decorating kits on deployment.
Ellipticals & yoga DVDs on ships and a closet big enough to store my yoga mat.

I guess that’s about all that I came up with today. I started this list today when I thought of one of my favorite quotes “it’s hard to love the little things, she said. But luckily, you get a lot of opportunities to practice.”

I guess I just spent today trying to think of all of the things that I am appreciative of that veteran’s who were doing my exact job in previous years did not get the luxury to have and how grateful I am to be in the world’s most advanced, powerful & modern Navy.

As we approach Thanksgiving (aka my favorite holiday of the ENTIRE year & if the cooks don’t make real mashed potatoes for dinner I might throw myself overboard), I think it’s always important to take time to think about the little things that you are grateful for.

Alright, my ramblings are clearly going strong & I should probably hit my rack for a wee bit before watch tonight. I can’t promise that I won’t come up with a million & one random thoughts tonight on watch in the middle of the night, but I do promise not to subject you all to pages of said thoughts again (or at least not for a little while J)

Miss you all! Hugs!