Illumination Flares

I love listening to Amelia when she finds a new word, many syllables long, to try out.  She carefully wraps her mouth around the word, speaking slowly and drawing out each syllable with delight.

After bible study tonight, Rafe went outside to look at the stars, something he does quite often at night. Our back yard is a huge soccer and baseball field, no lights.  Beyond that are just a few buildings and then the massive oak trees, marsh and ocean inlet.  The breezes are gorgeous coming off the water and you can smell oysters in the air.  There are few lights this side of the island and no traffic this time of night.  Or any time, really, except on the breakfast, lunch and dinner times of Marines going to work, coming home for lunch or coming home from work in the evening.  And even then, it's about 4-6 families this side of the island.

The stars are visible; although not as visible when we first moved here and they hadn't put up street lights yet.  I had forgotten until then how many stars were actually still visible when not polluted by the lights of the city.

Amelia went out with him tonight, and later when I went out with Olivia to meet them, she was snug in Rafe's arms as they were exploring the heavens together and he teaching her about the stars.  It sounds romantic, but I personally think he's teaching her star navigation in preparation for the zombie apocalypse and our run off the grid.

As I came toward them, Amelia turned to me and excitedly said, "Mommy, I've been watching the ee loom in a shun flares!  They look like stars with smoke and then snow and, and, and..."  She was going on and on about the flares.  She was learning to pinpoint their location on the island while the Marines played with fire somewhere off in the distance.  She actually was better at tracking the flares then I was, but that's probably because I'm old and decrepit and she's not.  :)  

I wonder what she'll remember when she grows up, and if she'll remember this magical time on Parris Island... walking in the dark by the water and the trees at night, listening to the wind and smelling the salty marsh air and looking at the stars.  And the illumination flares.

Just another day in the neighborhood...

One of the many reasons I love living on Parris Island and will miss it so much when we leave... 

hanging out at home and hearing the sound of the Parris Island Marine Corps Band coming down your street on a beautiful January day in South Carolina.  It gets really good at the 1:00 minute mark.

Livi was pretty impressed as well.  She loves music, and especially things with a strong beat and rhythm.

And the grand finale!                                            

Movies on a Military Base

Yesterday I took Amelia to see Yogi Bear at the Parris Island base theater.  We usually get movies here about a month or two after they come out in town - they play here on Friday and Sunday and at MCAS Thursday and Saturday.  Movies change each showing, so on Sunday it was 3 different movies starting at 2:00 pm.

It's very inexpensive to see a movie here, so I don't mind waiting a month... 
$2.00 - movie ticket
$2.50 - small popcorn, small drink, regular size candy of your choice
$  .25 - refills on soda

We ran into a bunch of our neighbors there (the theater is about 2 blocks away from housing) and Amelia found a little friend to sit and giggle with throughout the movie.  At the start of the movie, the National Anthem plays, and everyone stands up, faces the screen and is silent until it's over with.  This is actually one of my favorite parts.  Anyone who is active duty, in uniform or not, will stand at attention with their backs rigid, heads straight forward, arms at their sides with their hands in position.  When it's over, everyone sits down and continues on.

When was the last time you heard the Pledge of Allegience or the National Anthem outside of a football game?

Safest place in America to trick-or-treat

We live in the ultimate gated community! There is only one way onto Parris Island, and the gate guard has a rifle. You need ID, insurance and car registration to get past him. The long causeway has water on either side of it, and in case you drove past the first guard without stopping, there is another one at the other side of the causeway to catch you.

We're surrounded by water - no one can get on without going through the front gate.

Military Police patrolling the streets in a car and on foot throughout the evening.

"Hi, Daddy!!"

Some of the neighbor gang... fun to trick or treat with your friends!
One of the military chaplains and his decorations.

Amelia with her favorite "Princess Hair". Her hair is so naturally curly that if I pin it up while it is freshly shampooed, it looks absolutely beautiful.

Home at last!! The best part... eating the candy! And this is how Olivia spent her second Halloween... very different from last year. She was snoozing in the hospital instead of at home in a nice cozy bed. Look, Rafe! She's lying on her side! No more nap nanny!

Only on Parris Island...

Driving home from church today, I spotted a Dad taking his brand new baby for a walk in the stroller.

In full battle gear with a heavily packed ruck.


You never know when you'll need to pack a ruck (military backpack), so FYI ...... :)

"To pack a ruck:
Be sure the heaviest items are packed closest to your back and weight is
distributed evenly left-to-right. Pack your spare socks and t-shirts in ziplock
bags at the top so they are easily accessible during wellness checks and place
your poncho in the space at the bottom of the ruckframe so its easily accessible
while moving or without removing your pack. When on long movements keep food
consisting of simply carbohydrates (apple sauce, graham crackers, etc) in your
bellows pockets of your BDU's so you can eat while you walk. "

BOOM!

That's what I'm hearing about every 3-5 minutes right now, off in the distance. I think it has something to do with The Crucible - the final of the recruit training. After this, they can officially call themselves "Marines" if they survive it.

I heard it as I was giving Amelia a bath and putting her to bed, and she asked me, "What that noise, mommy?" I was afraid the noise would scare her, so I sort of fudged on my answer (since any Marine who has been through it will probably disagree with me).

"It's just Marines playing and having fun, Mia".

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!! In rapid succession, we hear cannon fires on the range. Mission accomplished - Amelia laughs in her bed and says, " 'RINES PLAYING, MOMMA!"

Hymn

Charlotte Brock is a Marine living on Parris Island. She recently wrote this story for a creative writing class.

Brace yourself. It's an amazing read.

I miss my husband!!

It's an odd sensation, but the closer it gets to Rafe coming home, the more I miss him. I told him today I see his ghost everywhere now... I'm in the kitchen and I see him in there playing with Amelia; I'm in our room and I see him getting ready for bed at night; in the morning I wake up and for a few moments see him next to me. I "feel" him everywhere in this house - and the reason it's so odd is that he never really has lived here with us, just visited in between training.

I often wonder what it will be like when we live together full time again. We didn't have any children the last time we spent any time in one spot together for any length of time. Now we have Amelia, who will be 3 by the time he comes home. I imagine what our routines will be like and how we'll fit as a family.

This homecoming is like a bit of a trial - a miniscule glimpse of what our lives might be like. On the other hand, if we get pregnant again, as we plan on trying to do one more time, then it will be a moment in time lost forever.

I often wonder if people who don't know anyone in the military REALLY get the sacrifice that the military makes for them. Those guys over there, and over here, spend an enormous amount of time away from their families and there is no way around that. But getting rid of the military is an asinine solution that some extreme liberals are enamoured of; somewhat akin to doing away with the local police in your home town because you think people are inherently good and will do the right thing, regardless of who is watching.

I was throwing up for 4 hours straight and then Amelia started today. From 930am until she stopped at around 430. I'm getting the carpets cleaned tomorrow, because she missed the bucket a few times. Poor thing. I desperately wanted to send Rafe to the store for some 7up or Sprite. A lovely neighbor stopped by with a bag of apples, bananas, and pedialyte for us; rang the doorbell and left it on the front porch. We're lucky to live here.

Going Visiting

I love living on Parris Island. I am so glad Rafe was able to get us a house here, and not out in town. One of the best things about living here is knowing your neighbors. Every once in a while, we will go out "visiting" and just walk up and down the streets, stopping by a house here and there to say hello. As much as I like to dress Amelia up, she has very definite ideas of how to accent her outfit. She wanted a hat and insisted on the tennis shoes.

High Tide

Looking out my front porch.

Puddle Jumping

It was a wonderful, rainy day today. I can't believe how mild the weather is after -20 windchill, ice and snow storms in Missouri. After the rain, we went for a walk along the marsh and inlet to do some puddle jumping.

These two pictures were taken just a few feet away from our house.
Amelia jumped up on this manhole cover and said, "I tall now!"

She picked out her outfit again. Note the boots on the wrong feet! Oh well. They were a garage sale find, for $2. A little bit big for her feet, but waterproof and perfect for splashing in puddles.

Howdy, Neighbor!

Today was a lovely peach of a day. We went to an early church service and after lunch and nap, we had a surprize visit from one of the neighbors and her son, who is just slightly older than Amelia. He is truly a delightful little boy with a winning smile and generous spirit.

Not too long after they popped in, along came another mom and her daughter (2 months older than Amelia) for a visit. Olivia is a little angel who talks like an Italian momma - she looks you straight in the eye, talks a mile a minute and moves her hands around like they are telling their own story at the same time. At one point, Amelia was hugging Olivia while she was playing and it was so darn cute... until she was hugging her so hard she was choking her accidentally!

The kids together looked picture perfect... Steven with golden red hair, Olivia with jet black hair, and Mia with blonde hair - too bad my camera konked out a few pictures into it.

BUT! Not before I snapped a pic of Amelia kissing Steven. Voluntarily. And, Rafe, don't have a heart attack, but this is actually the second time she gave him some love!! She went up to him and kissed him at last Tuesday's play date. I mentioned it was Steven's first kiss, but apparently another little girl already beat Amelia to the punch.

Before Rafe left, he built Mia a playhouse out of old cardboard moving boxes. They went in and played peekabo in the playhouse and just had a fun time for a couple of hours around the house while the moms visited. It's an interesting dynamic living in a military community or on base. Most of the husbands at this base aren't deployed, but they might as well be. They are on drill duty, and for their husbands this means they have to be with, and do everything with, the recruits in boot camp. So basically they have to go through boot camp all over again, but for 3 years in a row.

The spouses never know when their husbands will be home until the last minute, although they do often know when they will be gone for a while (come to think of it, much like pilots). We try never to call or show up at each other's house at dinnertime or weekends unless invited because the time with their husband is so precious.

I know that last sentence may sound strange for many people who would never do that anyway. Living on base or in a neighborhood full of active duty military is much like living in a time warp. Neighbors know who you are and what you need and are in and out of each others homes all the time. Friends are made quickly and help is often offered immediately. Case in point - I went to a playgroup on Tuesday and met a woman who had just moved in a month ago. Her husband is gone for a week or two, and she has a 9 month old son. She found out Rafe was gone and I am on a mission to finish unpacking our stuff and making our home organized before I have to go back to Lejeune - a daunting task and one which is overwhelming me. She offered to bring her pack and play, her baby, and help me anytime as she handed me her number. And she was serious. This is actually normal and I feel blessed to be able to experience this side of military life.