It's been a rough week.  A very rough week, actually. I lost 2 patients.  One passed away on Tuesday, very peacefully. The other....took a little time.  I spent half of Wednesday, all of Thursday, and I got called at 3am this morning to go back and be with her because the end was near.  She passed away a few hours after dawn this morning, and I'm glad that she's free of pain and suffering now. There were a couple of high points to this week, but one of them I can't tell y...

From the top, they are: 1.  Air Force Commendation Medal 2.  Air Force Achievement Medal 3.  Joint Meritorious Unit Award 4.  Meritorious Unit Award 5.  AF Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device 6.  AF Good Conduct Medal 7.  National Defense Service Medal 8.  Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal 9.  Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal 10. &...

I spent this morning thinking about something that's been giving me a problem for a few weeks. I'm Key Spouse for D's squadron.  I did it at our last base for 4 years, and really enjoyed it.  I was the only K.S. and shared the duties with the commader's wife - who was going to school full time, which meant that I ended up doing it solo.  It was a lot of fun and very rewarding. Here at this squadron, though...it's a different ball of wax.  There are four of five women wh...

Recently, something has changed in me.  I used to be able to sit and watch the TV news and take the deaths of soldiers, marines and airmen in my stride.  I used to hear about young people being killed in car accidents or shootings and stabbings and not bat an eyelid. Lately, though...I can't do it.  It HURTS.  There's this weight in my chest - I think that I now know what poets meant when they claimed that their hearts were heavy, because that's how I feel.  My he...

I just spent the last 12 hours sitting with a man who is dying of cancer. When I walked into his room this morning he showed all the signs of being minutes away from death. 12 hours later when I finally acquiesed and went home, he was still exhibiting the same signs. I watched as his priest came in and gave him absolution from his sins. I held his hand and we talked - about any and everything. His body doesn't want to give up; it's still fighting what the cancer has done to hi...

I had my first taste of Coca-Cola Blak today. It tastes like what it says it is - a mix of cola and coffee.  It's like drinking a carbonated frappucino that's had a squirt of Coke syrup in it.  It's okay; I'd be happy to drink it every so often - but it's not going to be replacing the Coca-Cola Classic in my refrigerator. I think it's a gimmick; a product that will sell well at first because people are curious about it.  But, I can't see it being a long-term success. Then...

Yesterday Momma and The Big Guy came home with some other dawg.  I could hardly believe it.  I'M the only dog around here, I thought that they knew that.  So, I had to make sure that this other dawg knew that me, Henry, was the king of this house.  She had the audacity to get too close to MY toy, so I growled at her and showed her my teeth so that she'd know I wasn't messing around.  Anyway, we went outside and I was surprised to find out that she knew how to play. ...

Oh, why you look so sad? The tears are in you eyes, Come on and come to me now... Don't be ashamed to cry Let me see you through Because I've seen the dark side too When the night falls on you And you don't know what to do Nothing you confess Could make me love you less I'll stand by you I'll stand by you Won't let nobody hurt you I'll stand by you So, if you're mad get mad Don't hold it all inside Come on and talk to me now Hey, what you got to hide, I get an...

(by Henry, dharma's daschshund) Today was pretty boring.  My momma stayed in bed for a really long time - she was in there when The Big Guy told me to gopotty and she was there when the Little Guy and the Littlest Guy and Tall Girl and The Big Guy all went out and it scared me because usually my momma is in the room where they cook at and she wasn't there today, she was in her bed still.  I got really worried about her and so I went and jumped up and down by the side of her bed unti...

(In case anyone doesn't know, Henry is my daschshund - aka weiner dog) Ok, so like this is what I did today.... First The Big Guy came and knocked on the Little Guy's room and I was sleeping and it scared me and I didn't know who it was so I barked and The Big Guy told me shaddup dawg it's only me.  So then the Little Guy got up and told me to go outside and so I did and I took care of my business and then barked to let them know I was done and The Big Guy said shaddup Henry but he op...

Like many mothers and wives, I'm always on the lookout for new recipes and different meal ideas to feed my family for supper.  I have a rotating menu of things - tacos, spaghetti, lasagne, pork chops, stir fry chicken, different varieties of Hamburger Helper (Cheesy Hashbrowns are our favorite), shepherd's pie, steak and onion pie, roast beef....those are but a few of the things that are served for dinner chez Dharma. But they're old.  We've had them over and over and over again for...

I've going to start bellydancing.  I've been doing yoga for ages, but to be honest my heart's simply not in it anymore.  The on base classes have changed and I don't care for the new ones. The surgery has made it hard for me to attain and hold some of the poses, and some of them are simply not physically possible for me to do anymore.  I've been trying to find some way to reignite my passion for yoga, but I've been failing miserably.  Ever since I wrote the...

This was originally about Ashley Grace's baby blanket, but there's another thing going on right now that falls under the title 'a work in progress' too. This baddest of bad-ass baby blankets is really coming along well:   The stitch that I'm using has a right side and a wrong side to it, much like a piece of printed fabric.  In the photo the wrong side is facing the camera - the right side is much nicer to look at.  Also, the colors don't show well; the lilac ...

...so I can be ready to go. I'm not leaving home, I'm making a 'vigilance' bag so that next time I get asked to go sit with someone who's dying I can simply pick it up and be out the door - instead of having to run from room to room trying to find things I need to take with me.  The hospice requires that we be there within 2 hours of being notified, but I think that I should get there as soon as possible - the other day I was there within half an hour, but had I dawdled....I'd have been ...

Yesterday I was asked to go to a party at an assisted living community.  They needed some volunteers to go dance with the elderly residents. So today I've put on my best frock and my dancing shoes, applied some pretty pink lipstick and styled my hair, and I'm going to go waltz and two step with some nice 'young' ladies and gentlemen. It's at the other end of the spectrum compared to what I did yesterday as a hospice volunteer....but it's all part of the experience. I'm really looki...