Monday, July 30, 2007

A Note from Kuwait

hey mom. your probably wondering where your son is. i am in kuwait. its 7/30, and my flight to the states should leave on 7/31, in the PM. dont go taking off for chicago yet. i dont know when ill arrive. love you, and talk to you soon. brian
It is just this minute, 12:42 p.m., that I know where my dang kid is. People, I have spent the last 3 days cleaning carpets and mowing the yard and dusting in places you will never even bother to look anyway, when you come over to see me and The Kid, in the next 18 days.

I even bought a beverage refrigerator. I need a beverage refrigerator like I need another hole in my head, I know. I shouldn't have. But I had to, I just had to. I had to have a beverage cooler in my home before Brian and his friends, and all of the masses came to my house. Or I'd die.

I'm not the only Military Mom Gone Mad. One new friend I've made through TFT, Jeremy, is a soldier stationed in Turkey. When I expressed concern to him about my irrational desire for a beverage cooler, he told me that HIS mother, after a lifetime of minimal Christmas decorating, put up THREE fully decorated Christmas trees in their home last time he came home.

And he loved it.

Did you hear me? He loved that his Mother had gone Mad.

Clearly, I had to buy that beverage frig.

Anyhoot, I had the entire house cleaned up yesterday morning. Everything except the garage. 4 bags of yard waste in the garage. Boxes of beanies everywhere. Full garbage bags, tape, yard supplies, old shoes and rugs kicked around, and leaves all over the place.

And the local TV News team called me.

They would, they said, like to talk to me about TFT again, and about my waiting for Brian to come home.

They'd like to film the beanies some more.

The beanies that were in the garage.

The garage that was a big ol' giant mess.

So The Boy I Told You About Earlier (heh-heh, Pobble) and I dashed about like crazies, sweeping stuff under the rug and hanging a beanie banner on the wall. Like I really hang beanie banners around my house. Hey. It's PR.

So, Jenny Gastwirth from WCIA came over, and I was much more at ease this time around, in front of the camera. I learned from my first awkward interview: Don't look into the camara. I'm getting used to the questions, and have answers for them. Jenny was warm and comfortable, and I just talked to her. Oh, and a 1/2-piece of hard candy tucked into your cheek helps alleviate cotton mouth from nerves.

We were on at 5:30, 10:00, and I hear today, on the noon news. We're listed on Illinois Home Page as one of todays "Top Stories."

Emails are rolling in, and we all wait.

Hey, if you get thirsty while you're waiting...c'mon over.

I have a beverage refrigerator, y'know.

15 comments:

  1. Oh Lori, what a great post!
    It's all about the nesting ... the waiting for his arrival, remember you did this about 21 years ago!

    I think it's natural to busy ourselves at these times, just to keep from watching the clock.

    I can't wait for your first post/photo when he gets back home to you!

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  2. I would like a cool beverage, please.

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  3. Comin' right up, comin' right up! Would you care for a little umbrella in your cool beverage?

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  4. We have an unused beverage frig. At least, it's what I think it is. It's a dorm-sized frig. Hubby was going to keep it in the garage for bait and for when we went camping so we'd have something to keep some food cold.

    Funny thing, though, that lil' frig is in the garage. He puts his bait (earthworms, leeches, and whatnot) in the frig in the kitchen. What's up with that? (Good for my diet, though.) :)

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  5. Hello,

    Well I am a first time deployment Army mom also and I have been doing the same thing with my son. When he came home from his predeployment training in May I had everything cleaned and ready for him, which was hard because we were keeping it a secret of everyone else, including dad.
    Enjoy your time with hom and savor every moment. I can't wait till my son gets his leave, although he won't tell me when it is. I think he wants to surprise me. And he is supposed to come home for good in August and I count the days for that to happen.

    God Bless you for all the work you are doing with the beenie babies. I have a bunch I just sent out to my son. I had not clue what to do with them. So it was really cool to come across your blog.

    Becky - Torrance, CA

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  6. I'm so excited that your son is on his way home. Woo hoo!!!!

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  7. I Love the idea of a beverage refigerator and I'm not the mom of a soldier. Hmmm...may need to get me one of those.


    (and you're killing me with the boy, you know that. evil, evil, evil...)

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  8. You're becoming a TV pro. You'll have your own show before you know it.

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  9. Nancy, I can hardly wait for those photos too...both the ones I take, and the ones off of Brian's camera.

    Shari: Mmmm, yummmm. Nice to know I'll have a place to keep my earthworms, if the beverage thing doesn't work out.

    Becky: Thanks for stopping in here, and so glad you found a good use for your beanies. Tell your son hey from us...and contact us ASAP if he wants more beanies! We'll add him the list and start shipping, baby!
    And tell him: Thank you.

    CrazyYou: I'm so excited too! Come over!

    Pobs: No need for you to get one, I have one here. You can come over and borrow it.

    Mike: If I can tape my show in a bar with a table full of my girlfrands, it'll be a hit.

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  10. Hey Lori!  At this rate you'll have your own TV show by the time Brian comes home for good. Then you can have your people clean the house.

    In the meantime, you may want to reconsider your spelling of the nickname for "refrigerator." Maybe "fridge" would be more appropriate for a Service Mom.

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  11. Dangit, Larry, you had me all flustered there for a minute.

    BUT, according to Wikipedia

    * refrigerator, frig. is a common abbreviation.

    Go see for yourself, smarty. Tryin' to smarm up my friggin' family-style blog. hmph!

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  12. You may have gone Mad, but in such a good way. And you're famous, to boot! Glad the TV interview was more comfy this time. And so glad you got word from Brian about where he is.

    Soon, very soon!

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  13. Everyone needs a beverage fridge. Uh-huh. Indeed they do. A basic necessity it is.

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  14. wow!! my friend is a full fledged celebrity...for all the right reasons!!!

    When my ex (whom I was still married to at the time) came from his 18 month stint in Iraq, I went haywire...had t-shirts made, a sign, a banner, an immaculate house......and I still did not know exactly when he would arrive...but he did, safe and sound..

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  15. Anonymous11:28 AM

    I received a message from a former co-worker asking if my sister was on the news talking about Toys For Troops. She said, "Her name is Lori Stewart and you two look alot alike".....I just smiled and said "No, that's not my sister - but thanks for the compliment!".

    Have a WONDERFUL day!

    Love - Angela

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