On August 26, we attended the CHBOLC (Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course) Graduation Banquet. This was my first formal Army event. I bought a beautiful navy cocktail dress and heels for the occasion, and Chris wore his ASUs (Army Service Uniform). Let me tell you, he was so very hot in his uniform.

When we first got there, everyone was just milling around in the lobby, chatting and looking beautiful. Then, we went into a much larger room where they had punch and hors d’oeuvres . Everyone got to introduce their spouses to their new friends, and mingle for a while. They also had a photographer there to take pictures. Chris and I neglected to bring cash with us, so we didn’t get a photograph. I was seriously bummed about that. Especially since we didn’t even get a good snapshot of us where you could see my whole dress.

Next was the receiving line. I was a little nervous about the receiving line. This was where we all went through a line to be formally introduced to the Commandant, his wife, the guest speaker, and the command seargant major. Our last class of the seminar on Wednesday was to teach us how to do this properly. For those of you who are interested, we walked up with Chris escorting me on his right side. He told the adjutant that we were “Lieutenant and Mrs. Harmon”, then I stepped in front of him to go before him through the line, and the adjutant (he’s the aide to the Commandant) whispered to CH Boone (the Commandant of the chaplain school) who we were. He then greeted us and shook our hands, and then he whispered to his wife who we were and she greeted us. This went on down the line through the speaker and the command seargant major, with each one telling the next who we are and then them greeting us. It was kind of cool, actually.

After the receiving line, we went in to the banquet. We were found our tables, and then stood around talking until the official party entered. They were seated at their table, and then we were all seated.  It’s been a while since the banquet, so I have forgotten the order of the evening. There was an honor guard there. They brought in the colors, and posted them. The national anthem was sung. I think the Army song was sung, too. There were prayers and Scriptures of every flavor…Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Hebrew. There was a buffet that was absolutely delicious, entertaninment that was hilarious, and company that was delightful. There was an assortment of desserts to choose from, and they had the absolute best cheesecake I have ever had. It was wonderful.

I have to say, even though my feet were killing me by the end of the night, it was a lovely evening all around. My first formal Army function was definitely one I will always remember. I don’t even need a professional photograph.

Here are our photos from the night.

August 28, 2009 was a big day for Chris. He graduated from Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course, which finished up his chaplain training, at the Chaplain School at Fort Jackson, SC. The kids and I were so proud of him. Here are some photos and videos from our day. (I was having trouble with my camera, and I didn’t get videos of the last two platoons, including Chris’, singing their division songs, nor a photo of Chris walking across the stage.)

Christopher before the ceremony.

This is me with Mrs. Diann Hart, a chaplain’s wife that I got to know a little bit during my time at the Spouses’ Seminar. She, along with her two daughters, babysat all four of our children during the banquet.

This is me with Mrs. Teresa Boone, the wife of the Commandant. I enjoyed getting to know her at the seminar.

The whole family.

This is us with Chris’ mom, Velvet.

Me and Christopher

Daddy and his boys.

Daddy and his girls.

Daddy and all of his young’uns.

I love you, Christopher, and I’m very proud of you. I’m so glad you’re home!

Today was a strange day. I fully expected most of it to be terrible. There were some terrible parts, but there were some amazingly, breathtakingly beautiful parts, too.

I was supposed to stay up all night, because I had a sleep-deprived EEG this morning in Oak Ridge. Well, I went to sleep at two a.m. for two hours, and then set my alarm and slept another two. I just couldn’t handle it. I was exhausted. I woke up at around seven this morning incredibly tired from the wake and sleep routine. My head was splitting, and every cell of my body cried out for Diet Dr Pepper. Did I mention that I wasn’t allowed to have any caffeine? Because I had to go to sleep during this test, there was no way I could take Abby Jo with me, and I was a little worried about leaving her with her Daddy. We don’t usually leave Daddy in charge of babies until they are much older. Trust me, it’s just better for everyone involved.  So this leaving of my baby had me a little stressed out. The final touch to my miserable morning was that, because of the electrodes that they would have to attach to my head, they told me that I could have no product in my hair. I have naturally curly hair, and it needs product. It was unruly and fuzzy and embarrassing, and, to my complete horror, it rained today. The humidity took the final shreds of my dignity, and threw them into the damp wind, all while pointing and laughing at my Medusa’esque locks.

The test itself was not that bad. I told the lady doing the test that I wasn’t liking their no product rule, and that I had very pointedly avoided all eye contact with my fellow passengers on the elevator. She laughed and told me she had her own product for me, and that I would really be needing to avoid eye contact on my way out. That was reassuring.  She measured my head with a tape measure, and put little marks all over my scalp with a marker. Then, she put some goop on my head, and attached lots of little electrodes to my scalp, forehead, earlobes, and chest. After I was all hooked up, she had me open my eyes…close my eyes…open my eyes…close my eyes. That was fun. Then, she put a strobe light a few inches from my face, and had me close my eyes. The strobe light flashed in a sequence for about twenty seconds, and then would stop for a few seconds. Then, it would flash in a different sequence. It seared mine eyeballs, and made my leg jerk. It actually kind of hurt, it was so bright. Next, she told me to breathe in really deep and then exhale completely, over and over for three minutes. I nearly hyperventilated from this one. My arms and legs all got tingly, and the room started spinning round and round. Good times! Then, she told me to rest, and turned the lights all off. I knew that this was the part where I was supposed to go to sleep. I laid there knowing that there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep. I wondered if she would notice that I wasn’t sleeping, if I just laid real quietly. Could that machine read my thoughts? I better not think about… Shoot! Did that light up an incriminating area of my brain? Just go to sleep, Rach. There’s no way I can go to sleep! Forty five minutes later, I was abrubtly awakened by a noise of some sort. Although I have no idea if I actually was, I awoke with this horrible feeling that I had been snoring my head off for the last forty-five minutes. I found this slightly embarrassing, and hoped I didn’t talk in my sleep, as I sometimes do. I laid there a few more minutes, and then she flipped on the lights and said we were done. She pulled all the electrodes off, smirked at me as I examined myself in the mirror, and told me I was free to go.

Because I am so generally awesome, I forgot to bring a ponytail holder with me. I pulled up the hood of my hoodie, and slinked onto the elevator. I’m pretty sure the Korean lady was telling her husband that I looked like a sleepy, blue-marked unibomber, but I’m not positive about it. I don’t speak Korean.

I went home, and found Abby Jo perfectly happy and well taken care of. Chris said she watched her Praise Baby dvd five times, but he had changed and fed her and she was smiling when I got home. I picked her up, and she laid her head on my shoulder and cuddled me for a long time. She put one arm around my neck, and it was the sweetest thing. She is so incredibly wonderful. I could barely stand it. I nearly ate her, but settled for an intense cuddling and kissing session. We had missed each other.

I was so exhausted from the whole EEG ordeal, I took Abby and went to take a long nap. She was more interested in playing, but I put my foot down and she eventually went to sleep. I woke up in time to start getting ready for Bible study. It took me a while to wash all of the dried goop out of my hair. I had to take all the kids with me to Bible study, since Chris had to work tonight, and I was trying to get them to get themselves ready while I got ready. Abby was crying, wanting to be held. Owen was crying, because he wanted to wear a dirty shirt. I couldn’t find my powder, and my nose was shiny. I couldn’t find Owen’s socks. I kept forgetting things, and I was getting so irritable. I kept snapping at the kids. I made Owen cry. I was generally being a real you-know-what, and I was fixing to start crying myself by the time I got them all loaded in the van…in the rain. I started the van up, and it was then that I remembered that some punk kids had stolen one of our windshield wipers off our van at a highschool ballgame Friday night.

So there I am, supposed to lead a Bible study small group in less than an hour, and I’m tired, cranky, snapping at my kids, and I can’t see through my windshield. I did the only thing that could be done in that situation. I called Amy Jo and told her that she HAD to pray for me so I could calm down. She prayed for me, and I felt myself begin to feel a little calmer. I hung up with her, and prayed a bit on my own as I drove to the church. As we were approaching the church, I saw, through the drops of rain on the windshiled, a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky in front of us. I tried to point it out to the kids, but they couldnt’ really see it from their positions in the van. When we got out of the van, I stood with my four kiddos in the church parking lot, staring at a full rainbow, stretching across the sky and behind the mountain. The children were ecstatic about seeing a rainbow, and I was aware in that moment that I am incredibly blessed. The harried moments just seem to melt away during sweet times like that.

Bible study was wonderful. We’re doing “Esther: It’s Hard Being A Woman” by Beth Moore, and it seems like it’s going to be exactly what I need right now. I’m terribly excited about it. I left the study tonight feeling completely refreshed and invigorated. The time tonight was like tangible hope to me.

After I got the children in bed, tucked them in and said prayers over them, I came back into the living room to chill by myself for a while. Abby Jo was in her swing watching Praise Baby for the sixth time today, and I looked over at her. She was already looking at me, and she grinned at me. When I smiled back at her, she giggled so hard her whole body shook, and then turned back to her dvd. In that moment, I was flooded with such joy that it almost physically knocked me over. I. Am. So. Blessed. That sweet baby is mine. Those other three rotten, wonderful, beautiful children are mine. I am the one who gets to stand in the drizzling rain and stare open-mouthed at a glorious rainbow with them. I am the one who gets to tuck them in and pray over them and get their little kid kisses.

This was the most wonderful terrible day I’ve ever had.

I got the results of some of my tests back. All of the heart tests were fine. All of the blood tests were fine. My eyes were fine. The MRI showed…wait for it…wait for it…

I have a sinus infection.

Yeah. Seriously. That’s not exciting or dramatic, is it? I don’t feel like I have a sinus infection. I dont’ have the normal congestion, drainage, or general desire for death that usually accompanies my sinus infections. Nonetheless, the MRI showed that all three sets of my sinuses are infected. So, I’m on a double dose of antibiotics for the next ten days.

When I go those results over the phone, I thought I was off the hook for the EEG I have scheduled for Tuesday. No such luck. The doctor says that he’s not sure that the infected sinuses are the only source of my problems, and wants me to go ahead with the EEG. I’m not looking forward to it. I have to stay up all night on Monday night, and do the sleep-deprived EEG the next morning. Also, they said no product in my hair. Have you seen my curly hair with no product? Trust me, it begs for a ponytail.

I’m quite relieved so far. I knew something was wrong with me. I just knew in my gut that it wasn’t just stress, like some people were suggesting. My gut feeling right now is that there is nothing else wrong with me. I feel like the EEG is pointless, but, oh well. I’m all about the safe side when it comes to stuff like this for anyone that I love. Goose…gander. Sigh.

I passed out in the shower several weeks ago. Someone heard the crash and found me. I shower naked. Someone found me naked. Yeah. I nearly drowned, since, apparently, I pass out with my mouth wide open.

The shower episode followed a two day headache behind my left eye. Since then, I’ve had almost daily dizzy spells…sometimes like the room is spinning and sometimes like I’m lightheaded. I lose my balance a lot. It’s like my equilibrium is shot. I was nauseous every day for a few weeks, but that went way. My vision has changed. It’s hard for me to focus, and I get this weird thing going on that I can’t describe. Also, my left eye hurts a lot. I have very little energy these days. I feel exhausted halfway into my day. This is not normal for me.

Chris doesn’t think I’m dying of a brain tumor or anything, but the doctor has ordered a bunch of tests. I had an EKG and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours before I went to SC. My heart was kind of racing a little bit when I was at the doctor, but I thought those tests were pointless as it wasn’t the norm. They turned out fine. He did blood work then, too, which came back fine. Tomorrow, I am having an Echocardiogram and an MRI. Friday, I have an eye doctor’s appointment. Tuesday, I have an EEG. I had really low blood pressure when I initially went to the doctor (87 over 50), but I don’t know if that was relevant to my symptoms because I usually have low blood pressure…just not that low. I went in and gave some more blood to Dr. Dracula today for some test he thought of yesterday. Not even sure what that one was for.

I’m not looking forward to these tests, but I’m hoping one of them will shed some light on why I’m having these problems. I’m really tired of feeling this way. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but there is definitely something wrong with me. In the meantime, Chris wants me to do the dishes, and I just want to take a nap.

I’m coming home!

We’re on our way home right now…about one hour into a seven hour trip home from Myrtle Beach. But let me back up a bit…

Last Monday, I bid Amy and her kids and Taylor goodbye, and my kids and I headed to S.C. to stay with Chris for a few days. I’ll write more about my time with Amy later. We said goodbye, left my house, and, at the interstate, she headed west and I headed east. It was really sad to say goodbye to my best friend after spending a month and a half together, but leaving at the same time to be reunited with our husbands definitely took the edge off of the goodbye.

I had an uneventful trip to Columbia, S.C. Thankfully, no one threw up on themselves this time, and we made good time. The reason for our return trip to S.C. was not just to see Chris, but also for me to attend a Spouses Seminar for chaplain spouses that the Chaplain School was putting on. I was very excited to go, but a little nervous. I always feel a little junior high over things like this, and was afraid no one would like me and I’d have to eat lunch by myself. Silliness, really, because it turns out I fit in quite well among Chaplain spouses. I felt at home immediately. Everyone there was  a potential friend. All of the ladies (there were also three male spouses, but I only talked to one of them a little bit) were very friendly and nice. I didn’t have any awkward times where no one had talked to me yet, because I took Abby Jo with me. She is an instant icebreaker. Everyone talked to me so that they could talk to her. She did her thing and smiled and jabbered to everyone, making friends with everyone there. Before we had been there thirty minutes, Abby had CH Boone, the commandant, holding her and making small talk with me.

While Abby and I were at the seminar, my other kids were in childcare off post. They were a little nervous about us leaving them, but they ended up enjoying it. I think it helped them that, even though they were in three different classes, they knew they were all there at the center together. It was an interesting experience for them, as they had only been left in childcare a couple times before in their short little lives, at Amy’s church in Missouri. The childcare center was run by a black, full gospel church. The fact that it was run by Christian people made me feel better about leaving them with strangers, and the fact that all of the teachers and most of the kids were African American was an interesting experience for our kids. We live in a predominately white town in East Tennessee, and my children have had very little interaction (very, very little) with anyone of a different color than they are. When we picked the kids up the first day, Kyra told us first thing that she had made a new friend. I asked her what her new friend’s name was, and she said she had forgot to ask. Then, she told us that her new friend was black. I said, “That’s great. I’m so glad you got to meet some new kids to play with.” Kyra said, “There weren’t very many white little girls there.” I said, “That’s ok. It’s cool to get to make friends with people who aren’t just the same as you. It’s fun.” She looked a little uncertain, and I told her that I was looking forward to making some friends that were different from me, too. This may seem silly, but the diversity that the Army is introducing my children and myself to is a first for us. We come from a part of the country where racisim is most certainly still an issue. A lot of my own family wears their prejudices proudly, and so I have to be vocal and positive about the new people my children are meeting. I was really excited that Kyra came home talking about her new friend who happened to be black. It was a good thing for her to meet a little girl who had so much in common with her, and to find out that they are really just the same. So, childcare during the day turned out to be a good experience for all of the kids. They had lots of fun.

The diversity the kids were seeing at childcare carried over to my class that I was attending. I got to know a handful of women in the seminar, and made some friends that I hope to keep in contact with. Of this group of women, only one of them was white. The one whom I connected with the most was a black, Muslim chaplain’s wife. We started talking a lot because she heard me say I was homeschooling and she wanted to ask me about it since she is planning on homeschooling her son. I enjoyed getting to know her and the others, and I’m thrilled about the time we spent getting to know each other.

The classes were meant as an introduction the Army and the Chaplaincy for us new chaplain spouses. We had classes on everything from Military Customs and Courtesies to Tricare (Army medical insurance) to Moving. The classes were very informative and helpful. We had a devotion and a continental breakfast every morning, and were served lunch each day. Let me say, the food they served us was delicious. We ate at the NCO club the first day, the PWOC ladies (Protestant Women of the Chapel) fed us the second day, and they catered Carrabbas for us on the third day. Everyone was wonderful to us, and the seminar was excellent.

On Wednesday evening, we attended the CHBOLC (Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course) Graduation Banquet. This was my first formal Army event. I bought a beautiful navy cocktail dress and heels for the occasion, and Chris wore his ASUs (Army Service Uniform). Let me tell you, he was so very hot in his uniform. I was a little nervous about the receiving line. This was where we all went through a line to be formally introduced to the Commandant, his wife, the guest speaker, and the command seargant major. Our last class of the seminar on Wednesday was to teach us how to do this properly. For those of you who are interested, we walked up with Chris escorting me on his right side. He told the adjutant that we were “Lieutenant and Mrs. Harmon”, then I stepped in front of him to go before him through the line, and the adjutant (he’s the aide to the Commandant) whispered to CH Boone (the Commandant of the chaplain school) who we were. He then greeted us and shook our hands, and then he whispered to his wife who we were and she greeted us. This went on down the line through the speaker and the command seargant major, with each one telling the next who we are and then them greeting us. It was kind of cool, actually.

After the receiving line, we went in to the banquet. The food was wonderful, and the company was especially wonderful. I enjoyed it immensely, and I’ll write another post telling about it with some photos from our night. The only complication to this night was finding childcare for our four kids. They had childcare on post, but it filled up and they ran out of room. So, I had emailed Mrs. Boone (the Commandant’s wife) before leaving home about needing to find childcare for the banquet. Once I got to the seminar, she helped me get connected with another chaplain’s wife, Mrs. Hart, who, along with her two daughters, babysat our kids in her home. The hiccupj in childcare turned out to be a blessing, because I really got a chance to talk to and get to know Mrs. Boone and Mrs. Hart while I was there.

Friday was graduation day for Chris, and it was pretty exciting, too. Chris’ mom, Velvet, and her sister, Angie, came up Thursday night to go to graduation with us. We met up with them Friday morning, and we all went on post together. The graduation went very well.  I’ll write a separate post about it with photos.

After the graduation, we left Fort Jackson to go on vacation to Myrtle Beach. We stayed at the Compass Cove resort, where we stayed about three years ago with my family. The resort is very nice. We stayed in a three bedroom, oceanfront condo. We spent our time swimming in the pools, floating through the lazy rivers, relaxing in the hot tubs, and playing on the beach and in the ocean. We went out for seafood one evening. Kyra, Elijah, and Owen all tried crab legs for the first time. They all liked them. We went to Barefoot Landing and to Brodadway on the Beach that day. We watched an IMAX movie at Broadway on the Beach. It rained off and on all day on Monday, but we still made it out to the beach. I spent more time in the room with Abby, because it was a little too cool for her and I was exhausted. I spent a lot of my vacation napping and lying around. I just have very little energy these days, and I get tired easily. Last night, Velvet watched all the kids for us while Chris and I went out to a movie. It was a great vacation. I didn’t take very many pictures, but I’ll post the few I did take soon.

That brings us to today, Tuesday. We are on our way back home. Chris is driving, and I’m sitting here tap, tap, tapping away. I’ll post this when I get some wifi. We have to stop at Fort Jackson to pick up Chris car, and then we should be back home around seven or so tonight. I had a wonderful trip, but I’ll be awfully glad to be back home…to sleep in my own bed and get back to church. Kyra’s missing her Mammy, and Elijah’s ready to get back to kindergarten. Owen seemed happy to head home today. I think he misses his toys. Abby Jo, bless her heart, is happy no matter where we go or what we’re doing. She’s been an angel.

This summer wrapped up Chris’ chaplain training. When we get home, he will need to get ordained through our church, and then he can put in his packet to be ascessioned as a Chaplain. Hopefully, he will be a Reserve Chaplain in a few months’ time. After the past week, I’m very excited about the prospect of going active duty. I would be in favor of doing active duty immediately if it was an option. I finally found a group of people where I fit in. It felt right, and I am very much looking forward to it.