February 23, 2015

Today was an interesting day, in that we are flying out tomorrow, late morning, for Virginia, to attend a retreat that Linda and I were invited to, by the EOD Warrior Foundation. The retreat is designed to help specific caregivers deal with the day-to-day stress that can be experienced, in this situation, and when I say, "specific" it is because the target group is parents, as opposed to spouses or significant others. We're both looking forward to going and attending, as it is also providing us an opportunity to go back and visit with some of the first people we encountered after Jason made it back to the States and on to Bethesda Naval Hospital (now it is called Walter Reed). We've been in contact with some of them, and we have a day set up to visit with a bunch of people, then the following day move on to the retreat, and see what that is going to be like. We're both pretty excited about going.

A couple of the first groups of people we met at Bethesda, besides the Marines, was Semper Fi Fund group, who still continues to help us out, and the other was the EOD Wounded Warrior Foundation (Now EOD Warrior Foundation). Both of them helped Linda and I when we were having the greatest challenges, and still trying to figure out what had happened, and what was our life going to be now. We are so grateful for all the support these, and so many other groups have provided us, and when the opportunity presents itself I will do what I can to try to repay all the kindness.

Now more about why today was interesting. The girls went to school, as they normally do, and even managed to get to their respective classes a little early. When Linda and I made it back to the house we began focusing on making sure we had all the supplies we needed and clothes to wear. Here in San Diego, by the Bay, we don't get too much snow, or even cold weather or any kind. As a result all our cold weather stuff is buried in boxes, kept in storage somewhere. A year from now (I hope sooner) we will have most, if not all of that stuff unpacked and put where it belongs. For now, though we had to see what we have available and then purchase those items we need. I think we did a pretty good job of pulling it all together.

There were a number of other issues we needed to get done, and some logistics to make sure was in place, so that we could be comfortable being gone for so long - we'll be gone for about a week. In the past, the longest we've been away from Jason is three days, and then we were relatively close and could be back pretty quickly. This time we are headed across the country, and getting back quickly, would be a little more of a challenge.

Tonight Linda has been focused on making sure all our bags are packed the way she wants them to be, and that we don't forget anything. I've learned over the years to just get out of the way when she gets into this mode and do my best to be supporting (i.e. I go get the stuff she needs, when it isn't sitting at hand). We will be going to the airport in the morning, with Jason taking us, and then we'll be on our way. We come back about a week later and we should be all refreshed and recharged. I don't know how well we'll be able to keep up with the blog, so please don't be upset if there is a gap in posts. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.