Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Yesterday, Linda and I took off, in the morning, to go up to her folks place, just a little north of here (and south of Los Angeles). They needed some help with a couple of items, at their home, and it also gave us an opportunity to just spend some time with them; something we don't get to do as often as we'd like. And, as a result of us taking off, Jason was on his own. We were able to stay for a very nice dinner and then we got to watch the new Gary Sinise show, Criminal Minds - Beyond Borders, with them. They had recorded it specifically so we could watch it together. Actually, Jason was only on his own for about an hour, but it still felt kind of good to know that he was getting healed up enough that there really wasn't much that could happen in that time frame, that would put him in jeopardy of any kind. Joselyn, whom I've mentioned in this blog several times, was able to come to the house and spend the day with Jason, and as it turned out, her son Bobby was able...

It has been a week, and there really isn't a great deal of an update to post. Jason's wounds are improving on a steady basis, and I am hopeful that they will be closed soon. I know this has been said before, but with the new prosthetic it looks like it might actually happen this time. Once that is done, then we can move on to the next step, whatever that happens to be. I been busting my tail working on the property. We have about 2 1/2 acres of land, and much of that is simply covered in weeds and small woody type plants. They don't look particularly good, and they are a fire hazard, going into the summer. I want to eliminate as much as I can, before it gets too hot. I have managed to knock down about half the open land, and will continue on the other land, beginning tomorrow - I hope. It rained pretty good tonight, so the land may not be to friendly to walk on with the mower I'm using. The land can be steep in some areas, so I have to be careful. Worst case, the rain...

We made it back from our five day "vacation" to Livermore, and we had a wonderful time. We were able to take care of the personal business (getting our taxes filed and getting our house ready to sell - it is on the market); we saw many of our friends, though not all of them (only so many hours in a day); and we were able to take advantage of the great weather and went on a nice group hike lead by our very knowledgeable friend, Carol E. at Sycamore Grove (saw a Great Horned Owl in one of the trees). We were even able to attend church on Sunday, the day we had to head back home, and saw many of our old church family, though not all of them. What has made this break so much better is that Jason and the girls did all right, while we were gone, and our friends  (Joselyn B. and Joyce O.) did an excellent job. Jason's wounds even improved, a little, while we were gone, and I think they are going to continue to improve to the point of finally healing up. Speaking of healing up,...

Well, it has been a few days since my last post, and I figured it was time to get an update out, so that everyone can "know" what is going on. First, Jason is doing well, and from what we have been told, he is doing quiet well right now, and his wounds are continuing to heal. The reason I word it that way, is because we (Linda and I) are up in Livermore right now. We asked Joselynn B. and Joyce O. to come in and help out, while we were gone, and from what we have heard they have both done an outstanding job of assisting Jason, and the girls. Linda and I came up to Livermore to take care of some personal business, such as getting our taxes done and selling our house. Yes, our Livermore house is now on the market and we just have to hope that the market will continue to be active. We have a good Realtor, John C. and he has assured us that it really shouldn't take too long to get the house to sell. While here we also met with some friends that we haven't seen in quit...

Jason is doing very well, right now, and there is no reason to expect anything to change. He is getting very close to having all his wounds finally closed, and that would be such a blessing for all of us. He is staying up a little longer in his chair and even joining us for dinner more often. He loves playing with the girls and having fun all over the house, and you can tell the girls love it too, when Daddy is having fun with them. In a couple of days Linda and I will be heading up to Livermore for a couple reasons, but mostly to get a chance to visit with our sons George and Sean. Sometimes it is difficult to coordinate a workable schedule, since both of them have jobs and both of them are in retail. That means neither of them are working the typical 9 to 5, Monday through Friday routine. You have to work to get the days off synced up with days we're available, and again, Linda has done an outstanding job of getting all the scheduling together. While we're up in Livermore...

A couple days ago Jason's Uncle Charles "Charlie", was injured in a motorcycle accident. I spoke with my brother today, via the phone and found out that he is in pain, but otherwise doing well. He broke his collar bone and ended up with a few scrapes and cuts (another bunch of stitches for his collection) and in positive spirits. The doctors have not decided if there is going to be a surgery and won't know for a couple days, so we know he will be in the hospital for a few days, anyway. I was just glad to hear him in a positive mood, and I'll be checking in on him regularly. He lives about 800 miles north of here, so it makes it a little difficult to go see him. The rest of the past few days have been kind of busy, for various reasons. Linda is still up with her parents, for a few more days, and Jason and I have been running around taking care of other family matters. Today we finished a bunch of them, which meant we had to put about a hundred miles on his truck,...

Linda went out to Tennessee to take advantage of a retreat for Mother's of Wounded Warriors, through the Wounded Warrior Family Support.org (a great organization run by retired Marine Col. John Folsom), and it was a very nice R&R opportunity for her. She met some great people and made new friends and came back pretty refreshed. The travel to and from, via Delta Air Lines, was poor, and in fact Linda almost didn't make it home due to a cancelled flight (no explanation from Delta). She did, however fly into San Diego at about 23:00 (11pm) and because of delays in getting luggage and construction on Highway 76 we managed to get home a little after midnight. We had to be up at 06:00, to make sure everything was ready to get the girls to school, and then a bunch of other errands and chores needed to be done. To put it mildly, we're both kind of tired and will be heading to bed SOON. I was pleased with the recent dressing change for Jason, as the wounds are showing some ver...

Well, today was a full day of Linda not being here and we managed to get through the day without making any big mess of the place. Well, actually, Joyce Orrell came over for a couple of hours to give me a chance to take care of a couple of tasks, and even get some rest. As it was I just ran down to the store to pick up a few things that Jason had wanted and then came back. It was nice, getting a chance to just sit down and talk with Joyce for a little while, and then she had to take off for a friend's wedding. Actually, a little later, about 1/2 hour after Joyce left, I did lay down on the couch so that the girls could play and I could get a little rest. I guess I started to drift off to sleep because the next thing I know is Stacy is crawling up on me and she wants to take a nap with Grandpa. Jackie goes into Jason's room and they watch a cartoon/movie about dinosaurs and Stacy and I fall asleep on the couch. Stacy is sound asleep when I wake, about an hour later and my arm ...