Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

A good day, and for the most part not much happened that was out of the normal. We got up, the girls went over to their mothers house (Linda took them), and we took care of things around here. There were a couple of things that were a little different, and one of them was me going to the follow up Dr. visit, from when I was in the hospital recently. I walked in to see the doctor and she said, "So, it looks like you had a little heart attack." My reply was, "No, I did not. It was a false positive on the test, and that is what the doctors at the VA told me." She apologized and said she hadn't looked closely enough at my records and said, "Oh, my I guess your heart is in pretty good shape. They didn't find ANY blockages. Keep up the exercise and keep eating right." Then we went over the other regular meds I take and discussed the need for me to drop a few pounds (I'd like to loose about 15). The visit was pretty much over at that point and then ...

Today, has been a pretty normal, that's the new normal, day for us. I was up pretty early today, as I was at the computer for work at 04:20 this morning. Other than that, it was much like any of these recent days, and I am still getting to know what it is I'm going to be doing. Linda got up a little on the early side as well, and by the end of the day she was feeling like she had been up for most of the day, and in fact, she was. Linda took the girls to the library this morning, and that is probably one of the most fun things they all like to do. I say, "all" because Linda likes going to the library almost as much as the girls do. We have already figured out that we will need to locate the local library as soon as we can, so the girls will be able to get going there, just like here. We've been hearing back from a bunch of our friends and they're letting us know they intend to be at the dedication of the house. Pastor John Powell, from the church we've ...

I got up a little early, as I have gotten back in to that work-a-day world, and had a bunch of stuff going through my head. I did my best to not disturb Linda and simply got up and started getting ready for my day at work. At a little after 06:00 I came back into the bedroom and woke her, since she wanted to get up a little early, and I have a regular conference call each morning at 07:00. There is so much to read and learn about this new environment, and on top of that I am enjoying it. Linda did get up and was moving before 07:00, even though she didn't get to bed, herself, until about 02:00 this morning. She was taking the girls to a movie showing of some kids movie, and that meant she needed to be up and ready and then also have the girls up and ready to go by about 09:00, or something like that. They managed to get out and made it to the movie, because they didn't come back for about 2 hours. Jason had a couple of appointments at Balboa, so he was out the door a little...

A nice quiet and relaxing Sunday, with the whole family together - that is me, Linda, Jason, Stacy and Jackie; Gracie and Kojak are here too, Linda started out the day at Barona Casino, with her Aunt and cousin. She got up early enough to drive back to the house and get here before we left for church, and she did make it, by a couple of minutes. The girls were particularly excited to go to church this morning, Today was the first Sunday since Vacation Bible School, and they knew there would be some sort of recognition for last week, and they weren't disappointed. We got a few things done around the house and then a little later in the afternoon, after the girls went down for their nap, Sophia, from Serving Spoons came by. She was with her mom, and bringing us the last meal they will be delivering to us, since we're headed to Fallbrook. They did promise to come up for a visit, but said they would not be able to make deliveries any more, since it is kind of a distance north of ...

Okay, first things first -- Do you realize that there are only 5 more months until Christmas? I just wanted to through that out there, to give you something to think about. A most interesting day, to be sure. I first got up and out for a bike ride, and though it was only a short one, of about 13 miles, it felt good to ride a little farther, and begin to start building on it. The reason for an early start was that Linda was heading off to visit her Aunt Nini and her Cousin Debbi, and she wanted to be on the road before 09:00. Then on top of that Jason wanted to get going so that he could get the dogs to their service dog training, and that is also why I needed to get back home in a reasonable amount of time. The added complexity is that we have the girls, and it would be better for me to be here, if Linda wants to get going. As it turned out, I was back home, prior to Linda leaving, and Jason also had time to get the dogs ready. As I was getting ready to take my shower, Joselyn show...

Today was a pretty good day, for everything. The girls came back to stay with us for another five days; Jason was able to take care of his appointments, on his own; Linda and the girls had their last day with Vacation Bible School; and, I had my first Work-Friday, in a long time. The work week ended on a pretty good note, with me capturing a bunch of the information, and doing my best to get it organized. If nothing else, the VA does generate a very large quantity of data and they have some enormous data bases. I guess that's why they contract out some of the work to folks like me and our team, to help them figure it all out. Anyway, we're all starting to get to know each other and that is the first step in getting better coordinated in our efforts. The Vacation Bible School, that Linda and the girls have been attending is now over, and I think the girls are going to miss it. Both of them were singing songs they had learned and they seemed a little sad that it was over. I ...

Going back to work is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Then again, I really haven't gotten moving into much of the "work" yet. Right now it pretty much seems that I'm just mostly doing paperwork and getting information together, so that I can do my job. I hope that I am done with that as of today, and that starting tomorrow I can maybe take a step or two towards doing some research and data gathering for the job. Jason is doing well and continuing to improve, and the dogs are about the same. Kojak has been chewing on various items in the house, and it is driving us all nuts. This is the famous "puppy" stage all dogs go through, though  Kojak seems really good at it. I guess it is better that he get some (all?) of it out of his system, before we get to the new house, as that's where most of the stuff is going to be newer, as opposed to the used stuff we have now. Linda is feeling much better and I happy (so is she) about that. She is helpin...