What a difference a year makes! This time last year our youngest son had gone back to the Wounded Warrior Transition Unit at Ft. Lewis to stay for 11 more months before coming HOME. Now he's a bouncer at an Ybor City nightclub. Our Cpt. had just returned from Iraq; I had just spoken at a West Point grad's funeral (the experience of which still haunts me).

These days I can't even listen to the songs that were popular this time last year.

But we're expecting our first grandson any day now -- he's due in four days!

Our two Army Captains and our medically discharged Specialists are out on my brother's boat while I'm sitting on the couch drinking too much chardonnay --- it's the only thing that keeps me from coughing. Chardonnay and honey. Yesterday they all went the Buc's game but I had to work. It doesn't matter to me -- as long as I know my family members are having a good time.

The photo is our dog Eva surfing the net. She is 1/2 Weimaraner and 1/2 Vizsla. Our Captains brought their Weimaraner with them and he's out on the back porch with Eva. My little Meike is inside with me. She's keeping me company in my drunken stupor to get through this flu bug and loneliness.

The sun has gone down so the boaters should be back soon. They'll be upset with me for being this wasted. But I tried to sleep --- spraying my throat every few minutes with Chloraseptic --- but I still couldn't sleep.

BTW, I'm working at a book store. It is very different from the computer programming I did for so many years but I love it. As soon as I walk out the door I can leave the work behind. And when our daughter goes back to work I can keep my grandson and then go in to work late in the afternoon. Life is good.