Schads from Texas

Doesn't Flat Jason look happy? I think it's because he likes sitting next to Uncle Dorsey.

Uncle Dorsey and Aunt Lucille traveled from Texas to Missouri for a week-long visit. You know what that means - family dinners every night. I made it down to visit on Sunday, and I brought Flat Jason. Everyone seemed glad to have him there.

I brought a notebook for people to write to Jason. I'm not sure what I expected, but several people did pen some thoughtful prose. Mareena even drew him this lovely picture of Tippy, the one-eyed dog. I think I will continue bringing the notebook with Flat Jason. I like the scrapbook feeling that it is beginning to take on. It sort of represents the "hello" or short conversation that he would experience if he were present. And I know Jason will love reading it when he gets a chance.

Wisdom teeth DO NOT make you smarter

I'm not going to lie. I was more than a little nervous when Diana dropped me off at the doctor's office. I brought Flat Jason. He gave me something to focus on: instead of being worried about what was going to happen, I needed to engage those in the room in conversation, lest I be remembered solely as the weirdo who brought a flat version of her husband to get her wisdom teeth pulled.

I visited with Joanna and her mother from Unionville, Mo. Joanna was there for a consultation visit. Her mother said she had her wisdom teeth out at my age and was sure that I'd be ok. I asked her if she saved her teeth. She laughed and said if she had, she wouldn't know where to look for them now. Linda, who sat on the couch across from us, said that her husband had his removed more than 20 years ago. They found them again as they were packing (or maybe unpacking) for a move. I said that must be a boy thing because my husband wanted me to save mine. However, everyone in the room agreed that it was not normal to want to put them on a necklace!

The nurses who were working with me were excited to have Flat Jason in the back, too. Both of them were Army wives. Thanks for taking the photos for me! (And to Dr. Tim Coyle for putting up with my shenanigans!)

This photo is the last thing I remember before waking up. Thank goodness! That's the part I was most worried about - the going-under part. Diana was there to pick me up, but I tried to start talking too soon, and my mouth started bleeding again. More stitches for me.

Then Diana took me home and put me (and Flat Jason) to bed. She even took off the new quilt Grandma made (more on that later) so we wouldn't get blood on it. We put ice packs in socks and tied them to my face. It worked surprisingly well - thank you Henry Michael! Thanks also to Diana, my incredible roomie, who provided transport to and from surgery and kept me on schedule with drugs and food.

Not your normal Easter weekend

This past weekend was Easter, but it didn't really feel like it.

All of the troops getting ready to deploy to Kosovo for KFOR10 were bused to Columbia, Mo., from training locations across the state for a departure ceremony at the Hearnes Center. The buses gathered at Stadium and U.S. 63. From there, they were given a police escort and were also accompanied by the Patriot Guard Riders to the arena.


My family came, plus Grandma Schad, Melissa and Uncle Rodney. There were no chairs on the arena floor and I thought that surely they wouldn't make them stand. Maybe they would march in, but surely they wouldn't have to stand. But the band played and the soldiers marched in. They just kept coming and coming and coming...I knew that it was to be a large deployment, but it wasn't until I saw them all -- all of them lined up on the floor, standing at attention -- that it really began to sink in how many were going.

I gave up pretty quickly on the thought of picking Jason out, but John found him in the sea of gray-green, amid more than a thousand soldiers. I zoomed in on him with my lens when they changed their patches from the Missouri bear to the Phoenix rising from the flames. It was a nice ceremony. Later, we all went to eat. The portable ID machine was available, so I had mine done. It saved me a trip to Jeff City.


*As a side note, Jason and I discovered that Starbucks does not serve cheesecake. Apparently every Starbucks I have ever entered has been affiliated with Barnes & Noble and has therefore been supplied with delicious goodness from the Cheesecake Factory. A normal Starbucks does not have cheesecake in their establishment.


On Sunday, Jason and I went to church and then played around until we had to meet the buses at 4:30 p.m. No tears this time...at least not while Jason could see.

Rain drops keep fallin' on my head...

It was a dark and stormy night...er, morning when I dropped Jason off at the Ike Skelton Missouri National Guard Training Center. Our 5:15 alarm came a little sooner than I would have liked, but we got up just the same. We loaded Jason's gear into the back of the truck, all the while trying to think of some solution that might afford it more protection from the pouring rain. We had wrapped it in plastic and that would just have to do. We stopped at our neighborhood QuikTrip for coffee and a sandwich before driving to Jefferson City. We sat and talked for 15 minutes as a train crossed the road and blocked traffic. Then I helped Jason unload his gear and said goodbye. No tears this time. I'll see him on Saturday at the departure ceremony.



But, Jason's not missing out on all the fun while he's away. Our good friend A.J. invited us to dinner at Flat Branch, one of several area restaurants hosting a Dining Out for Animals to support the Central Missouri Humane Society. A portion of the lunch and dinner sales will be donated to benefit the animals. Flat Jason and I shared his favorite Flat Branch meal - brats and kraut! Plus, we had a great time catching up with A.J., especially talking about his new ideas for his blog. Thanks also to the military mom who voiced her support when she stopped at our table. She has two sons in Iraq.