My astounding work ethics won't seem to fail me. Yesterday, my 56 hour week turned into a 64 hour week, with a mid-term today in my nutrition class! It's only the middle of the week and I can't seem to muster up enough energy to get me through the last couple work days. I am so tired that I am starting to slur my words. In all honesty, it'll be a miracle if I make it through today without being taken to employee health for a drug test. If only you could hear me talk.. you'd swear that I am on something. Oy vey, this week needs to come to a close right now!

It's quiet in the ER, at the moment. (Knock on wood). So I figured I'd take a minute to share my story since I promised that I would.

Last Tuesday, after I got out of work at 11pm, I decided to go to a bar and hang out with my friend Scotty. While I was there, I ended up bumping into a guy who used to work with my sister.. he now works at the bar I was at. I showed him a picture of my husband and I, and he had the audacity to say to me, "I'm sorry, but as a former Marine, I am telling you that your husband isn't coming home." Immediately, my eyes began to fill with tears. I wanted nothing more than to knock his teeth down his throat. In my mind, I was trying to comprehend how someone could say such a thing like that. I was truly devastated. As if I don't already think about all the bad things that could possibly happen to him while he is over there, I didn't need this moron throwing his 2 cents into all of it. I couldn't stop myself from crying. Of course, Scotty came over and tried so hard to cheer me up. It kind of worked. I felt a little better after he talked some sense into me, however, I am still hurt about what was said to me. It's not something you can easily brush off. And I am sure that anyone who is in a similar situation as me, can surely agree with that.

Go figure. I sit down to blog and now we are getting busy. Oh Joy!

I think that I am in need of some serious help. I can't stop working! I'm actually at work right now (on my weekend off). The only thing keeping me going is the over time. We got paid this past Thursday and I had twenty-two hours of OT in my check. I was raped in taxes, of course, but I couldn't seem to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw how much was take home. This week I am doing 48 hours and next week will be 56, possibly more. I have been working so much that I hardly have time to study for my nutrition class, which left me devastated when I found out I have a total grade, so far, of 95. I was almost in tears talking to Tony about it. I guess one of my biggest worries is that I will fail to make him proud of me. He is already well aware of how proud he makes me, being where he is and doing what he is doing. He says that I have already made him proud by sticking by his side throughout this deployment, but I feel like that's not enough.

It's starting to get a little busy now, here in the ER. I am going to wrap this up and post it. Maybe later today I'll get back on here and come up with a longer post. I actually have a small, semi interesting, story about Tuesday. I'll fill you all in at some point. I promise.

The articles from the Ladies Tea were published in both newspapers yesterday. I didn't think they were going to be published that quick. Although I'm not in it, here's the article from the Eagle Tribune:


Not everyone at the Ingram Senior Center's lunchtime tea yesterday agrees with the war in Iraq, but they unanimously support the troops.

About 40 senior citizens from around the region gathered to hear stories about the war from the mothers and wives of local soldiers who service overseas.

The visit, from two Salem mothers and one Salem wife, came after seniors in the group Seniors Embrace Life Fully began to write letters to three Salem soldiers in March.

Two months later, their project has expanded to include six soldiers who collectively have received hundreds of letters and several care packages from the seniors.

Beverly Johnson, 70, of Salem said she has a son who served during Operation Desert Storm. She's participating in the letter-writing campaign because she knows how much a letter can brighten a soldier's day.

"I kind of empathize with these families," she said. "It's difficult because you're home and you feel as though there's not much you can do."

A letter, Johnson says, is the least she can do - even if the soldier she keeps writing to doesn't even know her.

"He must've laughed when he received a bunch of letters from all these women he doesn't know, but now he knows us," she said.

And the women at the Seniors Embrace Life Fully don't stop sending letters.

When they heard that the soldiers wanted Goldfish, the care box at the Senior Center was instantly filled with several packages of the original, extra cheddar, and pizza-flavored snacks.

While they haven't received a letter back from the soldiers, they all said they know their communications are appreciated.

That appreciation was evident, and expressed, by the families of the soldiers yesterday.

Dolores Rancourt is the mother of a 27-year-old Navy pilot in Iraq.

"It's so important to write to them. It's like getting a piece of gold every time they get a letter," she said.

As Rancourt displayed a photo of her son in a sandstorm, the onlookers gasped at how yellow the sand turns the landscape in the Middle East.

They giggled as Pam Russell, another mother of a soldier, told the seniors that her son doesn't think everything is bad in Afghanistan.

He was thrilled when he got to eat goat, she said.

Her son, Thomas, 20, knew since age 12 that he wanted to go into the Army, Russell said.

"It's a proud moment being the parent of a soldier. We are all very, very proud of him," she said.

But she also said she was proud of the women in front of her who may have had children who served in the Vietnam War.

"I give a lot of credit to the mothers who had sons in Vietnam," she said. "We have more regular contact than you did because of e-mail, and my heart goes out to those who had such little contact with their loved ones."

Johnson, of Salem, said she was touched by the stories the families shared, but shocked when she heard their ages.

"They're all so young, it's just the begining of their lives," she said.

The Seniors Embrace Life Fully women agreed they will continue to support the troops and write letters to the Salem soldiers.

"I feel as though I'll do anything for the troops," said Ellen Venturo. "Magazines, cards, anything they want."

And whether they want them or not, 40 more letters will soon be on the way to local soldiers.

After the stories were told and the cake eaten, the women got to work and started writing cards to all six of their adopted Salem soldiers.

Other soldiers they write to are Salem natives Capt. Jeremy Brooks, Cpl. Matthew Hicks, Anthony Hawkins and Gary Khoury.




Before I get to the Union Leader story (the paper that interviewed me) I must let you know that they made a mistake, which I knew was going to happen. I am not 23... I am 22. And my husband did not just turn 26, he turned 25. With that said.. here is the story:


Through stories and memories, a few soldiers came home yesterday.

As part of their monthly meeting for tea, Ingram Senior Centers ladies met with three soldiers' families, who shared personal stories and thanked those who have helped support the troops.

"Just letting them know how much you love them and support them means a lot," Dolores Rancourt read from an e-mail sent by her son Christopher, a pilot serving in Iraq.

Pamela Russell spoke of her son Thomas and letters he had written home thanking those who have shown support.

"He was able to reach me on Mother's Day," Russell said. "It was a quick satellite phone call. I broke down when I hung up; I tried not to while on the phone."

The senior center has "adopted" six soldiers in all, and yesterday six tables were set up with cards for people to write to them.

Many attndees persued photos of the men in uniform standing against a desert backdrop.

"He loves that people are sending him things," Russell told them.

Stacie Hawkins, the 23-year-old wife of Army serviceman Anthony Hawkins, thanked all the women at the senior center for the birthday wishes they sent to her husband earlier in the month.

The cards are still arriving, weeks after his 26th birthday on May 2.

"He's beyond depressed about it; he thinks he's getting old," Hawkins said to the room of seniors.

Hawkins, wearing her husband's Army ring and dog tags on her necklace, said she would be happy to share what she's learned about shipping care packages.

"I've never shipped anything in my life before this - now I'm an expert," she said.

Ann St. Hilaire, the wife of a World War II POW, urged Hawkins to be supportive and patient when her husband returns home.

"Be patient when they come home," she said. "Most of them come back and have so much stress. It's amazing how different they are."

She softened the subject by talking about how her husband refused to eat potatoes for decades because he was forced to eat them daily.

Hilaire said she was already familiar with Rancourt's son as a neighbor but was pleased to learn about the recipients of all their support cards.

"I saw him grow up," she said. "I can still remember him as just a little kid."



I hope that all you faithful readers enjoy the articles! It's time for me to go get ready for work.

This week has been painfully dragging! I think it's because I had the day off on Tuesday. Lately I have been working seven days a week, but Tony got me tickets to go see The Red, Puddle of Mudd, Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace. He wanted me to go out and have a little bit of fun. He doesn't realize that I can't have fun without him being by my side. Especially for a concert. Sure, I hang out with friends and have a good time, but I miss him something fierce every second of every day. The thought of him never escapes my mind. It's not a bad thing. If I didn't think about him as much as I do then there would be a serious problem.

Today was supposed to be my day off, but one of the other girls hurt her back and working twelve hours today would've been way too much for her to handle. So, me (being the nice girl that I am) picked up the first five hours of her shift. When I left the hospital at noon today I had to hurry home and get changed right away so I could attend "Ladies Tea" at the Senior Center here in town. They have been doing a 'Support the Troops' project and I was asked to be a guest speaker. I couldn't say "no" to them. They have all been so supportive of Tony (and all the other soldiers). When I got there, a reporter from one of the local newspapers wanted to interview me. So I guess this means I am going to be in the newspaper once again. And that's not a bad thing either. I am so very proud of my husband. He is an amazing person and I will talk about him to anyone and everyone until the day that I die.

Since I mentioned a photo shoot in one of my previous blogs, I suppose I'll end this post with a few pictures from that...

I have finally reached day number seven of seven. I have put in 54 hours this week and I am completely exhausted. I started my nutrition class on Monday, and already had a quiz on Wednesday. Between work and sleep I didn't have any time to study for it.
The emergency room has been insanely busy. The only thing that kept me going last night was the white board on the wall outside of one of our trauma rooms. I decided to put up a countdown of how many days until Tony comes home. God help the person who decides to erase it. Speaking of Tony, he has been sending flowers and teddy bears to my work. He told me that it's mainly because I used the "distant" word. So now he's struggling to make us just as close as we were before. I realize that it probably won't happen and that's okay. He's coming home in 130+ days and we'll be closer than ever.
I'm also trying to get everyone at work to start wearing red on Fridays to support the troops. I have papers posted on every wall I could think of that my co-workers would possibly be looking at. We'll see how successful I am with this when I go to work at 3pm today. Speaking of, I need to go and see if the red scrub pants I ordered from the store have come in yet!