Scott and I have always tried, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, to make the most of every experience. We turned moving north from Florida and Virginia into an epic road trip. We turned a conference presentation in Barcelona into an exploration of two of Europe’s amazing cities. And we turned shipping our car out of Baltimore Harbor into a chance to explore some of the area, so we could have some fun along with burning our fuel down to the required one-quarter tank. One of our stops was the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico.
We had a wonderful time exploring the museum. I could talk at length about how amazing it was to see all the exhibits, and the marketer in me wants to talk about how wonderful a job the Marines do with their branding, but the most amazing experience was the chance to exchange war stories with an Iwo Jima veteran who works at the museum.
Frank Matthews is a docent. He’s a spry and vivacious 87-year-old who delights in teaching guests of the museum things they never knew about World War II {seriously, he’s given me a dozen new things to investigate at Pearl Harbor when we get back to Hawaii!}. He was a 17-year-old private first class in the 24th Marines during World War II. When the 28th Marines breached the beaches of Iwo Jima, he was supposed to be part of the ready reserve. The Marines were decimated on the beach and needed reinforcements, so the 24th went in. After suffering heavy losses, they took the beach and patrolled the island for 28 more days until the remaining Japanese forces finally surrendered there. At that point, his platoon had gone from 35 men…to 1. Him. He was evacuated and sent back to Maui for treatment.
This is a man who saw the warships in battle, the breaching of the beachhead, the raising of the iconic flag. He saw a war the like of which none of us have seen, even in twelve years of low-density conflict. I’m beyond honored to have had the chance to listen to his stories – and even to tell a few of mine. When Frank found out I was an Army major, I had a chance to tell a few stories of my own. We both agreed that it was a rough life, being an engineer, and that enemy targeting made it difficult to keep good interpreters around. It was amazing to see how many things were different for us, but that in many aspects, the troubles we encounter within wars remain the same. Maybe if we all talked to each other and told more stories, we’ll be able to learn from these in the future.
You can check out some more of Frank’s story here.
Currently…
In…Denver, Colorado, the first step in our journey west! We’re here to visit my husband’s sister and her family, including my wonderful nieces, and my husband’s best man and his wife, who live not too far from here. I’m so excited that we get a chance to see everyone before we head out into the middle of the Pacific, but I’m hoping they visit us there, too!
Feeling…happy. Rested. Energized, but not so much that I want to go out and take on the world right now. This is a different, quieter type of energy, the kind that makes me feel really awake, but wanting to be still and observe more than do.
Reading…nothing at the moment. I had every intention of reading on the plane, but I napped instead and paged through Skymall and looked at all the great gadgets I’d never spend money on. But I do want all the Harry Potter collectables.
Clicking…nothing yet except this blog. I desperately need to catch up with my blogs and blog commenters, but just haven’t gotten around to it. I kind of balk when I click on Bloglovin’ and see 200+ new updates. Sigh.
Writing…again, just this blog. While we’re in transit/on vacation, everything else is going to be on hiatus for a while. But that’s what vacation is for, right?
Listening…to my hubby snore. Usually, I wake him up when I get up, but today he was exhausted, so I let him sleep in while I got up and started searching for coffee. A fresh cup, an open computer, and a seat on the deck, and I’m happy to let him snooze as long as he wants.
Thinking…that even though part of me thinks I should take a break from blogging while I’m on vacation, I write so much for myself that I’m afraid I’ll lose some of the thoughts and ideas I have along the way. Is that silly? I don’t know.
Cooking…nothing lately. Such is the nature of having a transient life. I do miss it, though. I got into a great routine in New York and while not everything needs to be made from scratch, sautéed for hours, or individually layered, I definitely don’t want to go back to the world of fast food. We’ve been very careful about the restaurants we dine at, and family cooking can’t be beat.
Smelling…fresh sheets and whatever wonderful fabric softener my mother-in-law uses. The smell lingers with me even after I’ve been up for a while. There’s mist on the lake outside, so that gives the air a smell all its own. I don’t know if you can really smell dampness in the air, but I feel like I can. Freshness. Good things.
Wishing…for nothing. I’m happy. I’m surrounded by family and love and I’m just plain happy. It’s really nice not having anything to worry about beyond three suitcases and airplane tickets. I think I’ve finally been in limbo enough to not only stop stressing about being in limbo, but to actually enjoy being in limbo!
Wearing…my long warm pajamas, even though it’s a little too warm for them, just because I can. They’re white and pink striped and never fail to make me smile. Even though we’re moving to a tropical climate, I’m going to have to find plenty of opportunities to wear these pajamas just because they make me think of cozy mornings spent inside, watching rain outside, sipping coffee or cocoa, and losing myself in a book. I haven’t done that in a looong time. I should fix that.
Wanting…coffee. But that’s nothing new for this time of morning. I’m always wanting coffee. Time to go and brew up some java. There’s nothing better on a clear Denver morning than standing on the back porch, watching the sun hit the mountains across the expanse of the world, and drinking a good cup of coffee.
Needing…to capture this feeling in my mind, to bottle it up somehow so I can take it out and look at it whenever I’m feeling glum about life and remember that life isn’t just good, it’s damn good. The world is beautiful, and I love being in it.
Loving…life. Period.
What’s on your mind, currently?
