The Year of Red River Moms

Red River Moms was launched on Mother's Day, a year ago today. And what a year it has been.

I just happened to stumble upon a call for writers on the Shreveport Times site late last April. I hadn't been looking for a gig, but for some reason, that little announcement called out to me. I have been writing for businesses and for myself for years. So I gathered a small selection of my best mom-type writing and sent it along to the Times.

Major Mom was born.

And so now, a year later, as I prepare to pack up my life here on the Red River and move to the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, Major Mom has come to an end.

It is appropriate, I think.

I have had so much fun writing for Red River Moms. The amount of positive feedback I have received from readers, both friends and strangers alike, has been absolutely overwhelming. I was writing away thinking nobody was paying much attention and was quite surprised, and pleased, to be proved wrong.

I have so many people to thank. First and foremost is the original director of Red River Moms (and writer of Toddler Talk) who put her trust in me to write for her baby in the first place.

I also have to thank my best friend Patrick. I was by his hospital bed when I got the call that I would be writing this blog. He is the one who suggested the name Major Mom, and I can't thank him enough.

I'd also like to thank the Director of the Suzuki School, Laura Crawford who has been such a strong supporter of my writing form the beginning. The teachers and administrators at Southfield School have also given my blog way more attention that I deserve.

In fact, my supporters have been many and I don't think I could name them all. All of my friends have been amazing and have inflated my ego more than I ever deserved. I have a special shout out for my friends Lynn and Julie who have been my biggest commenters and fans.

The Times staff who have kept Red River Moms going so strongly this year should be commended. They've done a great job and have created a special online community.

I can't forget to thank my husband and kids for allowing me to write about them. My poor kids would probably be quite embarrassed if they ever stumbled upon these pages and read everything I've said about them. But I hope that they could see the love shining through my words too. I am beyond lucky to have my amazing little family. I love them so much.

I'd also like to thank my mom. Besides bringing me into this world and supporting me all these years, for the first time she was able to follow along in my writing. My mom has always been my biggest fan, no matter what I was doing. And thanks to her reading Major Mom now she knows that I don't like quilts.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. And happy Mother's Day to all of us.

I have been so busy preparing to leave that I haven't stopped to give much thought to how much I will miss the people who have become my family here. These last couple of days have been emotionally difficult. We're starting to say our goodbyes and my heart hurts so much.

And now I'm saying goodbye to Major Mom and I am more than a little sad.

But my adventures aren't over. If you'd like to keep up with me and my family you can find me at my personal blog The Continuing Adventures of Major Mom. (Click the title for the link.)

I couldn't bear to say goodbye, so I won't. I'll just say...see you around the Internet and thank you, Shreveport/Bossier! And happy first birthday, Red River Moms.

Air Show Attraction

As of this week, my husband has been in the Air Force for thirteen years. Sometimes that sounds like forever, and sometimes it sounds like just a drop in the bucket. But Air Show weekend has arrived and it is making me feel quite old.

If you include the four years I worked on an Air Force base before I married a military man, that means I have been attending air shows for seventeen years. You can subtract out a year for the post-9/11 cancellation, but you can probably add back quite a bit of time for the year we lived right near the Blue Angels practice area in Pensacola. (And I mean right near. I used to have to rehang all my pictures every Tuesday morning after they practiced.)

Seventeen is a lot of Air Shows to see. I used to be very excited every year. There is just something about the roar of the jets that is exhilarating. But then I had kids, and I had things to do on Air Show weekend that didn't involve the Air Show and it just got to be...a pain.

We feel trapped in our home on Air Show weekend. The traffic on base is so bad and it is just hard to get anywhere. My family would like to take me out for breakfast on Mother's Day tomorrow, but it is just too hard to take a left-hand turn out of our street.

But still. I hear those jets zooming over my house and my heart races. That noise, that feel just induces feelings of patriotism. I love airplanes. I love our life. It all goes together.

So we'll spend the majority of tomorrow hanging out in the home I should be cleaning and packing. We'll probably walk over to the flight line at some point, if the weather is nice. We'll probably also complain a hundred times about the traffic and the congestion.

But it is worth it. For the people of Shreveport/Bossier to get excited about our military and the people who keep our military running, it is worth it. If other people can experience that feeling I do, I'll manage a weekend of inconvenience.

Things We'll Miss in SBC

Alternately Titled: Things You Should Check Out in the SBC

As much as I will miss our friends when we move away in a couple of weeks (more on that later), it is starting to hit me just how many of the things we'll miss here too.

As I make a slew of appointments to wrap up our time here, I am struck by how many wonderful organizations and people we have been taking for granted.

1. CABOSA: The Caddo-Bossier Soccer Association is well run and well organized. My kids have both been playing soccer since they were four-years-old. Many of our happiest memories are from the soccer fields at Cargill Park.

2. The Duck Pond: Of all the great parks in the Shreveport/Bossier areas, the Duck Pond was always our favorite. It is just such a charming little place. And it's proximity to our favorite Shreveport library branch made it the perfect place to spend the days before my kids were old enough for school.

3. Mid City Pediatrics: Before my son was born, we took my daughter to the pediatric clinic on base, where she screamed and cried though every visit. But because of staffing shortages, Dr. Pace from Mid City Pediatrics took care of our son in the hospital when he was born. At the time, my daughter cried whenever an adult tried to talk to her. But Dr. Pace walked into our room, bent down to her level and talked to her without her shedding a tear. She actually conversed with him! And we were hooked. I'm afraid we won't find another pediatric practice like Mid City when we move. I can't say enough about them and how well they've helped me take care of my family.

4. Dr. Holly Cook: A friend of mine who was a dental hygienist before she had kids came up to a group of us at soccer practice one day and announced, "If you don't already have a pediatric dentist you like, I have one you have to try!" It was perfect timing for me because I had just decided to look for a new dentist for the kids. My friend was right. Dr. Cook was so thorough and so good with the kids. Her office is quaint and calm. My only regret is that we found her so late in our lives here in Shreveport.

5. Dr. Pete Nasser: After my son was born, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and finally get my teeth and jaw fixed. I was nervous about having a second round of braces as an adult, and I was anxious about having to have jaw surgery, but upon the recommendation of my dentist, I couldn't have chosen a better orthodontist. Not only were Dr. Nasser and his staff competent and kind, but they went above and beyond what I expected to coordinate with my dentist and surgeon (the excellent Dr. Brian Smith) through the extensive process of redesigning my face. My daughter is just about ready to get braces now and I am sad that she won't be seeing Dr. Nasser. My kids grew up in his office!

6. Target: Whenever anyone asks me where I bought something, my reply is always the same. "Target. That's where everything we own came from." I spend so much time at Target that I'm surprised they haven't started charging me rent. There is a small Target near our new house in Virginia, but the closest Super Target is over a hundred miles away! I am going to miss my home away from home on Youree Drive.

7. Centenary Suzuki School: We knew we wanted our children to study a musical instrument, but we hadn't given much thought to which ones when we were lucky enough to become aware of the Centenary Suzuki strings. Southfield School has a satellite of the Centenary program. When my daughter was just three-years-old and we attended our first Grandparents' Luncheon at Southfield, their Suzuki kids played as the entertainment. We thought they were awesome. After spending a lot of time researching the Suzuki method of teaching and Centenary's program, we knew we couldn't pass up all they had to offer. And so my kids are violinists. It hasn't always been easy as the program requires much dedication and discipline, but our Suzuki teachers have brought much joy to our lives. I will be so sorry to say goodbye to such a wonderful program.

8. Our Squadron: Before the kids went to school, I was always very involved in life on base. I was active in our squadrons and volunteered to help around base in the small ways that I could. In the last couple of years, my husband has been in the best squadron of our lives. I regret that my schedule kept me from being more involved. I hope that my husband's next unit will be as welcoming and active as his current squadron.

9. Our Neighborhood: As much as we are looking forward to owning our own home, I know I will miss many of the benefits that come with living on base. We have had the most wonderful neighbors over the years. Those neighbors helped me through so many deployments. I have also grown used to having all of the base's amenities just a few moments away. If you are a military family who isn't sure if you want to try living on base, I think you should check it out. Not only were we able to save a great deal of money, our community has helped shape who we are. Our kids could not have grown up in a safer place.

10. Southfield School: I will miss Southfield School most of all. The Southfield family has become our family. There are no words to describe what our school has given to my family. This very blog is full of my Southfield stories. There are plenty of fine schools in the Shreveport/Bossier area, but I urge everyone to visit Southfield and check it out for yourself. The feeling that permeates the campus is not something you can read in a brochure. It is an especially wonderful place for military families especially since the Southfield community has shown its commitment to bringing military families into the fold with its military endowment.

I think we'll miss the Shreveport area more than we even realized. As I sit here writing, the number of wonderful places we're leaving behind is overwhelming. From Sutton Children's Hospital to The Boardwalk, the SBC is growing and maturing more and more every year.

We've never gone back and visited a place we've moved away from before. That will have to change now. We'll miss Shreveport, but we will be back.

My Daughter Speaks Again

My daughter really enjoyed her day as headmistress at school. She asked if her new school would have such a thing. I know they do, but I also know that the items at their auction go for way more than we could ever afford. So I asked her, "Why?"

"Well, because I was thinking," she told me. "If I ever get to do that again, I am going to proclaim anything but no homework."

I started to smile as I asked her, "How come?"

"Because we just ended up with more homework the rest of the week. It wasn't like the homework for that night just went away."

Aha! I think someone learned a little life lesson there. I guess that makes her day priceless.

Headmistress for a Day

Can you imagine, for a moment, what your kids would do if they could run their school for a day?

Today, I got to find out.

At our school's auction in March, my husband placed the winning bid on Headmaster for a Day for our daughter. I may have guilted him into it just a little by saying, "Aw, come on. Wouldn't that be a great way for her to end her time at Southfield?" But he's the one who raised his paddle.

Today was the day she got to be Headmistress for a Day.

She got to lead the school in the Pledge of Allegiance at flag ceremony this morning. She also got to make proclamations (with guidance for the administration of course). She proclaimed that there would be no homework for the third grade. And she proclaimed that the whole school could have extra recess.

I'm sure she's quite popular among her classmates now.

She also asked if her little brother could be included somehow. So he got to be the Associate Headmaster for the day. I let him wear his little tie and he was pretty cute. He was so eager to get to the microphone and sing God Bless America. I was very proud that my daughter would want to include her brother and share the limelight that way.

Toward the end of the flag ceremony, our wonderful art teacher stepped forward to announce the winners from Art Break. My son crossed his fingers and chanted his sister's name in a quiet whisper. "I hope she wins," he said. "I hope she wins."

How sweet is that?

As it turned out, it was his name that was announced. He won a little Showcase Award. I was so proud of him. We think of him as our little math wizard but he really loves fine arts too.

I can't wait to go pick them up today and see how the rest of their day went. I'm also really looking forward to a homework free evening. But I didn't push her to make that proclamation at all.

I swear.

We are going to miss Southfield School so much. I don't know how I kept from sobbing this morning.

Hurrah for Technology

I feel like doing a little dance this morning. I finally, finally have Internet access.

Our little network of home computers has been acting up all week. I haven't been able to get online for more than a moment or two before things grind to a screeching halt. I haven't even been able to write in Word without things freezing up.

Of course, my husband hasn't had any trouble with it.

It's funny how I've been thinking to myself, I miss writing everyday! Like I've never heard of pen and paper. It's also funny how much the writing process, or at least my writing process, has changed over the years. There is no blank page anymore. Just a blank screen.

It's too bad I never learned to type. My handwriting is horrendous and illegible too. So, of course I became a writer.

I suppose if my computer acts up again, I can always try dictating to my husband. Maybe if I stand far enough away, the computer won't sense my presence and it won't crash.

If you notice a lot of misspelling in my future, you'll know why.

My Daughter Speaks

Last night at my son's t-ball game, it started to rain just a bit.

My daughter kept asking if she could go to the car and look for an umbrella. In exasperation I finally told her, "You're not going to melt. You're not made of sugar!"

To which she responded, "If I were any sweeter I would be."

I can only shake my head.