Where did the week go?

No apologies.  It's been over a week since my last post.
No excuses.  It's been over a week since my last post.

No great feats have been accomplished.  No major hurdles have been leapt.  No great obstacles have been overcome.

I am well.  I got to dispatch my first pursuit since I came back to Hereford.  It went as smoothly as it possibly could have.  No one was hurt.  The bad guy went to jail.  The stolen vehicle went back to it's owner.  It lasted 40 some minutes and was really, really fast and I absolutely live for that stuff.  The adrenaline high is just now wearing off.  Some people have an adrenaline dump.  I just savor mine and try to make it last.

Molly is well.  She is not happy but she is physically well.  She is pouting because I won't let her eat the cat.

Clyde is well.  He is not happy but he is physically well.  He is pouting because Molly keeps trying to eat him every time he comes near me.

Bonnie is well.  Bonnie is a Chihuahua and doesn't care about anyone but herself.

Previously Unknown Tradition

My brother, Richard, served in the US Army during the VietNam War.  On his first trip back home after basic, he unloaded his duffel bag.  Now, my brother is a very tall man.  Very tall.  My mother told the story for years about how he brought home a good half dozen uniforms, none of them the same size and none of them his size.

Fast forward 50 years, give or take.  My grandson, CJ, recently completed Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA.  On his first trip back home after graduation, he unloaded his duffel bag.  My grandson is now taller than I am but not as tall as my brother.  His mother can now tell the story for years about how he brought home a good half dozen uniforms, none of them the same size and none of them (with the exception of his dress uniform) his size.

Don't even get me started on the boots.

Writers write

I worked today and I worked yesterday.  12 hour shifts do not leave much time in my day or room in my brain to blog.  I used to could and I might could again, but I don't seem to be able to now.

I am off tomorrow and then Julie and I are flying to Fort Benning to watch the boy - he will always be the boy - "turn blue" and graduate Infantry School.  I could not be more proud if he was my own.  He knows that he is not college material and he has always intended to be military.  I always wanted him in the Navy.  It's harder to hit those targets far out at sea.  He declined to join the same branch of the military that his father was in.  Either way, it's an honorable calling and I am proud.

His maternal grandfather (that would be my ex-husband) will also be there.  Manners, civility, and cordiality will prevail - or Julie will beat us both.

I hope to write more when my brain recovers but in the meantime, just know that I am back.

Bonnie goes to work

Bonnie came to work with me today.  There are new tenants moving into Shorty's apartment and every time the door opens, she loses her frickin' mind.  She will adapt.  We will all adapt.  But for today, the new neighbors will not be unnecessarily annoyed and Bonnie will not be unnecessarily stressed.  Me and my officers?  Well, there is that.  I am stressed and they will undoubtedly be annoyed before the day is over.  She is an annoying little dog.  But so far, so good.

No longer a go-alonger

" No, Daisy came from a favorite movie character forgotten by all but a few gray-haired Streisand fans: the goofy, sweetly innocent, chain-smoking go-alonger Daisy Gamble in Vincente Minnelli’s 1970 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever."  from an article about pet names

I am one of the few "gray-haired Streisand fans" who remember and love this movie.  I was unable to find a video clip of the go-alonger scene from the movie.  I was looking for it because, in the last few months, I have determined that I am, in fact, a "go-alonger."

Since Shorty died, I have been contemplating who I am now.  For 34 years, I have been half of "Shorty and Sandy."  Now, I am just Sandy.  I just have to figure out who that is.

Things I know.

I am Julie and John's mom.  I have two other kiddoes, one of whom I don't claim and one who does not claim me.

I am grandmother to a gaggle of grandkids.  I am close to some and not close to others.

I am a Catholic.

I am a "Licensed Telecommunicator" or, as I prefer to think of it, a pretty darn good 911 dispatcher.  My daughter has promised to tell me when I cease to be pretty darn good.

Things I have realized.

The first Harley I ever got on was Shorty's.
The only Harley I ever got on was Shorty's.
I got my motorcycle license so that Shorty could still ride, even if he couldn't drive.
I have not been on the Harley since my kids and grandkids left after Shorty's funeral.
I have several tattoos, none of them Harley Davidson inspired.
Anyone besides me noticing a pattern here?

Yep.  I loved Shorty and I like Harleys.  I do not love Harleys.  I do not need to own a Harley.

I need to cushion my bank account, learn a new language, see the ponies swim at Chincoteague, and blog consistently.

Talk to y'all soon.  I think I'm back - or at least on the way.