I hope you dance!

This year (meaning: since I turned 36 last May), I've been looking at my life and comparing and contrasting it to my mom's life during that same year in her life.  Especially as the time closes in on the milestone point that sent her life on a whole new trajectory.
When my mom was 36, she had two teenagers in the house--my brother was 17 and I was 13--and I know dealing with us was not easy.  My brother had always been the one to get in trouble and would lie constantly to try to cover up the trouble that he had got in.  I was busy dealing with Junior High and trying to not get in trouble like my brother but wanting to be like him just the same.
If you overlapped the years like they were two circles, this month would line up with a comparable year in her 36th year, it would be August of 1989--the summer between 7th and 8th grade for me and 11th and 12th for my bro.  Things hadn't even gotten really that difficult...yet.  In October of that year, it all changed.  I'm curious to see how April goes for me.  I'll still be deployed but that doesn't mean that my life can change as much as hers did.
Back to October 1989...Mom met someone and our lives would never be the same.  I can understand being unhappy with life's circumstances and wishing things would change but would you change them that much?  Or, more correctly, would you allow them to be changed?  Attractions between people can be ignored when you know that the disruption will be like a pebble in a pond and will affect more than just your life.  It's hard to see that, though, when you're in the grip of attraction.  The funny thing is: I never thought twice about it when Mom said that she and her friend, Norma, were going out with a couple other friends or that she had fallen asleep at someone's house.  I trusted her and took her words at face value.  I didn't actually find out that she was dating this new guy until a month or so later.  Even then, I didn't really believe it.
I'm not going to go into all the details that occured between then and now but I often wonder if she would have allowed all that change if she had seen a glimpse of where she's at now.  :(
Mom and I went through lots of ups and downs when I was a teenager, with the biggest one being when I got pregnant at 17.  That was probably the lowest valley in our relationship but I'm glad that, today, we are in the hills.  We're friends and I know that I can share pretty much anything with her; discuss any topic; ask any question and get a candid yet caring response from her.
We even have songs for each other.
Hers for me:
I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'
Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'
Don't let some Hellbent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone?)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone?)

And mine for her:
Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
To never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.

So I was the one with all the glory,
While you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.

[Chorus]
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
But I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.

[Chorus]

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings,
Cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
So high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
Thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.
Love you Mom!

Three (almost) down, (nearly) three to go...

I’m coming up on three months in on this “vacation” and although I can’t say that it’s dragging, it sure as heck isn’t flying by either.  Very little changes from day to day.  Every day we have planes that need to be caught, inspected, fixed, and then launched; lather, rinse, repeat every few hours.  I do have a new roommate—a Marine corporal in the Reserves.  This one is about ten years younger than me.  She’s from one of the Carolinas…I think North.  The important thing is: we work similar hours so neither of us are keeping the other awake.  Though, she does sleep about two hours more than I do in the mornings so I’m often getting dressed by the light of my computer screen.  And she usually stays awake for an hour or so after me but since she doesn’t care if I turn out the main light while she’s watching a movie on her computer, I’m able to fall asleep at a decent time…when we’re not staying up, talking. 

The savings account is growing at a good rate.  With the few deposits that I made in January, I’ve already netted $15 interest.  I won’t sneeze at that.  Anything is good with the way rates and returns are nowadays.  I’ve deposited more since then--to coincide with the Feb 1^st paycheck—and will continue to deposit as much as I can each paycheck.  My goal is to reach the max of $10,000 in deposits before I leave here.  I’m almost halfway there and will be by the time *I’m* halfway.  J 

Had another visit to the “salon” on base.  Got my eyebrows waxed.  Yeah, they went a little too skinny even though I said “No skinny, just clean.”  Oh, well, it was only $5 and they’ll grow back.  I don’t see myself getting them done again until I get home.  There’s going to be a “Works” done for sure.  Trim, highlights, lowlights, brows, and a pedicure.

I’ve got an Off-Base Adventure coming up in a couple weeks so there will be more to share then.  J