Homecoming for G.W...Gone Rogue

The morning started out with an email from Zack saying to go with the plan and pick him up at the ship at 11.  The ship docked at 9 and it may take over an hour before the first person walks off.  Noah and I were going to go to PT Tots at 9:45 and then meet him at the ship at 11.  Neither one of us knew how it was set up at the pier as we have never actually seen the ship docked here.  We spent the morning cleaning odds and ends up...those things that I knew would annoy him.  I am member of the group of spouses that run around like idiots right before the husband comes home making sure that he has his favorite foods, the house is clean, etc.  And you do those things that you know bug him...like clean windows, the counter tops are clear of clutter, the car is free of trash...etc.  Even though you've functioned the entire time they're gone just fine without doing those items.  Noah and I did PT Tots and usually we come home and I have his lunch all ready for him...we do lunch and then quiet time...and he's in his bed by 11:30ish.  But instead we headed for the ship, which I had no idea where they docked but figured I couldn't miss a giant aircraft carrier!  While driving towards the pier area I saw hundreds of sailors in the NWU(Navy Working Uniform) all carrying their sea bags and then bags caring the treasures they bought at port visits...so I figured I'd just follow the trail to the ship!  Noah kept pointing at all of them saying...dad...dad!  I ended up driving right by the docking area of the G.W. and was able to find a great parking spot super close.  It is set up so different here than Norfolk.  Norfolk was a planned base where the pier area is a whole line of piers with miles of parking.  However since the U.S. sorta just peed on the base after WWII(there is actually a dry dock with a sign saying it's the oldest one in Japan...made in the late 1890's)...it's not nearly as planned out and there is pretty much nill parking.  And there wouldn't be room for parking anyway...all the buildings are right next to each other.  I get Noah out of the car and make sure that I refill his snack trap because it is after all lunch and nap time.  I got past security and have my eyes open for Zack.  We walked up and were standing on an elevated area right in front of the brow(basically the ladder area where they come off of the ship).  Noah finishes his snack and runs around a bit with a few other children.  And then all heck breaks loose!  It had been an hour and we were hungry, hot, and tired.  When Noah and I are hungry and have low blood sugar...we...simply become huge bears to be around.  This is not the phrase that Zack uses though! LOL.  The sailors that are now coming off of the ship are in civilian clothes and I KNOW that Zack would not come off out of uniform.  And I get that sinking feeling that he had gone rouge on us.  So I make the executive decision that he is not on the ship and he didn't follow his own directions...so we're out of here.  I haul a screaming, hungry, and tired toddler to the van...along with this mommy also being hungry, aggravated, and tired.  He's in his seat and I am filling up his snack trap again and Zack pops his smiling face around the side of the van....and says..what are you doing...followed by where were you?  Hmm...yeah you can guess that it didn't go over well.  I said that we were getting ready to leave your (enter cuss word)...and we were at the brow at 11...we were there and you weren't.  He goes on to explain that since I didn't reply to the email in the morning he wasn't sure of the plan...even though we had discussed it off and on for the past few days that I would pick him up at 11.  He said that at 11 he was along the street area outside of the security point(where ID's are checked before even getting anywhere close to the ship).  He had since walked home (15min. walk or so) with his bags...and then walked back to find us.  Noah could tell that I was aggravated at Zack...and yells at him...DUDE!  I say this when I'm thinking..what the (enter cuss word).  I am still unsure how being out on the street area(on the opposite side of the road that I had to drive on) constitutes following the plan, which was meeting him at the ship at 11.  But in the event of forgetting the whole thing...we drop it!  Homecomings never go as planned...never!  I was still aggravated and we headed home and did lunch and quiet/nap time.  I would like to tell everyone that when he comes home it's a happy feeling in the household and we're both all smiles and falling over ourselves to be amazing to the other.  This is simply not the reality in the Gogel household.  It's like trying to fit a circle into a square hole the first few days.  This time it's worse than before because our lives wern't consitent before he left.  And now that we've found some scheduling and consistency with our new enivronment...he has to play catch up.  The first few days are full of arguments, deep breaths, prayers for patience and understanding...along with smiles, happiness, and laughter.  It's the reality of a family on sea duty.  The spouse gets used to running the show, making all the day to day decisions and being a "single parent".  It's hard for me to flip the switch instantly when he walks down the brow.  But after a few days we are all on the same page again...at least for a little bit!  While we are at this duty station we will most likely be doing less sea time than when we did on the Truman...they all think they have it rough!  Those that we have talked to...all find this nuts...but the Truman has had a crazy past 3 years.  And we are looking forward to having the schedule of a forward deployed carrier.

Not soon after Noah was done for his nap...the maintenance man came to install and new garbage disposal and the contractor came to match the color of our tile.  And how nice it is to deal with these types of people here in Japan compared to the U.S!  When making the appointment they suggest a set time such as 9.  That time didn't work for me obviously so I suggested 1 to both of them.  They say...okay...1..we be there.  And if I suggested a time in the middle of their lunch...I would bet that they would have cut their lunches short and arrived promptly on time.  And at 1 the doorbell rang and they were all standing at the door.  It isn't any of the U.S. crap where you have to be there all darn day waiting for them to show up.  They take off their shoes(as is custom in Japan) when they enter your home...and bow to you.  They are here to provide a service to you...they work for you.  They are kind, nice, courteous, clean up after themselves, and so much more.  They do their work...and when leaving I was asked to sign a paper stating that the garbage disposal had been replaced.  I am handed the paper with a bow and two hands.  I have to accept the paper with two hands as well...I signed it and handed it back.  Again he bowed...as a sign of respect and thanks.  He left bowing all over himself.  I told him thank you in Japanese and replied back in Japanese...your welcome..and in English...have a nice day.  He spoke a bit of English but the contractor spoke none!  Don't you wish you were treated with that amount of respect by a maintenance man or contractor in the U.S.?!

When Noah woke up we picked up a few things at the NEX and went to the park by the water.  Then it was the evening routine.  On our walk home...Zack and Noah enjoyed playing with each other and Zack throwing him up in the air...along with my yells...saying it was too high, be careful, Zack!...etc!  Noah was really bad about not staying on the sidewalk and was going rogue everywhere.  He climbed a hill to run down it and found a damaged CD.  So what do you do when you find a CD?  Well Noah grabbed the end of his shirt and carefully cleaned the bottom of it(yes he flipped it over) and proceeded to clean it from the inside out...not going in circles.  Zack says..where did he...and I say...no idea!  I have no idea where Noah saw this, but when he did it stuck!  And with that...the events of the rest of the evening routine were non-eventful.  Noah got up this morning...came in to let me know he was awake, played in Bean's room, and then when I noticed that he wasn't making noise...I found him downstairs closing the refrigerator door after he got his milk out!  Today I got Noah's pool aired up and he played in that all morning...and then this afternoon he had to make me pay for going off schedule at nap time yesterday...and just wouldn't go down for a nap.  He thrives on a schedule with consistency...and just like his momma...everything has a place and everything in it's place.  Just a warning that should you enter our home...Noah will promptly have you take off your shoes and place them in correct spot.  And should you not put your shoes with our shoes...then he will do it for you!

An Eventful Day

Today I woke up and had a whole list of items in my head that I wanted to accomplish. A load of laundry and the dishwasher were started super early so that it could be done by 9:00. That is pretty much the start of the energy conservation during the day until after working hours. I also knocked off the cleaning chore of cleaning the three bathrooms. The items in our refrigerator consisted of leftovers and condiments...no joke people! So we took off for the commissary right as it opened. Noah picked out his cart...this time a cart with a car next to the handles instead of one added onto the front of the cart. And we were off. All was well until we were about half way done shopping and Noah was done. He was over driving the car with the steering wheel and his drink/snack. So he became that kid in the grocery store screaming at the top of his lungs. I had picked up a box of gummie snacks and opened them right there in the store...and with holding him/giving him gummy snacks I was able to finish the shopping. The selection in the dairy aisle was really bad with entire areas empty. We'll have to go back next week and see if they received a shipment. We left with a lot...a lot of groceries. When shopping while Zack is at home...I time it so that he can help me bring the items in or I only take in the cold items and he brings in the rest when he gets home. It just wears me out...hauling it all inside and then today having to haul Noah around while in the store used up a lot of energy. And the idea that if I had gone sooner then there would have been less bags...doesn't escape me! We got home and put away all of the groceries and it was lunch time. We did lunch and quiet time while I was trying to knock of small tasks in the kitchen. Noah fell asleep on the couch before I got him to his bed...and it was back to the kitchen. It seemed as if my faith was being tested today because things just started going crazy starting with Noah in the commissary. I was cleaning up the kitchen...emptying the dishwasher etc. And I turned on the water and it drained into the garbage disposal...all of which came pouring out under the cabinet door. Wonderful! I said a little prayer saying that my determination will not falter today...and asking God to help me. I called maintenance and reported it...and they replied back in half English/Japanese that someone will come today or tomorrow. This is not uncommon for a slow reaction to an issue. So when I was cleaning it up and poked my head underneath and saw that it was coming from the garbage disposal itself and not a pipe issue...whew...because then I could still use the other side of the sink. And while on the phone I got the number of the person I have to report the broken tile in the bathroom to...I believe it was Monday and I was taking a shower...Noah was coming in and out from his room to the bathroom. He had a bunch of his kitchen stuff in the bathroom. He must have hit his wooden pot against the 4x2 inch tile(right as you step out of the shower but before the floor) just right because it cracked and broke. I called and reported the issue and the housing officer had to come and inspect. I suppose he looks at anything that isn't regular maintenance. He came and checked it out and I told him that I had dropped a hairspray can and it just cracked and broke up into pieces. He thanked me for being honest(not really...I didn't want to say that I was in the shower and my child beat it with his pot!). A contractor is coming tomorrow to see what materials he will need to fix it as well as maintenance to change a gasket/seal on the garbage disposal. We will have to pay to have the tile fixed...the housing officer said that he knocked it down to only labor and we won't have to pay for material(not that one small tile and the grout used...would be all that much anyway)...this was done as a favor to me. I got all sorts of things accomplished during the rest of nap time including sweeping/mopping the floors(these hardwood floors are great but impossible to keep clean) and three loads of laundry folded. I'm exhausted by this time but still pressing on to accomplish everything on the list for today. We hop in the car and head to the P.O. And then we were headed to the NEX and the park next to the water. This was all great but after stopping at the P.O. I couldn't get Noah to go back into his car seat. I would get one strap over and he knew the second on was coming and he would buck/squirm/twist out of the car seat. I tried four different times to get him to go in. So I'm standing there at the van trying to figure out a way to get him to go in. About this time a woman officer comes out of the dry cleaning place next door and is getting ready to get into her car. I called over to her saying...excuse me Mam, could you do me a favor and see if you can get my son to go into his car seat! No Joke...I really did say this! She smiled and giggled and came over talking to Noah. I handed him to her and she put him right into the seat. She struggled a bit with straps and I could tell that she didn't have any children. Noah was enchanted with her and just smiled and laughed. And just a few short minutes ago when his amazing mom was trying to put him in...he screamed bloody murder! I thank her and we were on our way...ending up at the park. Noah saw some familiar faces to which his face always lights up...from PT Tots, park visits or families from The Lodge. He also played with two older boys maybe ages 9-11ish. They must have lived in the apartment building across the street and decided instead of playing on the big kid playground they would come over and play with the young children. The smaller children would chase, push, and pull on them...as they pretended to be hurt or beat up...ending up on the ground. Noah would then go and sit down on top of them and continue to rough house just like he does with Zack. Noah had a blast as did all of the other children. It was sweet that they decided to play with the young children and also to play in a way that their daddies do with them...considering that most of their daddies were out to sea. We were there for about 90 minutes and Noah let me know when he was done...and he went happily into his car seat. We did our evening routine and then Noah played out in front with the neighbor children...because it was lightly raining and I didn't want to get stuck out when it started to pour. When the rain started really coming down we headed inside and made a cake together. He poured in the ingredients and stirred it up...having a lot of fun. While it was cooking I finally put salt, pepper, flour, sugar etc. into the canister/shakers. Noah asked me what I was doing and I said that I was putting flour in the canister so that we can cook with it. He said flower/flour and rain over to our indoor plant...pointing and saying flower. He was super confused as to why I was going to put the "flower" into the canister to cook with! LOL! And the rest of the evening when pretty uneventful...thankfully because I don't/didn't have the energy to deal with it!

The Happenings

On Sunday, we had a great time going out in town and having lunch with a friend.  I remembered to bring along Noah's new lunch box with his child size chopsticks...and I was finally able to eat a meal without fighting him for the chopsticks!  This was our third time visiting the restaurant and the waitress remembered my order!  Haha!  We then walked down a few stores and visited a 100Y store...this is like an American Dollar Store.  And then down to the craft store.  This store is amazing and I could spend the entire paycheck there!  It's one of those places where you walk in and you want it all...even though you have no idea what you'd do with it or where you would put it...but you want it!  They have a small children's area that is American/European based.  Noah runs towards it and plays with all the samples they have out on a little table for children to use while their parents shop.  I picked up Noah's turtle backpack there.  All the children in Japan wear backpacks.  The moms carry their purses and the children carry their own things.  Zack had been wanting to get Noah one...saying that the Japanese kids can carry their own stuff so Noah can too!  The little Kindergartners wear yellow backpacks and then they also have yellow hats that is part of their uniform...so cute!  All schools have uniforms...and it can cost thousands of dollars just to get your child registered, pay the fees, and get uniforms.  It's serious business here.  That evening I ended up taking Noah to the ER because he had hive spots that weren't responding to Benedryl.  He hadn't eaten or been around anything new that day.  But he does occasionally get them for no reason at all...but this time they were not responding to the Benedryl and some little bumps kept popping up.  It was bedtime and I decided that I was just going to take him in so that I didn't have to worry all night about him.  The hospital here is small and unlike Navy Medical Center Portsmouth(NMCP) when you enter the ER or go to the pharmacy you are called up immediately.  These people are in the back bored out of their minds and jump at a patient coming in!  The Dr. thought that it was a mix of hives and a virus showing in his skin.  So we were in and out in less than an hour.  And all the spots were gone in the morning.  It was new for us to have spots that didn't respond to the Benedryl which makes sense with the Dr. saying he thought it was a virus.  Chicken Pox and Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease is going around young children here on the base as well.

Monday we hung out in the morning because it was the second day of raining(yes the grass I just mowed was now full of growing weeds popping up above the grass).  Then after nap it had stopped raining and we ventured to the P.O. and had six packages waiting for us!  I had to drive around the back to pick them up at the loading dock!  The pump for our pool finally came, which I think we might use this afternoon.  Then we went to the library and returned a few books...and checked out more.  Then it was off to the park next to the water.  It is under a giant shade canopy and face the waterfront.  Noah wanted to swing for most of the hour we were there...just watching the water, boats, and birds.  He loves the sight of water...most likely from looking out the doors in our apartment in VA Beach.  He sat swinging and we talked about everything going on around us...and had a good time playing when he was finally ready to get out of the swing.  Later after supper we headed out on a long walk around the base.  Noah walks the entire way on his own...except the occasional times where I have to pick him up.  He has to hold my hand when we cross the white lines(crosswalks).  He usually does a pretty good job of staying on the sidewalk and not going off on too many "walks to smell the roses".  This time though he was all over the place running and exploring everything.  I know he was excited just to be out again...especially with all the rain we'd been having.  He took a while to go down as well...and kept asking for Zack...and going through the dad is at work earning money thing over and over again.  It's been almost three weeks and he's still holding onto it and hasn't forgotten.  I tell him that daddy loves him and he blows kisses back to Zack.  He also sits on the couch and watches Zack on TV reading him a book.  We did two stories before he left on deployment in May of 2010 and then he made two recordings during this deployment through the Navy program United Through Reading.  So Noah has four total stories of dad reading to him.  He really enjoys it...and this was actually how Noah learned who Zack was and the sound of his voice during the May-Dec. deployment of 2010.

Today(Tuesday)
We did PT Tots this morning and Noah is making friends with a few kids his age.  Today it was a little boy, Kanto(I believe that's the spelling...it's so hard with many spouses being Japanese and then the children usually also have Japanese names).  They had fun playing and sharing together.  He's 17mths old..Noah's 18mths old.  While I was watching Noah play and helping him play...I noticed that in the room there were 20 or so children and parents were speaking...English, Japanese, Spanish, and another language I couldn't identify!  A very diverse group...which is pretty consistent with the base here.  It was one of those days for many of the children and it seemed like at any given time there was a child crying!  Noah did really well and has become familiar with the routine and participated more in the group activities.  Children are not forced to participate but can go and play instead of joining the circle times or parachute....just more practical with children from pre-walking to age 4 all doing the activities.  It's a great program and I'm not sure why more parents don't bring their children.  Later that day we went with a friend to a shop on base that imports items from all around the Pacific...VERY cool place with tons of things I would like to have.  Just a lot of it isn't practical to have around with young children!  I picked up two Chinese/Japanese style silk lanterns from Thailand to hang in Bean's room.  One is pink and other is purple...I'm thinking about having Zack hang them in the corner of the room or above her bed as a mobile...another item on Zack's to do list!  The first being hanging the curtains!  This place is slowly becoming more of a home...it still seems so white though.  I'm thinking that after the curtains are hung it won't seem so white anymore...or I hope so!  And I'm looking forward to not have the sun coming into the room at three in the morning!  I do have a date for Zack coming home...but because of OSPEC I cannot share it...as they say...loose lips sink ships.  And going along with that...during our AOB the NCIS agent came and spoke to us and told us that just like in America there are foreign operatives outside the gate...saying that at that particular time he knew of Russian, Chinese, and North Korean operatives trying to gain information about the base and how it operates.  And he wanted to remind us that we need to watch what we speak about outside of the gates, to taxi drivers, and little old ladies...or anyone that seems to be asking too many questions.  The same was true for Norfolk...the 9/11 terrorists were caught on tape in Norfolk before the attack.  It's hard to think about the reality of the target on the American military...but it does exist.  I've noticed that I now have readers outside of family and friends in foreign countries...so I will continue to be careful about what I post...details about the base, operations, or procedures.