I Love Our Neighborhood

Rain or shine, the 'gang' of elementary school boys in our neighborhood are out and about doing what little boys do. I'm going to miss it when we leave...

It was so refreshing to see 5 or 6 little boys (with an average of age of about 8.5) sitting in the middle of the driveway eating popsicles yesterday afternoon. (I only wish I'd gotten a picture of it!)

It was refreshing to hear them playing outside. Times have changed, but the games young boys play outside are still the same...cowboys and indians/cops and robbers/star wars/army men...pretty much anything with a hat or helmet and some sort of weapon (toy weapons, of course).

It is refreshing to hear my 8 year old say that he's really going to miss CD when we move. He hasn't been old enough to really experience a military move yet - leaving friends, memories, etc. - I'm dreading the summer months!

It's refreshing to be able to send my 8 year old out the back door and that all he has to do is walk across the neighbor's back yard, cross the street and he's at the school.

It's refreshing to know that when the National Anthem plays at 1700, all the little guys line up, stand at attention and put their hand over their heart...for 2 minutes! A sight to behold. (I need a picture of that too!)

It was refreshing to see my 8 year old hop out of his dinner chair last night, willing to go help a friend look for his Nerf gun, even though he was already "in" for the night. "Where was the last place you had it?" he asked his friend. (He talked him through it as if he'd heard the speech somewhere before! Hmmm...wonder where!)

It is refreshing to see the boys meet up on the way to school in the morning and run across the backyard together. It is equally enjoyable to hear them on their way home in the afternoon.

It is refreshing to have neighbor kids who are respectful and understand that homework or scouts or sports practice or dinner/lunch or even running errands w/Mom takes precedence before being able to play.

I shall enjoy all these things while I can. I hope my boys remember these times and these people! I know I will.

Things Change

I'm not opposed to change, but sometimes I don't like it. Even though there's a move in our near future, that's not the change that's currently on my mind. Lately I've been thinking about how the Air Force, as a way of life, has changed.

Ok, I understand...I'm "old". Old people don't like change! I've been a part of "the greatest Air Force the world has ever known" (to quote a friend) for 19 years. I've seen lots of uniform changes...leadership changes...draw-downs...I've seen airplanes move from active use to the "boneyard" in Tucson...gate guards that used to wear white gloves and had a flair about waving/saluting you through the gate...I could go on and on.

But the topic for me right now is how the AF used to be "a way of life", but now it seems to be more of just a "JOB". (Ok, let the arrows fly...)

I'm not exactly sure when it started happening. When we started out, EVERYONE lived on base. It was the place to be...and, it was affordable. The condition of your home didn't seem to matter as much. Schools didn't seems to be an issue then; we had plenty of senior leaders with older children living on base. We all (all ranks) went to the O'Club on Friday night. (People actually got babysitters and went to the club.) We stuck together...probably because we only had each other. (That hasn't changed...AF people, for the most part, are separated from family.) We used to hang out with people from our squadron(s)/unit. We did stuff together...and enjoyed it!

Somewhere along the line, most of that changed. It seems that more people live off-base now. You can get a way nicer house (compared to base housing) for your BAH. No one goes to the club anymore. (Part of that falls on the clubs - I'll be the first to say, they're not what they used to be.) Nobody wants to hang out with the people they work with.

Let me say this...there is a time in everyone's life/career when they need to step back. They need to take some time for family or themselves or whatever. You can't be involved every month of every assignment. I've been there a couple of times.

But, having said that, it seems like the AF is now just a job, like any other. People drive to the base, do their 8 hours, and drive home. God forbid if there's some sort of "function" or "social" that they have to attend. I understand that people have a life outside of the AF. I know there are school events, sports, church, clubs, etc. We do our fair share of those things too. I'm not saying you have to be best buds with everyone from work, but why is there so much non-participation? There seems to be no desire to make new friendships or to pass along experiences anymore. Are people just more anti-social nowdays? Do they not want to share themselves because they're only going to be there a short time? I'm confused by all of this. I guess it all boils down to individual priorities.

I have some thoughts on spouse programs too, but I think I'll save those for another post.

I can only imagine what the "old folks" at the commissary think about how the AF has changed! Of course, they're not in the daily grind anymore, but I'm sure they still feel it. I look forward to keeping in touch with old friends, going to squadron reunions and running into those old friends at new assignments. I can't wait to be one of those "old" people sharing stories of the good old days!

Grammar

When I logged in to update my blog, I wasn't sure what I was going to write about. But then, I read a couple of updates from my friends, along with comments from their friends. Something jumped out at me. It was proper grammar.

I must admit, I'm not a grammar goddess by any means. I forget whether the quotations go inside or outside the punctuation. I can write a mean run-on sentence. Semi-colons...let's not even go there. Oh, and lately, I've become a huge fan of the ellipse. (That's those 3 periods together - ...) All too often, I begin a sentence with a conjunction, which I believe is a no-no. (And, But and Or - they'll get you pretty far...)

The thing that really bothers me most is when people use the wrong word. For example:

Then vs. Than
Your vs. You're
To vs. Too
There vs. Their
Its vs. It's

Those are the biggies that come to mind. Then vs. Than is one of my favorites - mainly because my husband has a major problem with this one. (I'd love to be able to blame it on the MS, but I don't think that's the problem!)

Then - refers to time.
Than - refers to a comparison

Your - belongs to you
You're - contraction of you are

To - not sure what to call/describe this one, but it's different than...
Too - also

There - a place
Their - belongs to them

Its - belongs to it
It's - contraction of it is

I guess I should thank my 10th grade English teacher. I apparently learned something. While I'm here, I'll point out another trick he taught us: How to pick the appropriate verb to go with a compound subject. For example:

Me and Heidi are going to a scout meeting. WRONG! You wouldn't say "Me are going"; you would say, "I am going."
Heidi and I are going to a scout meeting. RIGHT! Drop one of the parts of the subject and make sure the verb agrees.

Let's switch it up...
Heidi went with Karl and I to a scout meeting. WRONG! You wouldn't say "Heidi went with I to a scout meeting" you would say, "Heidi went with me to a scout meeting." Again, make sure subject/verb agrees.
Heidi went with Karl and me to a scout meeting. RIGHT!

Ok, so now that I've opened myself up for incredible scrutiny, I'm going to stop. I apologize in advance to any English teachers/majors/writing professionals (Greg!) who could spend the rest of their existance analyzing and editing my blog posts!