Stuck in Oklahoma City

Once again, I could go on and on about the weather, but then I would be breaking my New Years resolution of not complaining about the weather! I was supposed to fly out Saturday evening along with Jim & Karla, but Mother Nature decided we needed more time to visit with Dave and his family! We woke to more ice slamming against the windows this morning. It's really looking bad out there, so we're not really sure when we'll all be able to fly to our respective homes.

That's OK though, there are worse things that could happen than to be stuck with some very good friends for a day or two!!! We get so little time to spend together, this is a welcomed catch-up!!

Here's a few pictures from after the retirement ceremony. We all came back to Dave & Suzan's house for a little get-together. Jim & Karla had brought one of Dave's favorite tasty beverages- Strongbow Hard Cider. It was the beverage of choice when our crew would go out in Hania back when we deployed to Souda Bay, Greece. Apparently there are some pretty stict liquor laws here in Oklahoma and Dave can't get it here. Needless to say, he shared his bounty and there was none left by the end of the night!

Even with the intimidating weather, quite a few shipmates came out for the get-together. It was pretty cool to be here and have two phases of my life come together. When I was in my first squadron (VP-17) in Hawaii in the early 90s, all my friends there knew me as a married woman. By the time I had moved on to my next squadron (VQ-2), I was divorced and all my new shipmates only knew me as a single petty officer. As I found out a long time ago, the world is a pretty small place. One of the side boys in Dave's ceremony, Russ, was stationed in Hawaii at the same time I was. His wife, Audrey, was in the AT shop with me in VP-17. She's out of the Navy now and is here in Oklahoma City with Russ and their two kids Bradley and Melanie (group picture). Audrey and I carried on like there was never a 9 year break in seeing each other!

So, lots of stories were told, both good and bad. From embarrasing birthday parties and blender sports to plane crashes and nerve-racking missions, the good and bad stories of our Navy lives were relived. Just like any group of friends, we've gone through a lot together personally and professionally. We were lucky enough to have exotic locales like Crete, Greece and Diego Garcia as the backdrop for our escapades!

OK, back to my day of lounging around and visiting! I hope this post inspires you to call an old friend out of the blue. I truly believe that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. We make some friends who are meant to serve a specific need at a specific point in our lives. They aren't really meant to be life-long friends, but are important to both our's and their emotional growth nontheless. Then there are the friends who come into our lives and continue to fulfill a need through all the phases of our lives. Don't take those folks for granted! Make a point to keep in touch with them. You never know when it may be time for you to serve a need in their lives or they in yours.