The Face of Number 4,000

Listen, I want you to read part of an article that I recently came across. I cut and paste the political crap out of it because I don't believe it has a place in between paragraphs about a man who died for his country. If you want to read the whole thing you can here. 

Chris Hake was from my hometown in Oklahoma. He was a good person and a patriot. He died for our country on March 28, 2003, in Baghdad. It was Easter Sunday. He left behind a wife and son. He left a hole. Let us not forget him.

"... I want to tell you about number 4,000, because he has a name and he had a wonderful life to come.

His name is Christopher M. Hake. He was a U.S. Army Staff Sargent. More importantly, he was a husband to wife Kelli and a father to 1-year-old son, Gage.

He was from Enid, Oklahoma — and he was 26 years old.

We can’t say for sure that Hake was number 4,000 of our Iraq dead because Pvt. George Delgado, 21, of Palmdale, Calif., Pfc. Andrew J. Habsieger, 22, of Festus, Mo. and Spc. Jose A. Rubio Hernandez, 24, of Mission, Texas all died in a horrible blast earlier this week when, according to the Defense Department, “their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive” in Baghdad.

...

Hake, a graduate of the Oklahoma Bible Academy (OBA), who lived with his wife and infant son near Fort Stewart, GA, was described by grieving family members as a man devoted to his belief that he was helping the Iraqi people and, more than anything, the men with whom he served.

“He was 100 percent sure we should be there, and he talked of the love of the Iraqi people for him and his guys,” said his father, Peter Hake, who also said his son loved the men in his command. “He said they would die for each other, and they did,”

And he had made a quick decision to sign up. The boy described by his father as an “energetic, rambunctious kid” simply went to the military recruiter’s office after he graduated from high school and returned home having enlisted in the Army.

“He got out of high school and didn’t know what to do. I mentioned the service, and I was thinking the Air Force,” Pete Hake said. “He went down to see his recruiter that day and came home and told me he had joined the Army.”

The 26-year-old, who was on his second combat deployment to Iraq, was remembered by his former high school principal as respectful and quiet.

“We saw him go on after graduation in 2000 to show his true heart as a kid who is very devoted. He still had strong ties here at OBA,” said Principal Mark Shuck of the young man who graduated in 2000. “He was an all-American kid. He was ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’ and very respectful. I would use him as an example to other kids as they grow up. He always fit that mode very well.”

“He was quietly compassionate. He generally cared for people.”

Chris Hake had been married for just under three years and his father said going on the second tour of duty in Iraq was an enormously difficult choice — made all the more painful by having to leave his baby son.

“It literally tore his heart out to walk out on that boy,” said Peter Hake. “It made him wish he could be done with the war.”

As do the vast majority of Americans.

...

And near or on number 4,000, we should remember the face of Christopher M. Hake, who died at only 26 years old."

Blind Grandmas and Family Secrets

My aunt died very unexpectedly about 8 years ago. It was incredibly traumatic for everyone and I flew home from Hawaii right away for her service and to be with my family.

While I was at home, my Mima (and my mother's mother), told me to go to her bedroom drawer and grab a velvet pouch. So I gave it to her and she dumped the pouch full of rings into her hand and started feeling them to figure out which was which. My Mima was blind, by the way. She tells me that since I'm the oldest granddaughter, I get first pick of which of these I want to keep.

So she picks up one ring, a yellow gold band, and tells me that this was her father's ring. It was made from Leadville, Colorado gold, the town where he and her mother had settled after marrying, and that it was special because he had served as the sheriff of Leadville, Colorado.

Then she picked up another ring. I wish I could remember the story for that one.

Then she picked up another one. It looked like an engagement ring, to be honest. She told me that this was her mother's ring, but that she never wore it. It was from a man, known to my Mima as Uncle Something-or-Other. Her mother, "Granny Cane" is what we called her by the way, had carried it around in her purse for as long as my Mima could remember, and that the Uncle So-and-So had been around for all the family celebrations and holidays, but she knew that this man wasn't really an uncle.

I took that ring because I thought "There's a story here."

And I found out recently that there might be!

More on this soon.

Unfriended.

Despite the content of this post implying otherwise, I am not a person who keeps track of her FB friends count. I don't ever notice I've been unfriended until I think "I wonder what's up with so-and-so" and I search for their name only to find we aren't friends anymore. Though I do not usually ever unfriend people (the Army is much too small and I am far too voyeuristic), I do not harbor hard feelings about this - I know me, I know I'm a little much for some. I do harbor curious ones, though... I wonder what exactly was the impetus for the unfriending.

Did you just have enough of the potty training talk?
Was it the part where I bemoaned my extra-cushy life as a stay at home mom - the getting nothing done despite having all the time in the world?
The silly things my kids said?
Was it that time I mentioned that Jesus probably loves gay people too?
Was it that time I told you that brown people were people too?
Was it when I mentioned that there was a third political choice between a criminal and a bigot?
Was it that time I told you that while most Americans were at the mall, a small percentage of Americans were still being shot at in lands far from home?
The time I posted that if he builds that wall, I would teach my kids to tear it down?
Social commentary on the anti-vaccine movement?
Or maybe it was my over use of commas?
Sideline commentary?
Randomness?
The ENTIRE 2016 election cycle?

Yall. I see my flaws. But I seriously wouldn't unfriend someone for any of those reasons. Here are the reasons I have unfriended people:
They posted spoilers about The Walking Dead.
They ruined McDreamy's death.
They can't spell literally ANYTHING.
They are know-it-alls.
They only comment to be divisive and never to be uplifting.

Are you deeper than I? Am I just willing to overlook more because I'm so damn nosy? Do I just pick out random things about people to dwell on?

Yes.

#feelslikehome

It occurred to me recently that Erik and I have been married so long that we didn't get to have a wedding hashtag.

I wondered then, what might it have been.

#octoberthenaprilfinallyjuly For all those times the Army threw a wrench in, or downright wrecked our plans?

Could it be #freakingfinally which was the first phrase my sweet friend Katie said to me when we woke up on the morning of my wedding.

What about #plannedinthreeweeks for the amount of time we had to plan after Erik came home from Afghanistan.

I had a few other funny ones pop in my head as I was cooking dinner and thinking about this the other night. But ultimately I settled on #FinallyJorgensen or #feelslikehome, for the most obvious reasons.

Don't know what all the "finally"'s and "octoberthenaprilthenjuly" talk is all about?

Find out here, and here.

Things I've "Read" Lately

Let's just start by saying that I don't "read" things during this season. I listen to them on Audible. Erik says this is not the same, but he is very wrong. If you feel the way he does, just read words instead of listening to them. But seriously, there is something to be said for listening to a book being read BY THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT. They know those pages and the emotion and thoughts contained therein, far better than a random reader does. #AudibleFTW

Currently Reading:

Own The Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus - LOVING it. If I were a fitness fanatic, I'm pretty sure I'd be the female equivalent of this guy. So I guess that means he's abrasive. But I'm obviously fine with it. Tell it to me like it is, Aubrey! But not while my kids are nearby. #howmanytimescanhesayssexinonechapter

Recently Completed:

Robert's Rules, a Quickstart Guide by Clydebank Business. I joined the Spouses Club here on post and am suddenly the Parliamentarian. I am, as you might (not) be surprised to learn, nerdy enough to already have known RROO before this, the book was merely a refresher.

Beneath the Surface by Heidi Perks. This one was for book club. Ole Heidi likes to talk. But it was a good story once it started moving! Pretty safe to listen to while the children are around.

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines. I like Fixer Upper and I like memoirs read by their author(s). Chip Gains kind of exhausts me and this story did not do anything to put me more in his corner. But they seem like fantastic parents and community leaders, and I enjoyed it overall!

Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. I wasn't super into this book. Everyone kept singing it's praises so I kept slogging through. Rachel seems awesome, I want to be her friend. But I wasn't moved until the last chapter. Then I was REALLY moved.

I'm actually kind of proud to have finished 6 books in the last couple of months. Maybe my brain will be less swiss cheese-y soon!