Old Year Gone

It has been an interesting and busy year.

Can it be said I changed professions? This year I have ceased being a university professor but have become a high school teacher. Both are teachers but, in many ways, they are very different. In university, you teach adults who should already have a foundation of the subject matter. There is the expectation of basic subject matter knowledge. There is always the exception. A high school student begins as a blank slate. It is up to the teacher to build the foundation that university will build upon. I think I prefer the high school student. An empty glass is easier to fill with necessary information.

Jared attained one of his goals this year. He assumed command of a US Navy destroyer. My emotions are mixed. I am proud of him and his accomplishment yet commanding a destroyer takes him away more often and for longer times. A cruiser is an independent ship. A destroyer follows an aircraft carrier so when the carrier sails, so too does the destroyer.

Last year, I was a disaster. I did not do deployment well, acting as a brand-new sailor’s wife. I could not even blame pregnancy or menopause. I have done much better this year. I still missed him. I still got lonely. I think that somehow, working on base helped. I remained rooted in all things navy. A civilian environment sets one up to think civilian. Civilian life vs. navy life never blends well.

I discovered I had cancer this year. I had some small tumors in my thyroid. I probably could have dealt with them earlier if I had gone to the doctor when I first felt the lump in my throat. I think the worst part of all of it was the biopsy. I was repeatedly stabbed in the throat with a needle. It was not painful, but it was uncomfortable. Even then, they only located one tumor. The second was not found until the surgery. The plan was to remove the entire thyroid so the second being discovered was not an issue. Now I am only checked to ensure there is not return. I still have not seen the endocrinologist. That is not until Jan 30. That is when I may get an iodine pill.

Everything else around here has been wonderful. Chao lei and Jun are doing well. Chao lei has been learning piano and is doing well. He does say he would like to learn drums next. I think he is becoming bored with piano. Jun I will relax with if only we can convince her she need not be such a daredevil. I have found her with a chair stacked on another so that she could reach the cookie jar which is kept high up so she will not eat them all in one sitting as she is known to do with many foods. No package of cherry tomatoes is safe! She is an arts and crafts type of girl though. I do not know who she got that from. She is a master of the glue gun. I know what one looks like. And I am not responsible for what she does to you if you touch her supplies.

Pickled green beans. A friend introduced me to them and taught me to make them and I do. Often. My greatest test everyday is to pass by the pantry and not open a jar. The children will eat them if I have a jar open and they are satisfied with that. I am addicted. Anything less than 6 jars and I make more. If the commissary is out of dill, I panic. Sad, out of season beans are used in the off-season because sad beans are better than no beans.

So, it has not been a very interesting year, but it has been busy. Jared is now a captain. I am now a high school teacher. My children continue to grow and challenge me. It was a good year.