Waiting

We wait. James is waiting to sign official papers with the Army tomorrow after the official grades are “in”.

I rode with James today as he tried to exchange uniform (ACUs) pants that were too big. But the old Carlswell AFB now called Joint Something, did not have the mediums. Nice clerk allowed us to buy $45 worth in underware and socks. And special, yet cheap, cold water detergent for the ACUs. Getting on the base/fort is a hoot. First you go to a visitor’s center. And there you get on a list. They only have so many clerks and so many retired folks wanting at the commissary. You have to show your ID and drivers license. And proof of registration/insurance and then show them to the uniformed gal at the gate.

One last visit to Angelos for ribs. Hitting them at 2pm is the way to go. NO line. Whoop. The best ribs. No more coolers. They have a drink machine now. Modernizing after fifty years.

The stacks begin for packing. Washer and dryer are humming/squeaking as I get the last of his underware and clothing done up. He likes the navy colored towels, too. So, soon as they are dry, I will add them to the stacks.

James purchased a three-piece hinged top for his pickup. Now he can haul more stuff, and use it as storage wherever he goes. It is not one hundred percent water/rain proof. The salesman said more like 80 per cent. A “coffin” top might have been cooler, but more expensive. I have some bins he can use to keep stuff dry, and I also bought him some extra big zip lock baggies. The Fort Knox and the Fort Sill packing lists are similar, he says, but most stuff will wait in his bedroom at home for the longer stays at Fort Leonard Wood, and the final destination of Fort Sill. Hopefully, then, he can take it all, or store it in our little house shed out back if/when he is deployed.

So, we wait. We wait for grades. And as soon as the ROTC department has said grades, and says he has passed everything, then, he will sign papers, pack the truck, and head north. He hopes to stay with big brother over the weekend before reporting to Fort Knox.

Worst case scenario---if the grades indicate he needs three more hours of something, then all this changes, and he will enroll in the class he needs and study some more. And the stacks will be put in the closet for an August departure.

So we wait. Bob will be home soon. In thirty minutes or so. The clothes in the dryer will need folding, and the ones in the washer transferred to the dryer but then hung up so they don’t wrinkle. And we will go to church. And James will go to his dance class in Fort Worth one last time or one more time?

What does James watch while he waits? Some Monty Python. And now, GONE WITH THE WIND. I kid you not.

We wait. And go to church, Wednesday night Bible Study. And after, get an ice cream cone. What will tomorrow bring?