Expletive

If I were the cursing type there would be a whole slew of them used adjectivally before the word 'Army'.

Sam called me today. I was excited because he is supposed to come home tomorrow and I thought he was just on break from his out processing stuff. Well, he was on break, but his reason for calling me was not for a happy, "Hi, how are you?" conversation.

Sam's boss' boss hand picked Sam to stay as the S-6 (whatever that means) indefinitely up in Northern California. That means while everyone else in Sam's unit gets to go home, he has to stay up there and perform the duties of a Major. He had no choice in the matter. Never mind you that Sam is still a 1st LT because the state hasn't bothered getting off of their butts to process his promotion packet which he put in 6 months ago (he's been slotted for a Captain since December). His boss is a Major, but they aren't making him stay. They are royally screwing over Sam and our family right now. Especially because I have to go up to camp in a week and a half with the kiddos (it's part of my job) and right now I am up the creek because I don't have childcare. They told Sam that they would provide childcare, but there is no way that I am leaving my 2 year old with a stranger for a week. It's bad enough that he feels abandoned by daddy, he doesn't need to feel that way about mommy too.

To top all of that off, not thirty minutes after that phone conversation I experienced my first earthquake. 5.4 on the scale and it freaked me out. Things crashed down around us, I heard glass breaking (my neighbors, I think) and my world literally was rocked. I grabbed Nathaniel and ran to the doorway. We're okay and nothing is damaged, it just freaked me out. Not very fun. It was weird. At first I thought that a truck had dropped something (you know when the garbage truck bangs loudly and your windows shake?) but then the boom happened again and everything started shaking and falling. By the time I got to the doorway everything was swaying. That part was nice, but still. I don't like that feeling in my house!

All in all, what a crappy day. I won't even get into the weirdo at the park who started to approach my son...blah!