Yokosuka Gazette 10/4/13
Rachel here, reporting from the futurrrreee...
Well, it's Friday here in rainy, gray, alternating hot/cold Yokosuka. What have we been up to all week? I promise you, it is less exciting than an episode of "Dance Moms", but slightly more exciting than the news.
First, let's discuss the news. We're in this tiny pocket of America over here, the pot pie of Yokosuka, a place so connected with the US Government that they need to put stickers all over place, reminding us that all we see is Property U.S. Government. My husband is here at the request of our government and that means that I am here and my children are here...all because of the government.
And so we waited to see if the government would shut down and how that would affect us.
And the government shut down...but we are still up and running in Yokosuka. The work here is mission essential. The worst that I've heard so far is that our commissary has told some employees to stay home. When I went shopping yesterday, there were two registers open. The bagger who brought my groceries out to the car told me that they were furloughing some of their employees. We have some issues in our commissary with shelves being stocked, so this will affect the availability of products. For example, there was no yogurt yesterday. I know, first world problems, right? Except that my kids really, really like yogurt and who knows what could happen next? Maybe next week there's no milk. The Japanese don't really drink milk, so we can't just bop over to the Japanese grocery store and buy our essentials.
I don't think the kids would take kindly to eating squid.
Anyway, I'm very thankful that our commissary is open as rumors are swirling that one of the effects of the shutdown will be closure of commissaries in the States. In the States, it's not "as big" of a deal, though in Norfolk, commissary prices were usually well below regular grocery store prices. For young enlisted folks, that price difference can mean a lot. It's these young people that I worry about most at times like this. People just starting out, married young with a couple of children who haven't put aside any savings. One cycle without a paycheck could be something that takes them a year to recover from.
Let's just pray that we continue to get paid.
For a moment, I worried that the shutdown might mean that Hans couldn't fly on Saturday, but he has reassured me that his ticket appears to be funded and that he will be here. I told him to just go ahead and whip out the credit card if he gets to the desk and the ticket isn't funded.
Sigh.
Back to our week. Will went back to Sara's again this week and had a wonderful time. We are loving her! No complaints about his behavior--I used to get the same mind-blowing reports for Annika. "Oh, she was so good today, so helpful". Uh, MY kid? I'm getting the same reports for Will. So far, so good. I'm so thankful that I have time to sit with Will at home, teaching him how to write and read and that he can go to Sara's and get that social component that he's missing out on by not attending preschool. One way or another, he's going to get what he needs. He has had an explosion of learning again lately and is writing like crazy and figuring out phonics. Next stop, reading.
Annika and Josiah are doing well in school...I spoke with Josiah's teacher yesterday. I had inquired at the school about switching Josiah to a regular fourth grade class. I won't bore you with the reasons, but Mrs. Smith and I had a long discussion and I think we got things straightened out. Josiah started with gifted services yesterday, so I hope that will help. I wish they just had a gifted classroom, like they have special services for kids that are behind the curve. I wish I didn't feel the need to feel slightly shy about telling people that I have a gifted child--wouldn't want to come off as bragging, right? I wish that there was a magical gifted classroom where kids like Josiah could gather, do their regular curriculum and then put their heads together to build a scale model of Hagia Sophia or spend the afternoon gathering things to look at under the microscope. I hate that Josiah gets confined to the curriculum and only gets to stretch a little when he's pulled out for gifted services.
Does such a magical school exist? Maybe when we get back to the States...I just hope that his thirst for knowledge isn't snuffed by then.
Monday was my day off, so I had lunch with a friend at that Indian place again. Afterwards, I went jewelry shopping. I bought this:
My wedding band was on the verge of snapping and had lost a stone somewhere along the journey, so it was time for a new one. That is my engagement ring in the middle, the ring I bought is a wrap, so my engagement ring fits in between the two rings. I had been wanting a band for 10 years, so I killed two birds with one stone. AND it was on sale, whoo-hoo! Now, if I could just do something about my man hands. Sheesh...look at the size of my caveman knuckles. Getting rings on and off is a pain and if I can fit it over my knuckle, then it doesn't stay put at the base of my finger. It's a problem people!!
The rest of the week has been the usual: school, trips to the library, trips to the commissary. House cleaning, laundry, playdates at the park. The kids have early dismissal again today--11:00, so if the weather clears up, we may go and slide on the hill again. Tomorrow is the big bazaar--I have a sitter coming for a couple of hours so that my neighbor and I can walk over sans children. Whee! Last time I went to the big bazaar, it was just before we left Yokosuka and I was pushing The Train (aka: the Graco double stroller) up the eight floors of the parking garage. If you look back on this blog to July 2006, you can probably read about it.
Hmmm, something else exciting is happening this weekend....oh yeah, HANS gets home on Sunday night! Everyone is getting squirrelly with excitement.
See you next week!
Well, it's Friday here in rainy, gray, alternating hot/cold Yokosuka. What have we been up to all week? I promise you, it is less exciting than an episode of "Dance Moms", but slightly more exciting than the news.
First, let's discuss the news. We're in this tiny pocket of America over here, the pot pie of Yokosuka, a place so connected with the US Government that they need to put stickers all over place, reminding us that all we see is Property U.S. Government. My husband is here at the request of our government and that means that I am here and my children are here...all because of the government.
And so we waited to see if the government would shut down and how that would affect us.
And the government shut down...but we are still up and running in Yokosuka. The work here is mission essential. The worst that I've heard so far is that our commissary has told some employees to stay home. When I went shopping yesterday, there were two registers open. The bagger who brought my groceries out to the car told me that they were furloughing some of their employees. We have some issues in our commissary with shelves being stocked, so this will affect the availability of products. For example, there was no yogurt yesterday. I know, first world problems, right? Except that my kids really, really like yogurt and who knows what could happen next? Maybe next week there's no milk. The Japanese don't really drink milk, so we can't just bop over to the Japanese grocery store and buy our essentials.
I don't think the kids would take kindly to eating squid.
Anyway, I'm very thankful that our commissary is open as rumors are swirling that one of the effects of the shutdown will be closure of commissaries in the States. In the States, it's not "as big" of a deal, though in Norfolk, commissary prices were usually well below regular grocery store prices. For young enlisted folks, that price difference can mean a lot. It's these young people that I worry about most at times like this. People just starting out, married young with a couple of children who haven't put aside any savings. One cycle without a paycheck could be something that takes them a year to recover from.
Let's just pray that we continue to get paid.
For a moment, I worried that the shutdown might mean that Hans couldn't fly on Saturday, but he has reassured me that his ticket appears to be funded and that he will be here. I told him to just go ahead and whip out the credit card if he gets to the desk and the ticket isn't funded.
Sigh.
Back to our week. Will went back to Sara's again this week and had a wonderful time. We are loving her! No complaints about his behavior--I used to get the same mind-blowing reports for Annika. "Oh, she was so good today, so helpful". Uh, MY kid? I'm getting the same reports for Will. So far, so good. I'm so thankful that I have time to sit with Will at home, teaching him how to write and read and that he can go to Sara's and get that social component that he's missing out on by not attending preschool. One way or another, he's going to get what he needs. He has had an explosion of learning again lately and is writing like crazy and figuring out phonics. Next stop, reading.
Annika and Josiah are doing well in school...I spoke with Josiah's teacher yesterday. I had inquired at the school about switching Josiah to a regular fourth grade class. I won't bore you with the reasons, but Mrs. Smith and I had a long discussion and I think we got things straightened out. Josiah started with gifted services yesterday, so I hope that will help. I wish they just had a gifted classroom, like they have special services for kids that are behind the curve. I wish I didn't feel the need to feel slightly shy about telling people that I have a gifted child--wouldn't want to come off as bragging, right? I wish that there was a magical gifted classroom where kids like Josiah could gather, do their regular curriculum and then put their heads together to build a scale model of Hagia Sophia or spend the afternoon gathering things to look at under the microscope. I hate that Josiah gets confined to the curriculum and only gets to stretch a little when he's pulled out for gifted services.
Does such a magical school exist? Maybe when we get back to the States...I just hope that his thirst for knowledge isn't snuffed by then.
Monday was my day off, so I had lunch with a friend at that Indian place again. Afterwards, I went jewelry shopping. I bought this:
My wedding band was on the verge of snapping and had lost a stone somewhere along the journey, so it was time for a new one. That is my engagement ring in the middle, the ring I bought is a wrap, so my engagement ring fits in between the two rings. I had been wanting a band for 10 years, so I killed two birds with one stone. AND it was on sale, whoo-hoo! Now, if I could just do something about my man hands. Sheesh...look at the size of my caveman knuckles. Getting rings on and off is a pain and if I can fit it over my knuckle, then it doesn't stay put at the base of my finger. It's a problem people!!
The rest of the week has been the usual: school, trips to the library, trips to the commissary. House cleaning, laundry, playdates at the park. The kids have early dismissal again today--11:00, so if the weather clears up, we may go and slide on the hill again. Tomorrow is the big bazaar--I have a sitter coming for a couple of hours so that my neighbor and I can walk over sans children. Whee! Last time I went to the big bazaar, it was just before we left Yokosuka and I was pushing The Train (aka: the Graco double stroller) up the eight floors of the parking garage. If you look back on this blog to July 2006, you can probably read about it.
Hmmm, something else exciting is happening this weekend....oh yeah, HANS gets home on Sunday night! Everyone is getting squirrelly with excitement.
See you next week!
Comments
Also, it was fun hearing how the kids are doing in school. I'm glad Josiah is being pulled out even once and awhile. Glad that Annika and Will are doing great, too.
Finally, your rings are beautiful, as are your hands. Your hands care for my son and grandkids—keeping them fed, clean, and loved. This is huge! Thank you, Rachel.