This week is the first of two major family holidays I will miss over the next couple months. I am not new to missing holidays due to the Navy. I was underway in 2006 and 2008 for Thanksgiving. Where ever we are the military makes us a nice meal. Don’t worry I made sure I got my full share of turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, and pie on Thursday. Our dining facility was fully decorated and stocked with Thanksgiving food. Also the Admiral of the Navy Reserves, Vice Admiral McCollum, can to serve us turkey and eat with us. He even attended our monthly Navy night and roasted marshmallows with us. When I asked him if he would take a selfie with me, he said he would be honored. Since I couldn’t be home, the second best thing was spending it with the Navy here in Afghanistan.
What I want to write about this week are pennies from heaven. This is fitting since I first heard about this after my Grandfather Rueden passed away and his birthday is on November 28th. We spent many Thanksgivings celebrating his birthday with everyone at the Scout House in Seymour, WI. When my dad finds a penny lying in a parking lot or in another random place he says, “oh your Grandpa is looking down at us now.” My dad taught his Grandchild to look for pennies from heaven too, and Timyra is the best at finding them. Trust me Grandpa, you are not forgotten and we make sure my babies know your story. Timothy loves trackers and I know one my dad’s most special days was when he took Timothy, TJ, and his brother my Uncle Dean, on a tracker ride on my Grandfather’s John Deere B Tractor. Your memory lives on forever.
When my cousin passed away, I told that story in my blog post called Be Great!, my parent’s sent flowers to the Church with a John Deer Tractor in the bouquet. They did so because one of my mom’s fondest memories of Grant was him riding with my Grandpa VandenLangenberg on his John Deere riding lawn mower. Both of them are now sharing a Thanksgiving table in heaven and we all find comfort knowing they are there together. Over the last 4 years the tractor from the boutique found its way to my house and Timothy takes very good care of that very special John Deere!
Last week when I got to the gym to start my workout I noticed a bright and shiny penny in the arm band I use to store my phone and room key. I immediately smiled and knew this penny was from heaven. I know of at least four amazing people (Grandpa and Grandma Rueden, Grandpa VandenLangenbery, and Grant), up there looking down and making sure I’m safe. This penny was surprising because although we use cash for everything, there are no coins. Instead of coins we are given paper coins that can only be used at military installations. My only explanation for the penny was a small piece of heaven here in Afghanistan.
It certainly sucks being away for the holidays, but as usual we are good at making our own fun and finding joy in each other’s company when we can’t be with our loved ones. Thanksgiving is only celebrated in the United States, for obvious reasons, and our British partners find it funny! To make our own fun we did another virtual race, Run Now / Gobble Later and we ran on Black Friday, which confused our coalition partners even more. So I guess we should have called it Gobble Now / Run Later, since we eat then ran. Besides just being together I loved that one of the U.S. Officers dressed up in an ostrich costume (closest thing he could find to a turkey) and another wore a shirt that said huffin’ for the stuffin’! This time we had pumpkin Oreos to reward our hard efforts of a chit chat 5K. We have a way of keeping each other smiling, which makes every day better even the holidays!
To my loved ones in heaven, keep sending those pennies. There is certainly something comforting knowing someone is looking out for us and these small reminders are always comforting.
Darchelle's Vacation with Uncle Sam 