*sigh*

I just realized I have 5 blog entry drafts in the file, some of which have been waiting to be finished for days.  I'll get them done . . . eventually.  Right now, tho', I'm writing Squidboy a long letter.

Speaking of the young'un, he didn't call over the weekend, and we were mightily disappointed.  Well, turns out the holiday screwed up the schedule at Basic -- he called on Monday instead.  When his dad was at work, so he didn't get to talk to our son.  Hopefully, he'll be able to call this coming weekend and talk to his dad.  But the Monday call worked out: Technogeek and I were both home, and it was the first time the two brothers had had a chance to speak to each other since Squid shipped off to Great Lakes.

The latest:

* The worst of Basic is over, now it's more routine for him, and he does sound far more relaxed and a whole lot less homesick.  But he's says he's (in his own words) "going stir-crazy being stuck in one compartment for 20 hours out of 24!"

* He's planning to take leave after Basic is through.  Graduation's Xmas Eve day.  Lovely time to be traveling, with a good chunk of the country on the move for the holiday.  Meh.

* But he may have to stay in the Chicago area "on hold", whatever that means in military lingo.  For us it means we'd be staying in Chicago for awhile in order to visit with him.

* Ordinarily the Navy would pay to ship him to his next duty station (submarine and "A" schools in Groton, CN), but since he's taking leave either he or we will have to pay for his plane ticket.

* His plane ticket will have to be out of ORD (not the major airport nearer us, dammit) since we won't know if he'll be staying in Chicago or coming home until Week Six of Basic, when he gets his orders.  That's the week before graduation.  He has to have a copy of the itinerary for his Petty Officer by 8 Dec or he might not *get* leave.  Inconvenient for us, but necessary for him.  So we may be driving him back to Chicago around the New Year; it'll be much cheaper than a plane ticket from Closer Airport to ORD.

* This also means we won't have any idea whether we'll need a hotel room for one night or a week-plus, not until the week before we actually drive down there.  This doesn't bode well for making reservations.

* We also have to make plans for someone to take care of the cats, the dogs, the birds and the fish if we'll be gone for awhile.  The diabetic cat will be boarded at our vet's so she can receive at least one dose of insulin a day -- but our vet and her office manager need to know how to plan, too!

I just hope I'm in better shape before Squidboy's graduation.  The thought of all those hours in the car, all the traffic we'll be dealing with, and all the people we'll be crammed in with for the ceremony, would be making me twitch even without the returning depression.  BTW, have I ever mentioned how much I really really hate big cities and crowds, even at the best of times?  Good thing I have a terrific therapist to keep me grounded.  After I talked to him yesterday evening, his office called to say he's "found an opening" for me in his schedule tomorrow.  Knowing him, I suspect that's the polite version of  "I'm *making* a spot, get your arse in here!"  Not that he'd necessarily phrase it that way to a patient.  Professional behavior and all that.  LOL  Good guy.  Very much appreciated....