Today I’m foregoing a Riger’s Digest post to bring you up to speed with our current happenings to wish a Happy 31st Birthday to my most trusted friend, lover, confidant, resident comedian, assistant dog walker, grilled cheese maker, companion, workout partner, lawn mower, auto mechanic, personal fashion stylist (no joke), financial planner, hero and husband, Don. 

 And many more, dear.

Maybe that title is a little much, but if you were in my spine right now you’d probably appreciate the play on words too.  Since Thursday I’ve been struggling with lower back pain that has resulted in my missing almost 3 full days of work and my husband has learned the true meaning of his vow to love me “for better or for worse” as he’s had to practically carry me to the bathroom to…ahem… pee and such, while I’m shrieking and writhing in pain.  Oh, the tremendous joy of growing older. 

Today I made a triumphant attempt to return to work, but realized it wasn’t going to work out when one of my clients had to help me out of a chair and hobble to my car.  I wasn’t comfortable with being dependent on my client–it sort of changed the whole client/social worker relationship.  Yes,  I did drive home when I probably shouldn’t have, but I made it back to Boise by sheer will.

I’ve been to a Chiropractor the last couple of days.  He took X-Rays on Monday which revealed that one of the invertebral discs in my lower spine is compressed and is causing chronic pain and numbness in my right leg and toes, here’s a visual aid for you.  Dr. Oakes says that it’s quite possible that I injured it a while ago and that my body has done all it could to compensate  When I told him how active I have been in the last few months (have I mentioned I’ve taken up tennis?) he said that it’s possible not to have any symptoms.  He explained that one slight move could basically overload the system and result in my current state.  All that I remember doing Thursday was push a little girl on a swing at a park and the pain has become worse everyday since then. 

There are moments I find myself in rather humorous situations, like the funny looks I got from a lady today in a parking lot while I crawled into the front seat of my car groaning and breathing heavily, or when I dropped all of of my change on the floor at a gas station and turned to the guy behind me and told him- “Hey, it’s your lucky day!” because there was no way I could have stood up after picking up the coins.

I’m glad to know that my inflamed invertebral disc is helping to stimulate our economy.  I may even sleep better tonight.  Maybe.

Things are starting to feel a little more like normal, and since we have computer access at home now I thought I’d bring you all up to speed.  Our much anticipated reunion in San Francisco was sweet and Don carried my beloved teddy bear “Teddy” all the way from Germany so that I could have that bear hug I mentioned (he does read this thing after all–oops!).  We had a lot of fun as we spent the weekend in San Jose and enjoyed beautiful weather, even better food, and a great weekend visiting with Mom Riger, which included a trip over the hill to Santa Cruz where we enjoyed a perfect Santa Cruz day.

We flew home a week ago Sunday and are slowly getting to know our new home together.  This is the most time Don has ever spent on his own in Idaho (ever) and I am finding his first impressions of living here to be quite amusing.  It’s interesting to hear him share what he’s seen and heard from his daily excursions around our mini city.  My favorite thing to do is to listen to his comments while watching the local news where the top story of the day usually includes a live reporter providing the play by play of a moped accident and the exclusive interview with the owner of Scooters of Boise,  or the traffic report at 6:30 a.m. that includes a camera shot of 2 cars in 3 lanes of traffic.  If you’ve ever met Don you can probably imagine his dry humor commentary- it certainly has me cracking up.

Today the first of two house hold shipments arrived which included some of our clothing, a few kitchen items and our television set.  This shipment is called unaccompanied baggage and is sent back to the states by air cargo and delivered faster to help military families get by until the rest of their belongings arrive, so they don’t have to buy things they already own.  The expected delivery date for the rest of our worldly belongings is May 18 or 19, which can’t come quick enough as we’ve had enough of the two of us sleeping on a full size mattress- WE WANT OUR CALIFORNIA KING TEMPUR-PEDIC MATTRESS!!! WHAAA!!!

Nook is home with us as well and adjusting quickly- who knows his Mommy and Daddy?  He loves his daily walks along the Boise River and likes to sneak up on every Canada Goose or Wood Duck  he comes across that make their home along the banks of the river.  I have taken a few pictures which I will get around to loading- it’s just not that high on the list of priorities these days.

For the most part we are content with our decision to make our home in Boise and are looking forward to meeting new friends, finding a church we can relate to and grow with and, in good time, find an old home of our own to live in and fix up together (preferably one without 2 squirrels living in the attic).  For now, we like things the way they are and for the first time as husband and wife we have the freedom to make our own decisions, not what Uncle Sam tells us to do.

 

Gentle readers, I have an update for you!

On Saturday I will have been in the States for two months.  During that time I’ve spoken with Don maybe five or six times due to an eight hour time difference and unpredictable work schedules.  It’s been tough on both of us, we had more contact when he was deployed for four months in 2004.  The other day I realized that in the business of my life here, with work and other responsibilities I hadn’t spoken to Don in over a week and really hadn’t noticed that much time had passed.  It sort of freaked me out.  I had to ask myself, “I do miss him, right?”  I’ll be honest, I like being independent.  There is something empowering knowing that I am still my own person and I can live life and thrive on my own.  It is one of my greatest fears that I’ll become so dependent on someone that what defines who I am is unclear.  However, this experience has taught me that I can take it to the extreme and detach from circumstances that are painful, like being separated from my husband.   

If I could put all of this into words I think the best way to describe the last few months for me is as a long distance race.  In Junior High school I ran track and field.  I wasn’t very good (I don’t believe I ever finished in the top five) but I gained a real appreciation for the sport that has carried on to my adult years.  I still enjoy running, this time just for fun.  In track I ran the mile relay (a quarter mile sprint) and the 1 mile.  I never liked the mile relay, probably because I don’t like sprinting especially for 400 yards! There was always a conversation going on inside of me when I would reach for the baton and begin my lap around the track that went something like this “Ugh, how big is this freaking track, anyway?” or “I really hate this race.” The last turn on the track towards the finish line was my least favorite part of the entire race.  It seemed like the moment I saw the finish line my body started to shut down, my legs felt like lead and each step became harder than the last. 

I enjoyed the distance races a lot more.  One of my coaches told me that I made a good distance runner because I could set a steady pace and maintain it and still have energy left at the end so I could finish strong.  The last few months have kind of felt like that.  There have been many moments I’ve had to tell myself to “Maintain, Robin. Just keep moving forward and the end will come,” especially when I wake up at night and reach for Don’s hand that isn’t there, or at the end of a long day when all I want is one of his really good bear hugs.  I do miss him.  A lot.   In just a few weeks Don will be here and this time apart will be behind us. I can’t wait to have my family back. 

Today the movers in Germany packed up our belongs into large wooden crates which will be loaded onto a boat that will travel across the Atlantic to the east coast. Then they will be driven across the U.S. and delivered sometime in the next 2 months or so. That’s if they don’t get lost, stolen, or fall off the boat into the water (which actually happened to my friend Edith when she moved to Germany from Hawaii).

The good news is that we have an address to ship our belongings to. Last week I found a great house for us to rent (for the time being) in the Northend, (my favorite part of Boise) and our street has access to the Boise River “Greenbelt”.  It was a little unnerving signing a lease on a house that Don has never seen, but I feel pretty confident that he will like the fact that he can go fishing on the Boise River which is about 5 minutes from our front door.  It’s also pet friendly, and we have a good sized fenced yard that Nook will be able to explore soon.

Don and I had countless conversations about this time and why we felt it was the best plan for our long term goals.  I still feel like it was worth it and things have worked out just as we hoped.  I’m just glad it’s almost over!

Hi. I guess I’ve been absent for awhile and before I lose all of my readers (all 2 of you) I guess I should write a little something.

My life is in such a strange place right now, I’m not quite sure what to write about!  I’m a married woman living a life that is reminiscent of my single years minus the dating scene. Wait, I didn’t really date then either!  I don’t really have a place that is mine, I kind of just wander from one place to another.   It’s really strange being so cut off from Don, we actually have to schedule time when we can talk on the phone. We try to make contact at least once a week, but even that is a challenge since we both work full time and we have an 8 hour time difference to work around. 

Don is counting the days he leaves (literally).  He can tell you how many days and hours he has left.  He is keeping himself busy too, he has several projects around the house like going through all of his boxes and weeding out things he a) never uses and probably forgot he had, or b) things he never uses remembers he has but I told him he needs to get rid of it.  Did I tell you about the bazillion pairs of military issue long underwear he owns?  He’s also sold both of our cars- the “Thunder Chicken” our old 93 Thunderbird that has it’s own personality and our “nice” car, the Escort lovingly named the “Ghetto Wagon.”   We also call them our get out of debt cars and they have served us well, although we will not miss them.   I can tell he is starting to get excited about leaving and getting settled in Boise.  He’s already researching how long he needs to be a resident of Idaho so he can get a hunting and fishing license.

It’s good that I have a job now, there is much to learn and the work itself keeps keeps my mind off of missing him (you really don’t want to see desperately bored & unemployed Robin).  

So far I’m really enjoying the challenge of my work.  In some ways I feel like I have come back to the niche I felt when I worked at Advent in California.  I’ve already had to reach back to my experiences there with several of my clients already.  I am VERY limited in what I can share about my work here.  Let’s just say soon I’ll have a great collection of bizarre stories to share at dinner parties, if I ever go to one.

I haven’t counted it up, but I think we are close to halfway through this odd life transition and separation.  Don is scheduled to be back in the States the first week of April.  So far, it has been more than bearable thanks to friends and family that have opened their homes and made me feel so welcome.  I know I wouldn’t be in as good of shape as I am without their help.   I am very grateful.

This blog has become more of a message board of late, but a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks since I landed in the States and I want to share it with you.  Nook has settled in quickly to his temporary home at my parents and has bonded with their dog Annie.  Aside from a rawhide bone fiasco the first few days after Nook joined the household (Nook actually slept ON his bone to keep it from Annie) they have become buddies.  I’ve seen a new side of him too-  Nook: The Hunter.  My parents have a one acre property and most of it (except for an old horse corral in the back) is a huge yard.  My Dad has planted a lot of trees and bushes in the last ten years  and it looks more like a park than a yard.  Nook loves to wander through the bushes and the foot of snow we have right now hunting for birds, rabbits, quail and stray cats. One little bird perished but we managed to pry it from his paws before he completely grossed me out.  He will spend hours outside everyday and unfortunately wants to spend hours outside every night.  Last night the two of us had a standoff after he kept me up half the night asking to be let outside, then inside, then outside again….you get the idea.

 As far as the place to live and job search goes, I’ve got a lot to tell you!   I think I mentioned I had an interview scheduled in Coeur d’ Alene a few days after I arrived in Idaho.  After spending time with family and good friends and a couple of long conversations with Don over the phone I decided to cancel my interview in Northern Idaho and focus my job search to Boise.  All I can say is that it really felt good to be home, to be with people who really know me (and love me anyway).  Boise has changed so much in the last 9 years I began to see it in a new light and the thought of leaving it all again didn’t feel right.  My very supportive husband helped me process it all by phone and we agreed that we’d like to give Boise a shot.  Don has always been fond of this area for it’s outdoor recreational opportunities, he’s a fisherman and a bird-hunter (hmm…like father like son?) and is looking forward to weekends spent together exploring the mountains, marshes and streams in the area.  Boise also offers the same education programs as the Spokane area, so Don was pretty flexible when it came to staying in Boise.

I realized I was taking a pretty big risk by canceling an interview without any other job prospects in Boise, but I am very excited to report that less than a week after my scheduled trip to Coeur d’ Alene I received a call from another agency in Boise for a similar position.  Last Thursday I interviewed with Affinty, Inc. and was offered a position as a PSR or Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist on Monday.  For those of you freaked out a little by the title of my job, let me explain.  Psychosocial Rehabilitation is a relatively new approach to working with adults and children diagnosed with mental illness. Treatment focuses on the whole person and includes the home and community they live in.  PSR’s meet weekly with clients and work together to address issues of symptom management, family relationships, financial management, independent living skills and socialization skills.  I was looking for an opportunity to work one on one with individuals again, and I am very excited about this agency’s commitment to working with and empowering clients in their own home and community environments, as opposed to living in a group home isolated from family and community support or challenges.

The next couple of months will be busy for me as I jump in to a new job (and relearn the streets of Boise).  I’m really excited about our future here in southern Idaho and can’t wait for the day that Don comes home.