Defecation occurs...

My oh my, what a week it' s been!
Sinatra said it best in, "That's Life,": You're riding high in April, shot down in May.
The week started off on a pretty high note.  My muscle strain was relatively pain-free, classes were running smoothly, and I earned a 94% on my midterm exam (not bad for a musician taking a test on medical issues, if I do say so myself!).  The friendships we've been forming down here get stronger with each passing day, primarily fueled by our collective griping and complaining and utter confusion regarding some of the ins and outs of Army life...more on that shortly.  Of particular note this past week was that the countdown to my girlies' visit to San Antonio reached single-digit status!  This has been a great motivator for me to keep on track, stay ahead of the learning curve, and do my job as well as possible.  I simply can't wait to greet them when they arrive on Wednesday.
But, oh how things do change rapidly.  Friday dawned (very early at 0345) bright and beautiful; even the expected temperature of 110 degrees wasn't dampening my spirits.  I should have known something was up when the usually fluid schedule began to jump off-track.  We took another exam (this one covered our CBRNE training) Friday morning; not only was it open-note, it was also open-computer.  Too easy, to be sure.  Unfortunately, this bogged down some peoples' test-taking pace to a crawl.  This started a chain reaction of lateness that essentially dorked-up the remainder of the day.  We thought there would get some reprieve when, after our 1:00pm class, we were officially dismissed for the weekend!  We headed back to the hotel, some people making it as far as their shower, when our cell phones started to go ballistic with messages.  We were to return to the auditorium for two more 1-hour class sessions!  ARGH!
The real issue, however, came a few hours later.  As I was having dinner with some colleagues, I noticed a missed call from Kate.  When I finally made contact with her, she calmly informed me that she was on the way to the hospital with my Aunt Kay; she fell from our front porch and sprained, potentially broke, her ankle.  Four weeks in an air cast and on crutches...all while playing single mom while daddy plays soldier-boy.  Dear, sweet heaven, can't anything ever come easily?  She will be going to the doctor's office Monday morning for a more in-depth exam, and hopefully the recovery will move along more quickly than my CBRNE test.  Please keep the family in your throughts and prayers, and please drop by the house (if you are willing and able) to spend some time with the ladies.  Meredith is already getting pretty bored, since mommy can't drive the family anywhere!  Play dates are always encouraged!
To all of my dear friends and family, I thank you for all you've done for us.  I wish you all happiness, safety, and, most importantly...
Peace.