Thursday, March 4, 2010

Hello, March! Have you seen February?

So I'm noticing that my blogging record is poor, at best!, so far this year.. I guess that means I haven't had a lot of drama to report? Maybe,?? Maybe not!! Take this morning, for instance. It started out relatively well (unless you count Clayton NOT shutting the bathroom door when he took his shower at 6:00. That light can be a killer.. I am very particular about dark bedrooms while it's still a possibility these days. I digress..). The kids and I were all dressed and ready to go with 15 minutes to spare, no small feat. I was debating putting on some water for tea-on-the-go when my phone rang. I answered and it was someone from Clayton's work.. hmm, what shall I call him that I won't be embarrassed for one of my Grandmothers to read??? (thinking to self: "hmmm, no that one won't work... um, oh, not that one either... for SURE not that one..") So I'll just go with "Moose Poop for Brains" or MPB, if you don't mind... So, it's MPB. At 8:30 AM. Looking for Clayton. Who has been gone to work for nearly 2 hours. MPB asks for Fokker (naturally). I manage to keep ALL TRACES OF IRRITATION out of my voice when I say, oh-so-pleasantly, "He's SOF this morning. He should be in the SOF tower"... all the while thinking "I know this because I saw the schedule.. You're a pilot, you have the same schedule.. LOOK AT IT!". SOOOO, MPB tells me "Well, I've tried him on his cell and he didn't answer (try telling me something I don't already know). And he's not at the SOF desk". So, I say to him in a less kindly voice "So are you telling me that Clayton didn't show up for work this morning?" And MPB says "No. He hasn't been to work yet." SO I SAY "Well, MPB, you have more ways for getting hold of him than I do. What do you suggest I do?" (meanwhile, I do believe I've adopted my more panicked-yet-trying-to-remain-calm voice.. which has NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on dear MPB). Not surprisingly, he has nothing to say for himself so I hang up.... I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. .. We all know that Clayton NEVER answers his cell phone (not even sure why he has one) and I do not have any numbers for him at work.. (you don't have to believe that, but it doesn't make it any less true) The weather wasn't horrible but it was starting to snow so I'm picturing the car in a ditch... And as the seconds tick by, the scenarios in my brain get wilder. So what did I do? I'll tell you:

First, I called Kamdon who tried to assure me that if he was dead, the DPS would have already called. And that someone would have surely called if he hadn't shown up for his SOF tour. I wasn't feeling that rational so I went on to plan B.

What's that, you ask? I drove the highway to the base to see if his car had gone off the road.
(It hadn't)

Next step, done while driving, I called my super awesome cousin Monty, who happens to be an airfield manager at Elmendorf... He was taking a rank test so he couldn't answer right away.. but when he got my message he tracked Clayton down... in the SOF tower. Not only that, he confirmed that he had indeed been there all morning, took the AM brief on time. Amazing what can happen when one knows one's hind-quarters from a hole in the ground! (THANK YOU MONTY!)

Meanwhile, I'm late for my Bible study because I'm looking for cars in the ditch all the way in Anchorage.. But thankfully Clayton was alive and well, ON TIME AND PRESENT in the SOF tower unaware of all the drama (however, you can be sure that he's going to get an earful when he comes home tonight). It reminded me to be thankful for save travels...once again!

What is the moral of this story? Caller ID is there for a reason. Don't answer the phone in the morning, when you're on your way out the door, unless it's Kamdon saying she can't pick up the coffees before Bible Study. MPB can continue to spin his wheels looking for the needle in the haystack just like I always do. The other moral of the story is that I have got to relax! SERIOUSLY! I'm still not sure what exactly triggered the panic.. but it pretty much sucked :(

On an entirely different note, Kara's spring break starts tomorrow. We've got a quick overnighter planned to Girdwood. Should get some good skiing in. I may even take another lesson if I'm feeling daring enough. Other than that, there's nothing really on the menu for her week off. If anything really interesting happens, I'll be sure to post.

We're (the kids and I) really missing the AZ cousins!! Kara and Clay have both asked when they'll see their cousins again... anyone up for a last minute trip to AK for Spring Break?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is awesome. Glad everything was okay. I'll be honest...Clayton, Troy, and I are all alike...none of us answer our phones. I have voicemails that sit for a week before I even check them...I am working on it. Love you guys!

Sher said...

I'm totally a "jump to conclusion" kind of girl. For instance, one day my sister and I were getting ready to leave for the movies and waiting on my bro-in-law to get the kids...and the nephew busted his nose running. It was bleeding. He was screaming. And Auntie Sheri immediately jumped to the conclusion that he either 1. had a concussion or 2. had an inner-cranial bleed. My sister was worreid, but calmed him down, got his dad, and we went on to the movies. This taught me 1. that I need to stop watching so much Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice and 2. I worry way too much. (But I already knew # 2!)

Feel sorry for my non-existant kids in advance. I have a feeling that I'll be a very overprotective mommy.

Melissa said...

I am glad Clayton was okay, I DEFINITELY can relate to the whole story, freaking out, non answering husband, the fact that he was so oblivious to the whole situation, etc....
When you finally talked to Clayton was he like, "what", I love when you are worried about them and then when you FINALLY talk to them they think you are retarded. That is a personal favorite.

brannonfamilynews said...

Oh April! I did the samething a couple of weeks ago when I was bedridden with pneumonia and on more medication than a human should have to take. Troy was on a mission (flying somewhere) and he didn't Skype me at our "normal" time so my stupid imagination started going into overdrive for 12 hours! I was waiting for the Uniformed Guys to knock at the door I was so worked up. When Troy finally called he said not to worry until after 48 hours, not 12. I HATE the Army!
Love ya!

Amy Filleman said...

I can think of another name for MPB....jackass. Sorry it freaked you out< im sure that lasted for most of the rest of the day. It would for me. Monty is a rock star, so thankful they are both safe and sound. Wish I could come up and play for spring break. that would be really fun. On a personal note, wold you please change your font color?? I have the hardest time reading your blog!!!!

Anonymous said...

Typical Johnson modus operandi.

AprilJ said...

Anonymous should really leave their names.. unless they want to end up as a blog post.