My Honey's Labor of Love

Significantly taller than the
commercial.! :)

My FF has been working on the yard for over a month, all for me.  Mother's Day was spent getting the front of the house to look like someone lived here, as opposed to the emptiness that came with us removing the old hedges.  :D  I am SO thrilled with how it has turned out!  We have the perennials planted, the hostas in place, the arbor with the clematis (that I am reminding myself will come back SO beautifully next summer! The Flower Tower is totally stolen from the Home Depot commercial, except I used impatiens in place of petunias - 100 of them!  On the side of the house I have daylilies and hostas that friends have given us when thinning out their gardens.  

A downpour kind of a day in May!
Getting it around to the front
required a furniture mover.

Final placement...

And it is filling in quite nicely if I do say so myself!

Here are a few of the other updated pictures...I am so pleased with the progress we have made.  And so proud of my FF being able to make my vision come to life!

I ALWAYS have a red, white and blue petunia bed with my Eiffel Tower.  So exciting!

My FF HAD to have this arbor...I was indifferent.
But I think it really completes the look nicely.

Reclaimed street pavers from the early 20th Century.

My perennials are coming in oh so nicely.
I should have turned on the fountain when taking the pictures...

O's Grasshead...or one of them.

St. Anthony...as often as I lose my keys, my phone...
my mind...

 And then there was the week long process of getting our patio in place.  

It was a family affair.  N was helping Daddy
load up the retaining wall blocks that were
going to be used for the border.

My FF and his BC busting up the back porch
and  walkway...

A FF, a Lt. and BC walk into a Home Depot...

This was a mess!

It has to go somewhere...

If you look carefully on the "Concrete Only" dumpster,
the sign on the right states that NO concrete can be tossed in here.
So...we called "Gravel Making Materials"

Where else does a big white fluffy dog lay, during all of this?
In the big pile of brown dirt, of course!

The trench is dug...

Poor Daddy, trying to get the traffic bond in place.

The girls' Zen Garden...

After being on our hands and knees with the PaverLink. 

And the pay off - but Daddy was on shift, so I was lazy.
Tombstone it is!

Thanks for taking in my summer vacation slide show, here.  I know there were a million bazillion pictures.  But, I have to brag, because he did it all for me. It truly is a labor of love!

Love those muppets, work on keeping your marriage FireStrong and yourself an amazing wife.  Happy Humpday!

Father's Day at the Firehouse

Like every good fire family, it seems that somehow, some way, Daddy is away at the firehouse when there is a holiday to be had.  Perception vs. reality?  Ehh, that is a post for another day.  So, here was our day with Daddy.  It was quite remarkable, simply for the fact that he was in quarters.  What makes it even more memorable was that the tones went off TWICE and both times it was for the engine and not for Daddy.  That REALLY never happens.  

So, fully expecting that the house would be totally empty, as it has been the last three times.  I parked in the lot behind the firehouse and we walked around.  My FF was in the dorm, making his bed, for a lovely Father's Day nap...when he noticed all these blonde kids walking around.  His first thought was not, "Hey, look, my Muppets are here!"  No, more along the lines of, "What are those kids doing in this neighborhood?"  He did not even see them as is own...well, initially.  Daddy tapped on the glass and the muppets ran to the bay door...one had brownies, one had an Arnold Palmer (complete with fire coozy), one had his gift bag and the other came with lots of love and excitement.

Here was our day...

Delivering the gifts honoring our favorite fireman...

 Firehouse Shirt Club subscription so Daddy can stop being jealous of Mommy's collection...

House of Pain - Station 5, Hollywood, FL
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/01/31/24-hours-in-the-house-of-pain/

 "Look Daddy, there's me and there's me and..."  8x10 collage for daddy's locker...

Sharing the brownies that the Muppets brought, with the Muppets...and all who dared enter the noisy kitchen...

Playing Ping Pong Downstairs...

Momma left the flash on...with all the bunker gear...

 Daddy showing off how cool he is..."Here, now you try..."

 O feeling left out, rare pictures of Mommy while we take some selfies to keep her happy...

"Hey...O...come roll the ball with me..."  Nevermind that it is a 10# medicine ball, she is FIRESTRONG!

 And then we had to skidaddle back to the house to meet Grandpa and join my FF's family for a Father's Day cookout.

It was a great day.

My FF will FINALLY be home tomorrow - 3 days at the race track and his usual shifts have not left us much time with him lately.  I can hardly wait!

No matter how perfect or imperfect or involved or invisible your Father may have been...I am glad he was your dad.  You would not be here without him and for that, if nothing else, we should feel blessed.  

Happy Father's Day to all you dads.  To all you single mommas, you have no idea how awesome and amazing you are, never forget that.  Love those muppets to pieces.

Don't Tell Me, Show Me

That is usually my mantra. Words are easy, actions really show me what you mean. 

And my FF knows that.  We have been together for 17 years and married for nearly 15 of those.  He definitely knows what makes me tick. And he has been working his butt off to show me what he means.  His latest took nearly the entire week to complete - our patio.  I'll get some pics of that up here once the weather is nice and I can get a nice finished product pic.

But last night, after he spent the whole day back filling and moving dirt and cleaning up the tools and...and... and...

He was sitting on the couch, clearly wiped out.  He looked at me out of no where and said, "You know I love you, more now than ever before. I mean that."  And my heart just melted.  As if he hadn't done enough for me all weekend, this was indeed the cherry on the sundae. 

He is the love of my life. 

Stand together

I have taken a little bit of a break from the world of fire wives.  Drama, drama, drama.  Some petty.  Some downright VILE.  And so much of it tearing apart the very purpose of women married to firefighters - for us to stand together and know we are not alone in times of tragedy.

There have been fights over t-shirts, over sites on Facebook or off Facebook, over equal vs. fair, paid vs. free, wives vs. girlfriends, career vs. volunteer, female ffs vs. wives. AND NOW I AM OVER IT!  GET OVER IT!  

 ~MEMOR CADO FRATER ~
© Kim Fitzsimmons - Photographer

Yesterday was a TRAGIC day.  Ontario lost 4 air ambulance members in a helicopter crash.  Houston is mourning the loss of four of their own - with another still in critical condition. AND ONE OF THEM WAS A WOMAN.  She gave her all.  She gave her LIFE.  She and all other women firefighters take the same risk every time they enter that firey beast - THEY MIGHT NOT COME HOME!  I have been scolded for my views on this, publicly and privately, but she was a firefighter.  Treat her like you would any other.

If you needed a sign to get over it, here it is.  

Find a fire wife community that speaks to you.  That fills your voids.  That supports your soul.  It might be THOSE women who will be holding your hand has you try to find life without your husband.  Find one that works for you.  If it is one based on scripture and faith, so be it.  If it is one based on being able to be yourself at all times, even if that means being raunchy and a smidge vulgar, go for it.  If it is your local auxiliary, wonderful.  If it is that one kindred soul that speaks to you from across the country, or across the ocean, lovely.

But we need to quit tearing each other down.  Quit bad mouthing and JUDGING.  We all need to stop all of it because, heaven forbid, THIS COULD BE US!  And we will NEED every fire wife standing with us because we will be at the weakest point of our life.  

Ryche Guerrero Fine Photography, and friend
of Anne Sullivan,  recent grad of the academy and
former Community Volunteer Firefighter

Chris Snowball, also a VFF, leaves his wife and their three children,
would have celebrated his 39th birthday next week

First Officer Jacques Dupuy, for whom I could not find a picture.  

Paramedic Dustin Dagenais, known as Dagger to his friends, was a former player
 in the Ontario Hockey League.
Leaves behind a wife and infant daughter.

FF/EMT Robert Garner

FF/EMT Robert Bebee

Capt. Don Filliter of Skead, leaves behind a wife and three kids

Capt. EMT Matthew Renaud

These beautiful faces are why fire wives all over the country and the world band together.  Their deaths will never be forgotten.  Whatever social media exists a hundred years from now will indeed post a memorial to this most tragic anniversary.  They will not be forgotten and the fire service will carry on, even with a heavy heart.

And now, I am asking the entire community of firefighting wives, regardless of career or WFF, FB or not, new or experienced in the fire world, put all of that aside.  We lost family yesterday.  Now is not a time to fight or bicker or prove yourself.  Now is a time for bonding and support and love.  This fire world we have found ourselves in is an unpredictable one.  They might not come home.  And that is when all of the pettiness and minutia fade into the background.

My question to you, why does it take tragedy, for that drama to become unimportant?

Hug your FFs tight.  Even you leave on an ugly note.  Call and leave a VM or pop into the station, leave a note in his car if he is out on a run.  Make friends with the other firewives in your world - whether real or virtual.  We truly never know when we may need them.

For my FF, I love you.  Come home safe to me tomorrow.